SK Securities reiterated its "buy" rating on Samsung C&T on the 3rd, maintaining a target price of 590,000 won — implying upside of 45.1% from the current price of 406,500 won.

Analyst Choi Kwan-soon at SK Securities argued that the conglomerate's shares look unusually cheap. Samsung C&T's discount to net asset value (NAV) — a standard measure of how far a holding company's market capitalisation falls short of the combined worth of its stakes in listed subsidiaries and other assets — has widened to 55.0%, well above the coverage average of 45.7%. Over the past four trading sessions, Samsung Electronics shares fell 20.2%, pulling Samsung C&T down by 21.7% in tandem. Yet the underlying NAV declined by only 14.0% over the same period, suggesting the market has overshot.

Samsung C&T is the de facto holding company of the Samsung group, South Korea's largest conglomerate, and derives much of its value from a substantial stake in Samsung Electronics.

For the second quarter of 2026, SK Securities forecasts Samsung C&T revenues of 10.574 trillion won, up 5.5% year on year, with operating profit of 837.4 billion won, up 11.2%, implying an operating margin of 7.9%.

The construction division is expected to see revenue grow 9.8%, driven by expanded high-tech project work including structural framing on the P5 semiconductor facility, with the operating margin improving by 1.2 percentage points to 4.7%. The fashion division is forecast to grow 11.6%, buoyed by a recovery in consumer sentiment and rising foreign tourist spending linked to a weaker won.

Looking further ahead, analysts cited several longer-term growth catalysts: Samsung Electronics' planned semiconductor cluster in the Honam region of south-western Korea, small modular reactors (SMRs), and renewable energy projects. There is also growing expectation that Samsung C&T could increase shareholder returns, should Samsung Electronics' free cash flow rise and translate into higher dividends flowing up through the group structure.

For the full year 2026, SK Securities projects revenues of 43.158 trillion won and operating profit of 3.452 trillion won.