Macquarie tips three ASX finance companies to return better than 30%

When it comes to Australian financial services companies, at the moment it can pay to look beyond the big four banks when looking for outsized returns.

The brokers at Macquarie have this week issued reports into three ASX finance companies which they believe will perform well over the next 12 months.

Let's see who they like.

 Australian Finance Group Ltd (ASX: AFG)

Shares in this company have fallen 22.4% over the past 12 months, but the team at Macquarie think they will tick upwards over the next year.

AFG recently said in a statement to the ASX that AFG mortgage brokers had lodged $28.1 billion worth of home loans in the fourth quarter, which was the strongest June quarter on record.

AFG Chief Executive Officer David Bailey said regarding the result:

Following the strongest March quarter on record, some easing in June was expected, especially after the Federal Budget announcements on 12 May and during a tightening rate cycle. Despite divergence across states and shifting borrower sentiment mid-quarter, we delivered positive year-on-year growth and a record-high average loan size. We believe the fiscal policy changes announced during the quarter will represent a period of readjustment rather than a structural shift in underlying demand.

Macquarie said they were forecasting some headwinds for AFG as the impact of tax policy changes in the Federal Budget rolled through, and reduced their price target on the company from $3.01 to $2.26.

This remains well above the current price of $1.64.

Navigator Global Investments Ltd (ASX: NGI)

Macquarie has reinitiated coverage of this stock with an outperform rating after the company released a quarterly update earlier this week.

In that report the company said assets under management were up 6% to US$33.6 billion, while assets under management in its Lighthouse Partners division were up 8% to more than US$20 billion.

The company said:

Ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, interest rate volatility and changing market conditions continue to create both opportunities and challenges for alternative investment strategies. Most of Lighthouse Partners' strategies performed strongly during the quarter and several of NGI Strategic's Partner Firms delivered strong performance on an absolute and relative basis during the quarter.

Macquarie said the company had a strong platform entering FY27, and the broker has a price target on the company of $3.28 compared to the current price of $2.44.

Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)

Macquarie said Netwealth's fund inflows of $3.09 billion were slightly below consensus while total funds under administration of $134.3 billion was in line with expectations.

The broker has maintained an outperform rating on the stock due to "robust" earnings per share growth.

Macquarie's share price target for Netwealth is $32.25 compared to $23.79 currently.

The post Macquarie tips three ASX finance companies to return better than 30% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group and Netwealth Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Netwealth Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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