FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - A positive analyst commentary from the bank JPMorgan gave Eon shares a tailwind on Friday. Their price rose by 1.3 percent to 12.45 euros shortly after the start of trading. The DAX recently rose by less than one percent.

JPMorgan analyst Javier Garrido believes that Eon shares have more upside potential again after the recent price setback and raised the target price from 13.00 to 15.50 euros. He thus sees around 26 percent upside potential in the medium term and confirmed his "overweight" rating.

The energy group's medium-term targets, which were recently received positively by investors, are based on investment plans that still have room for improvement, the expert explained. However, higher investments and thus potentially higher profits depend on whether the supervisory authorities allow higher returns with regard to existing investments.

The expert prefers shares in integrated utilities such as Enel, Engie and SSE. However, Eon is a "top pick" for investors who are looking for profit growth through value-enhancing corporate investments in grid expansion and do not want to be dependent on electricity prices.

In mid-March, Eon announced investments of EUR 42 billion across Europe by 2028, which was more than analysts had expected. The operating result (adjusted EBITDA) is expected to rise to over 11 billion euros by 2028. In comparison: 8.8 to 9 billion euros are planned for 2024.

However, JPMorgan analyst Garrido believes that it will not be known until next year at the earliest whether there will ultimately be even higher investments and thus further increase the profit potential. He is therefore not yet factoring the additional potential into his base scenario.

After the price gains in 2023, Eon shares have hardly made any headway in 2024 so far. With a gain of just over one percent, they rank in the lower midfield of the DAX. In the new year, the leading German index has already achieved a price gain of a good 7 percent./mis/nas/stk