It has been another busy week for many of Australia's top brokers. This has led to the release of a number of broker notes.
Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here's why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone right now:
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Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL)
According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their add rating on this gold miner's shares with an improved price target of $3.82. This follows the release of the company's quarterly update earlier this week. Morgans notes that quarterly unit costs, revenue, milled tonnes, and achieved gold price all outperformed its forecasts. It also notes that this solid operational performance underpinned strong cash generation and allowed Regis to repay its loan facility. This leaves the gold miner both unhedged and debt-free. The Regis Resources share price is trading at $3.10 on Friday morning.
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)
A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have upgraded this conglomerate's shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $78.70. The broker believes that the Bunnings and Kmart owner is well-placed for growth in the coming years. In fact, it estimates that Wesfarmers will deliver an earnings per share compound annual growth rate of 10% across FY 2024-FY 2027. This is expected to be underpinned by market share gains and higher sales per sqm from the key Bunnings business, as well as improved earnings from the lithium and health segments. In respect to Bunnings, the broker highlights that Bunnings averaged sales of ~A$4.7K per sqm in FY 2024 compared to ~A$9.3K for Home Depot. Goldman sees scope to close this gap by changing its sales mix. The Wesfarmers share price is fetching $74.40 at the time of writing.
Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)
Another note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and $36.10 price target on this supermarket giant's shares. Although the broker believes that Woolworths will deliver a first half result short of consensus estimates in February, it believes investors should be snapping up its shares while they are down. Especially given that they are trading on an estimated FY 2026 P/E of just ~20x. Goldman notes that this is one standard deviation below its historical average. Outside this, the broker highlights that it expects a recovery in market share and cost discipline and the scaling of retail media to drive a recovery in its Australian Food EBIT margin. The Woolworths share price is trading at $29.92 on Friday.
