Wesfarmers Gets New Bear Despite Strong Retail Core -- Market Talk

0305 GMT - Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers gets a new bear at RBC Capital Markets, where analyst Michael Toner sees its premium relative to other industrial stocks as hard to justify. Initiating coverage of the stock with an underperform rating, Toner acknowledges that the group's core retail business--which includes dominant hardware chain Bunnings and discount department-store operator Kmart--is strong and appears to have a long growth runway. However, he tells clients in a note that Wesfarmers is trading at a 45% premium relative to the Australian stock market's industrials index, in terms of its EBIT multiple. This compares with a five-year average of 18%, he adds. RBC places a target price of 73.00 Australian dollars on the stock, which is down 2.25% at A$88.57. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

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July 29, 2026 23:05 ET (03:05 GMT)