Thai Beverage cut to "underperform", target cut to 61 cents by Standard Chartered

Stock Name: ThaiBev
Company Name: THAI BEVERAGE PUBLIC CO LTD

Research House: StanChart

Price Call: SELL

Target Price: 0.61

SINGAPORE (Nov 27): Standard Chartered Bank has downgraded Thai Beverage to "underperform" from "outperform" and cut its price target to 61 cents from 74 cents, saying the company's dominance in the spirits market in Thailand is under threat from new entrants.

As a result, the company's return on equity - at an average of 24.2% over the last five years - is likely to fall, according to Standard Chartered analyst Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, who has lowered his 2014 and 2015 earnings estimates by 18% and 13% respectively.