---
endpoint: analytics
pattern: Financial Services
status: done
latency_ms: 164703
conversation_id: e511e677-140a-4873-bf50-2194475621e3
citations: 0
created: 2026-05-31 19:15:34Z
---

# Is CLSA incrementally more positive/negative on KB Financial. If so, why?

**Yes — CLSA has turned incrementally MORE POSITIVE on KB Financial (105560 KS).** Lead analyst Jongmin Shim (CLSA Seoul, `@clsa.com` — CLSA-parent coverage, not CLST) walked the rating up two notches in roughly two months in early 2025, and lifted the price target alongside it.

## Rating & target-price trajectory

| Date | Rating | 12M Target | Headline | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Feb 2025 | **Outperform (O-PF)** | ₩115,000 | "More buybacks to come in 2H25" — 4Q24 in-line; modest 25/26 EPS trim (-2.5%/-2.2%); TP unchanged via roll-forward [1] | Baseline |
| 3 Apr 2025 | **Upgrade → High-Conviction O-PF** | ₩115,000 (with ~+49% upside) | "Further rerating to come" — recent share-price correction on buyback concerns viewed as overdone [2] | **Step-up in conviction** |
| 24 Apr 2025 | **Reiterate HC O-PF** | **₩120,000 (raised from ₩105,000* — +14% TP hike)** | "Classy leader" — 1Q25 7% beat; surprise dividend hike + ad-hoc buyback; target PE multiple lifted 6.9x → 7.7x; +2% EPS revisions for 25/26CL [4] | **Earnings + multiple up** |

*Note: the Apr-24 note frames the TP move as ₩105,000 → ₩120,000, implying a brief intra-quarter TP reset around the upgrade; vs. the Feb baseline of ₩115,000 the net move is +4.3%. Either way, CLSA's last action was an upward TP revision.

## Why CLSA is more positive — the four drivers

**1. Shareholder return surprise — KB is over-delivering on TSR vs peers**
- 1Q25 brought an unexpected **₩300bn buyback** plus a **₩100bn lift in the 2025 cash dividend** (₩1.24tn → ₩1.34tn) — explicitly responding to share-price weakness, with management calling its own shares "undervalued" and "a good buying opportunity" [4][5].
- CLSA now models **TSR approaching ~50% in 2025**, ahead of peers who are only targeting that level by 2027 [4][5]. In the Apr-3 upgrade note, CLSA had already flagged that an additional **₩830bn buyback in 2H25** was the asymmetric upside the market was mispricing [3].

**2. Capital strength is the highest-conviction lever**
- CET1 of **13.67% in 1Q25** — well above peers — is what gives KB the flexibility to keep raising payouts; CLSA frames KB's **superior CET1 ratio** as the structural reason it will lead the sector on shareholder returns [2][4].
- The Apr-3 upgrade thesis is precisely that the market under-appreciated KB's commitment to RWA growth discipline (<4.5% YoY target) and that the YTD share-price correction was the buying opportunity [2][3].

**3. 1Q25 operational beat — better quality than headline**
- 1Q25 NP of **₩1.7tn, +63% YoY / +148% QoQ, 7% ahead of consensus** [4].
- Drivers were high-quality, not one-off: **bank NIM +4bps QoQ** (lower funding costs + more low-cost deposits), **SG&A -1.4% YoY / -22% QoQ**, and **cost-to-income at 35% — a historical low** [6]. The provisioning step-up (+16% QoQ) was pre-emptive (macro + Homeplus, ₩50bn after tax), not credit deterioration; management still guides credit cost down to mid-40bps for 2025 [6].

**4. Multiple re-rating with room to extend**
- CLSA explicitly **lifted target PE from 6.9x to 7.7x** on the back of the beat and TSR delivery [4], and continues to call for further multiple expansion: *"We expect such efforts to be reflected in its share price... we raise our earnings estimates and price target as we see further upside as KB properly unlocks value through a superior shareholder return policy relative [to] peers"* [7].

## Bottom line

CLSA's stance has progressed from **constructive (Outperform, Feb)** → **conviction call (HC Outperform, Apr 3)** → **conviction call with higher numbers (HC O-PF, TP +14%, Apr 24)**. The incremental positivity is not narrative drift — it is being driven by (i) KB actively answering the market's TSR/buyback concerns with concrete actions, (ii) a clean 1Q25 beat across NIM/cost discipline, and (iii) the highest CET1 buffer in the peer group, which CLSA argues unlocks **~50% TSR in 2025 — two years ahead of peers**. KB is also CLSA's preferred name within the Korean bank coverage cluster (Shinhan O-PF, BNK HC O-PF, IBK HLD), and the only one on **High-Conviction**.

**Risks CLSA flags but is willing to underwrite**: macro headwinds, NIM pressure from further rate cuts (NIM guided to fall a few bps per quarter through 2025), and continued won volatility affecting reported CET1 [1][2].

---
**Sources**
[1] KB Financial – O-PF (More buybacks to come in 2H25) — CLSA, Jongmin Shim & Hyukgi Min (5 Feb 2025) — 607949771LinqAlpha.PDF
[2] KB Financial – HC O-PF (Further rerating to come) — CLSA, Jongmin Shim & Hyukgi Min (3 Apr 2025) — 607954974LinqAlpha.PDF
[3] KB Financial – HC O-PF (Further rerating to come) — CLSA (3 Apr 2025) — 607954974LinqAlpha.PDF
[4] KB Financial – HC O-PF (Classy leader) — CLSA, Jongmin Shim & Hyukgi Min (24 Apr 2025) — 607956820LinqAlpha.PDF
[5] KB Financial – HC O-PF (Classy leader) — CLSA (24 Apr 2025) — 607956820LinqAlpha.PDF
[6] KB Financial – HC O-PF (Classy leader) — CLSA (24 Apr 2025) — 607956820LinqAlpha.PDF
[7] KB Financial – HC O-PF (Classy leader) — CLSA (24 Apr 2025) — 607956820LinqAlpha.PDF

