OUR QUEST IS NOT TO BE BULLISH OR BEARISH, BUT TO CORRECTLY ASSESS FUTURE TRENDS

Morgans rates CKF as Buy

Ahead of Collins Foods' FY26 results, Morgans lowers net profit after tax forecasts due to deferred store openings and a change in the earnings assumptions for the acquired German stores, as well as a lower EU same store sales growth assumption.

Australia is considered as underpinning earnings growth while waiting to see how the German strategy evolves. The analyst downgrades underlying net profit after tax forecasts by -3.6% for FY26 and -4.2% for FY27, with Australia KFC store count cut to 296-309 for FY26-FY28.

Buy rating retained with a lower target of $12.50 from $12.70.

Citi rates SCG as Buy

Scentre Group has priced $750m in senior notes at a fixed coupon rate of 5.85%. The senior notes have been swapped with the floating-rate, carrying 1.2% margin over three-month BBSW.

Citi believes this shows the company's ability to access capital markets at competitive rates and should reduce the overall interest-rate margin profile. Buy rating and $4.40 target.

Bell Potter rates TNE as Downgrade to Hold from Buy

Bell Potter raises its target for TechnologyOne to $31 from $29 and downgrades to Hold from Buy, citing recent share price strength, which has left the valuation looking stretched relative to peers.

While acknowledging the company's defensive qualities, including strong positioning against AI disruption and a high-quality customer base, the broker sees better value elsewhere in the sector.

The broker's forecasts remain unchanged, with earnings and annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth broadly in line with company guidance.