Four S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares have just received significantly boosted outlooks for 2025 from leading brokers.
The big-name companies are forecast to post gains of up to 25% over the coming 12 months. And that's not including the dividends that three of these stocks pay out.
Which upgraded shares are we talking about?
Read on!
(Broker price data courtesy of The Australian.)
Four ASX 200 shares earning boosted 2025 outlooks
The first ASX 200 shares earning a broker upgrade is uranium miner Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE).
Boss Energy shares are up 1.1% in morning trade on Tuesday, changing hands for $2.79 apiece. That sees the Boss Energy share price up 17% since the opening bell on 2 January, with shares still down 39% over 12 months.
And Jefferies forecasts a strong run ahead for the uranium stock. The broker started Boss Energy at a buy rating with a $3.30 price target. That represents a potential upside of 18% from current levels.
The second ASX 200 share receiving a broker upgrade is South32 Ltd (ASX: S32).
Shares in the diversified mining company are up 0.8% today, trading for $3.43 apiece. The South32 share price is now up 5% since this time last year. South32 shares also trade on a fully franked 1.5% trailing dividend yield.
Jefferies also expects South32 to march slightly higher from here. The broker raised the mining stock to a hold rating with a $3.50 price target, 2% above current levels.
Moving on to the third ASX 200 share grabbing a broker upgrade, we have global plastics packaging giant Amcor PLC (ASX: AMC).
The Amcor share price is up 2% today, with shares trading for $15.26 each. That sees the Amcor share price up 5.9% over 12 months. Amcor shares also trade on a 5.1% unfranked trailing dividend yield.
And Citi expects some sizeable potential gains ahead for the stock in 2025. The broker upgraded Amcor to a buy rating and raised its price target to $19. That represents a potential upside of almost 25% from current levels.
Among other potential tailwinds, Citi analysts Anthony Pettinari and Samuel Seow are bullish on Amcor's acquisition of Berry Global Group Inc., a United States-based packaging company.
The analysts said (quoted by The Australian):
We see shares trading near trough levels around 9 times [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation] EBITDA, adjusting for the upcoming combination with BERY.
We view the AMCR-BERY combination as logical, allowing market leaders to move further down the cost curve amidst persistent vol challenges, while expanding unmatched procurement scale and R&D capabilities.
We expect organic volume growth may be muted for Packagers in the near-term; accordingly, producers with lower-risk growth drivers ($US530m cost synergies) and potentially stronger toplines (US$120m revenue synergies) could outperform.
Which brings us to the fourth ASX 200 share that just scored an upgraded outlook for 2025, global education service provider IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL).
The IDP Education share price is up 5.8% today, at $12.98. This leaves the IDP education share price down 37.4% since this time last year. IDP Education shares also trade on a partly franked trailing dividend yield of 2.8%.
But Macquarie expects the stock could post some outsized gains in the year ahead. The broker upgraded IDP Education to an outperform rating with a $16 price target. That represents a potential upside of 23% from the current IDP share price.
