Many of Australia's top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.
Three ASX shares brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here's why they are bullish on them:
Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)
According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this integrated property company's shares to $26.45. This follows the release of Goodman's first quarter update, which revealed an increase in its FY 2022 operating earnings guidance to 15% from 10%. Macquarie remains confident its strong form can continue thanks to structural tailwinds and its development pipeline. The Goodman share price is trading at $23.74 today.
Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)
A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating but cut their price target on this insurance giant's shares to $5.35. Morgans has downgraded its earnings estimates to reflect higher than expected claims costs. While this is disappointing, the broker remains positive on IAG due to premium increases and its attractive valuation. The IAG share price is fetching $4.43 on Wednesday.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)
Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating but trimmed their price target on this big four bank's shares to $27.50. This follows the release of the bank's full year results for FY 2021. While the broker was disappointed with Westpac's weaker than expected net interest margin (NIM) and higher than expected costs, it remains positive on the investment opportunity here. Citi feels that Westpac's shares are cheap at the current level. The Westpac share price is trading at $23.29 this afternoon.
