Citi Maintains "Buy" Rating on SK Hynix with Target Price of KRW 3.1 Million

Odaily News: Citi maintains a "Buy" rating on SK Hynix with a target price of KRW 3.1 million, believing that its enhanced shareholder return program reflects management's confidence in medium-to-long-term growth and is expected to provide substantial support for the stock price. SK Hynix announced a KRW 40 trillion (approximately $28.77 billion) share buyback plan involving 24.07 million shares (representing 3.3% of issued shares), all of which will be cancelled. The buyback period runs from August 20 to November 19, with cancellation to occur within 1-2 weeks after completion. Meanwhile, the company has raised its 2025-2027 shareholder return standard from "within 50% of cumulative free cash flow (FCF) over three years" to "above 50%," and M&A expenditures will no longer be deducted from FCF. Citi noted that the company will also disclose further return plans during its third-quarter earnings release in October, which is expected to form valuation bottom support and enhance the certainty of medium-to-long-term returns.