KION shares

Recovery continues – KION shares rise sharply

Whereas the German stock markets were dominated by the coronavirus pandemic at the start of the year, they began to stage a recovery in the second quarter that continued into the third quarter. A wealth of central bank measures and various economic stimulus packages gave investors greater confidence that the economic fallout from the pandemic would be brought under control. The DAX therefore went up in the third quarter and, by the end of September, was close to the level seen at the end of 2019 (down by 3.7 percent). The MDAX did not recover quite as strongly and, at the end of the third quarter, the index was still down by 4.6 percent compared with the end of last year.

KION shares comfortably outperformed their benchmarks in the reporting period. Supported by the Company’s results, especially in the Supply Chain Solutions segment, the shares gained 18.9 percent in the nine-month period and closed at €73.18 on September 30, 2020, which was higher than at the end of 2019. This equates to a market capitalization of €8.6 billion, of which €4.7 billion is attributable to shares in free float. Compared with their low for the year so far, which was reached on March 23 in the early phase of the coronavirus crisis, shares in KION GROUP AG have therefore more than doubled in price.

Stable shareholder structure

The shareholder structure remained almost unchanged in the reporting period. Weichai Power Co., Ltd., Weifang, People’s Republic of China, had a stake of 45.2 percent as at September 30, 2020, which means it is still the biggest single shareholder, while KION GROUP AG continues to hold 0.1 percent of the shares. The free float therefore accounted for 54.7 percent as at the end of the third quarter.

Comprehensive coverage

A total of 21 brokerage houses currently follow and report regularly on the KION Group. As at September 30, 2020, nine analysts recommended KION shares as a buy, ten rated them as neutral, and two recommended selling them. The median target price specified by the share analysts was €65.00 at the end of September.

Investment-grade credit rating reaffirmed

The KION Group continues to have an investment-grade credit rating. In September 2020, Fitch Ratings reaffirmed the Group’s long-term issuer default rating of BBB– with a stable outlook and its short-term issuer default rating of F3. The new bond placed by KION GROUP AG in September was given a rating of BBB–. Standard & Poor’s also confirmed KION’s issuer rating of BB+ with a stable outlook in September 2020 and awarded a senior unsecured rating of BB+.