FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - A study by US investment bank Bank of America (BofA) and a generally positive sentiment for the infrastructure sector boosted Hochtief shares on Tuesday, catapulting them to their highest level since spring 2019.

Around midday, the construction company's shares climbed 6.3 percent to EUR 125.30 in a generally friendly overall market. With a price gain of almost 25 percent in the current year, they are in the top quarter of the strongest shares. However, there is still a gap of around 40 percent to the record high of EUR 174 that the shares reached in spring 2017.

BofA analyst Marcin Wojtal, who has now upgraded the share from "Neutral" to "Buy" and raised the price target from EUR 112 to EUR 140, considers the prospects for Turner Construction in particular to be very good. This year alone, the wholly-owned US subsidiary, which is not focused on residential construction, should contribute slightly more than 50 percent to the Group's pre-tax profit, according to him.

In 2026, Turner's share of pre-tax profit should even rise to around 60 percent, he expects with a view to planned public infrastructure projects and writes: Turner is the construction company with the highest turnover in the USA and also the number one when it comes to data center construction there. "And data centers accounted for 20 percent of the US order backlog in the nine-month figures," he summarizes. He also emphasized that Hochtief has another mainstay in the United States with the civil engineering company Flatiron, which is in the process of merging with the ACS subsidiary Dragados.

The strong turnaround in the free cash inflow of the MDax group and the increasingly comfortable balance sheet as a result is also a reason for the BofA analyst's buy recommendation. The expert praises the fact that the Group has achieved a significant turnaround in cash inflow over the last two years. "While we forecast net debt of around EUR 590 million for December 2024 and thus a leverage ratio of 0.3 times, Hochtief should have a net cash position by December 2026, which in turn offers scope for investments." Wojtal is considering a complete takeover of the mining services provider Thiess via the Australian subsidiary Cimic, for example, which would result in further earnings potential.

In addition to the BofA analyst, other experts see promising opportunities for the infrastructure sector. These include the investment strategists at Deutsche Bank and its fund subsidiary DWS. "Investors should focus on real assets such as infrastructure and commodities in 2025, as electrification and digitalization are advancing," recommended investment strategist Ulrich Stephan from Deutsche Bank during a capital market outlook on Thursday.

And Hochtief itself is also optimistic about the future. At the presentation of the nine-month figures, Juan Santamaría Cases, CEO of Hochtief and also CEO of the Spanish parent company ACS, not only confirmed the annual targets, but also highlighted well-filled order books./ck/mne/jha/