Berenberg ups Kingfisher target price but keeps at 'hold'

(Sharecast News) - Berenberg has raised its target price for Kingfisher shares from 306p to 331p following the retailer's first-half results, but kept a 'hold' rating on the stock. DIY retailer Kingfisher upgraded its adjusted pre-tax profit guidance for the year to January 2026 by 6% following a 13% beat to consensus forecasts with its interim results.

"The beat and upgrade were primarily driven by a stronger-than-anticipated gross margin, while the upside surprise in Q2 sales trends was much less significant," Berenberg said.

The broker highlighted that the Kingfisher's gross margins - while still low at around 38% - are set to rise further over the coming 18 months, helped in part by a weaker US dollar, supplier negotiations, warehousing reduction, AI-refined pricing/promotions and the growth of a high-margin marketplace sales and retail media business.

Berenberg said that, following three years of negative like-for-like sales trends, the first half of this year saw "some signs of a sales turnaround", with the UK DIY market improving and negative conditions in France easing slightly.

The stock was flat at 289.2p by 1141 BST on Wednesday, having jumped 15% the previous session, leaving limited upside (around 14%) to Berenberg's new target price.