According to the news app of Zhongtong Finance, Morgan Stanley has issued a research report stating that it has raised its rating on Galaxy Entertainment (00027) from "neutral" to "buy", with a target price of HKD 43, and it is also considered the industry's top choice along with MGM China (02282). The bank believes that Galaxy Entertainment has significantly underperformed the broader market over the past year, and its current stock price is far below the low during the epidemic, reaching an eight-year low.

Although Morgan Stanley remains extremely bearish on investing in Macau or any Chinese consumer and leisure industry, it believes that Galaxy Entertainment can provide attractiveness for long-term investors and hedge fund investors, such as cheap valuation, improvement in shareholder returns, and EBITDA growth brought by the rise in market share, especially at the current price level.

In addition, Galaxy Entertainment is paying a mid-term dividend of HKD 0.5 per share, which is the first time since 2004 (during which it has issued mid-term special dividends several times) that it has gotten rid of the term "special dividend" that it is used to. The dividend payout ratio has also significantly increased to 50%, compared to 30% in the past decade, clearly showing a more friendly and generous return to shareholders.