This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 23, 2026 - March 29, 2026

Target price: RM2.60 BUY

AMINVESTMENT BANK RESEARCH (MARCH 16): We initiate coverage on Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd (KL:HIBISCS) with a “buy” and a target price (TP) of RM2.60. We see a 20% total return (including dividends) as its current share price appears to lag the spot Brent crude price. In forming our view, we believe geopolitics is becoming an increasingly important driver of oil prices. Hormuz traffic remaining near-halted implies a gross shortfall of about 12.4 million barrels (bbl)/day, and even after reserve releases, the market could still face a persistent supply gap of about 8 million to 10 million bbl/day.

With a gross daily shortfall of 12 million bbl, and reserve cover of only 18%, we believe the scale of barrels at risk in the Gulf is larger than in past disruptions. Our base case incorporates a US$15/bbl geopolitical premium to normalised Brent of US$80/bbl, arriving at US$95/bbl. Hibiscus’ share price implies Brent of only US$80/bbl, leaving room for rerating.

Against this backdrop, Hibiscus stands out as a domestic upstream proxy that offers investors direct leverage to stronger realised prices.

We project a 10% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in FY26 earnings, thanks to its low-cost portfolio with an average operating expenditure of US$21-US$23/BOE (barrels of oil equivalent) and stronger sales of 4.7 million BOE in 2H26 (versus 4.4 million BOE in 1H26). Hibiscus is on track to reach its upgraded sales volume of 9 million to 9.4 million BOE (versus FY25: 8.9 million BOE). We strip expected deferred tax credits from our assumptions to avoid overstated earnings.

Management has guided for a 10 sen dividend if FY26 average realised oil price exceeds US$75/bbl, with 1H26 DPS of four sen already declared. We believe this threshold is achievable, with 1H26 realised prices at US$72/bbl, implying an attractive forward dividend yield of about 4.5%.

We value Hibiscus based on a discounted 2P (proved + probable reserves) RNAV, with a 15% discount, using US$95/bbl Brent and US$39/BOE gas, with realised prices adjusted for field-specific discounts.

Target price: RM2.60 BUY

CIMB SECURITIES (MARCH 16): Eco World Development Group Bhd (KL:ECOWLD) has partnered with Johor Corp’s real estate arm, JLand Group (JLG), to jointly develop three projects in Johor and Sydney with a combined estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM2.4 billion.

The 50:50 joint-venture developments comprise: (i) a 16-storey freehold residential apartment with 123 units on a 2,751 sq m site in Macquarie Park, Sydney (estimated GDV: A$153 million or RM425 million); (ii) a freehold mixed-use development on an 8.44-acre parcel in Larkin, Johor Bahru (estimated GDV: RM1 billion); and (iii) a leasehold industrial park, Eco Business Park 9, on a 316.2-acre tract in Kulai, Johor (estimated GDV: RM1 billion).

Eco World’s Johor exposure will increase to 38% of its remaining land bank (1Q26: 34%), while its industrial exposure will rise to 47% (1Q26: 43%). It has RM2.9 billion in cash as at Jan 31 to fund its equity share of the acquisitions and development costs.

We maintain “buy” with an unchanged SOP-based TP of RM2.60, supported by low net gearing (17%) and FY26-28 dividend yields of 3.8%-4.3%.

Target price: 95 sen BUY

MAYBANK INVESTMENT BANK RESEARCH (MARCH 15): We remain positive on Bermaz Auto Bhd (KL:BAUTO) post-briefing, maintaining our forecasts and target price of 95 sen (11 times FY27 PER; mean). The recovery trajectory is intact, driven by the expanded Mazda line-up, favourable forex boosting, completely built-up (CBU) margins, and stabilising associate operations.

Dividend visibility remains strong in our view. We expect a potential special dividend in 4QFY26, as BAuto’s dividends are now to be funded by its core operations, excluding associate losses. This could potentially exceed the current 75% assumption (implying a higher dividend yield of 6%-10%).

For 3QFY26, our core net profit included a one-off RM3.5 million deferred tax charge for Kia’s customer refunds and about RM60 million from selling back inventory to Kia (at a small loss). Excluding these settlement-related items, underlying margins appear stronger, suggesting potential forecast upside.

Looking ahead, while 4QFY26 could be seasonally weaker due to shorter working days, we believe an upside could arise from better margins due to the absence of one-off losses and reduced associate losses. We believe the trough is likely over, hence we are maintaining a “buy”.

Target price: RM3.84 OUTPERFORM

KENANGA RESEARCH (MARCH 16): Scientex Bhd’s (KL:SCIENTX) 1HFY26 results met expectations. Core net profit grew 10% y-o-y on improving performance from higher progress billing and steady take-up rates in the group’s ongoing property launches, in addition to better packaging margins from higher average selling prices driven by the recent surge in resin prices alongside cost efficiencies.

Scientex has demonstrated greater resilience among its packaging peers locally, thanks to its advantage of having a plant in the US and owing partly to its strength in diversified consumer packaging products.

As we incorporate new GDV numbers for the Scientex Jawi property development of RM3.4 billion into our RNAV valuation, we also anticipate a positive near-term outlook for its packaging segment on the back of the above-mentioned higher resin prices. In addition, the completion of the installation of the solar PV system at 10 manufacturing plants in Malaysia will reap cost savings of about RM10 million per annum starting from FY26.

We raise our earnings forecasts for FY26 and FY27 by 8% and 2% respectively, lift our SOP-derived TP from RM3.60 to RM3.84 and upgrade Scientex to “outperform” from “market perform”, after its share price fell 13% since January.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.