Mubasher: QNB Financial Services has maintained Qatar Electricity and Water Company’s (QEWS) price target at QAR 223 per share.

The brokerage arm of the region's largest lender Qatar National Bank (QNB) also remained its annual forecast for QEWS this year, with a recommendation to accumulate the stock, according to a recent report on Tuesday.

QEWS’s profits rose 12.6% to QAR 394 million for the first quarter of 2018, compared to QAR 350 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

The brokerage firm also noted that QEWS’s first-quarter profits had exceeded expectations due to a growth in revenues by 9% to QAR 660 million.

QNB Financial Services expected that QEWS’s essentially net income with interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) would grow by 2% during the period between 2019 and 2023.

While free cash flow (FCF) is projected to grow around 5% over the same period driven by Facility Um Al Houl, according to the report.

QNB's brokerage arm also expected dividend yield to be in an average of 4.1% over 2018-2023 and FCF yield to hit 7.4% over the same period.

In the same vein, profits may reach QAR 1.46 billion by the end of 2018, and QAR 1.57 billion and QAR 1.64 billion over 2019 and 2020, respectively, the report highlighted. 

By 11:45 am Qatar time, GEWS’s stock declined 1.71% at QAR 200.50.