As ASX stocks continue their strength in 2025, top brokers have revised their outlook for a handful of companies.
Three of these include Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), and Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC), which have each been upgraded to buys this week.
Here's why brokers are bullish on these ASX stocks.
ASX stocks upgraded to buys
First on the list is the gaming machine company Aristocrat. Goldman Sachs has upgraded the ASX stock to a buy.
In a note to clients this week, the broker cited the company's "market dominance", especially in North America, where Aristocrat achieved "record installations" in FY24.
It also said Aristocrat's investment in research and development (R&D) far outpaces competitors and will contribute to "high indexing games ahead of peers".
ALL will be returning to its core competency of slots content following the proposed sale of Plarium. The broader category remains ex-growth, but we expect Pixel's social casino portfolio can deliver +2-3% topline p.a. with land-based synergies driving share gains.
Goldman sees further potential gains for the ASX stock in 2025, given it trades at a discount to other "high growth" stocks and its long-term range.
Although having traded strongly since its FY24 result, we see further upside noting that its PER discount to 'high growth' ASX names is below its 10Y average. Key catalysts: (1) 1H25 result in May; (2) LNW 4Q24 update on 26 Feb; and (3) Weekly digital revenues.
The broker also forecasts dividend yields of 1.7% and 1.5% in FY25 and FY26, respectively, with a return on equity (ROE) of 27% and 28%, respectively.
It rates the ASX stock a buy with a price target of $78 apiece.
Flight Centre and Lendlease catch a bid
As reported by The Australian, brokers also upgraded their ratings on Flight Centre and Lendlease in notes to clients this week.
JP Morgan upgraded Flight Centre to a buy with a price target of $20. This follows a buy rating on the ASX stock from Morgan Stanley earlier this month, as reported by my colleague Bernd.
Meanwhile, the consensus of analyst estimates rates the ASX stock a buy as well, according to CommSec data.
This is made up of ten buys and eight holds. There are no brokers recommending to sell the travel share. Safe to say, the bias is skewed to bullish right now.
Flight Centre last traded at $17.43 apiece.
Analysts at Macquarie have also upgraded the firm's rating on Lendlease to a buy with a price target of $6.98 apiece.
This is slightly ahead of the consensus analyst price target of $6.76 per share, according to Tradingview.
After ending 2024 in the red, the property and infrastructure group is up more than 4% this year to date.
If Macquarie is right, this represents 7% further upside potential from the time of writing.
Foolish takeout
Brokers have rated these ASX stocks as buys this week. If they are correct, investors could be in for some good returns.
Aristocrat shares have risen 61% this past year, whereas Lendlease and Flight Centre are down more than 8% and 18%, respectively.
