United Securities Affirms Saudi Awwal Bank at Buy After Q2 Results

01:57 AM EDT, 08/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- United Securities LLC maintained its investment case for Saudi Awwal Bank (SASE:1060) after the Tadawul-listed lender published its second-quarter earnings. "SAB reported a mixed quarter, with operating income below expectations as non-interest income was lower, but net income exceeded our estimates, driven by lower provisions. The management has reaffirmed guidance across all parameters. We reiterate our BUY rating with a target price of SAR 38/share. The stock currently trades at a 2026e P/E of 8.2x and P/B of 1.0x, while offering an attractive dividend yield of 5.9%," the research firm said Sunday. For the three months ended June 30, the bank reported an operating income of 3.66 billion Saudi riyals, down 1.6% year on year, while non-interest income dropped 17%. Net income for the quarter came in at 2.33 billion riyals. "The bank had built additional provisions in 1Q26 because of potential market-related stress, but reversed part of those provisions in 2Q26 as the expected stress did not [materialize... The lower provisions, coupled with a lower effective tax rate of 9% in 2Q26 vs. 14% in 2Q25, led to net income growth of 10% YoY, which was above our estimates by 14%. For 1H26, however, net income increased by 3.6% YoY," the note said.