CLSA has described Galaxy Entertainment Group chairman Francis Lui Yiu Tung’s latest open-market share purchase as “another sign of improving governance” at the Macau casino operator, while keeping the company as its sole top pick in the sector.
According to a disclosure filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on October 6th, Lui acquired 4.613 million Galaxy shares on October 2nd at an average price of HK$28.25 each, for a total of about HK$130.3 million ($16.6 million). The transaction lifted his disclosed interest to 54.24 percent of the company’s issued share capital, from 54.14 percent previously. The holdings are held through several entities and a discretionary family trust.
In a research note dated October 7th, CLSA analyst Jeffrey Kiang said the purchase was equal to about 16.3 percent of Galaxy’s trading volume that day. The brokerage said it marked the first net increase in Galaxy holdings by an insider since the second half of 2017, Macau Daily Times reported.
CLSA read the move as a sign that the controlling shareholder considers the stock undervalued. Kiang added that future share performance would still depend on earnings delivery and the growth prospects of the wider Macau gaming sector.
Cash flow seen improving after 2027
The brokerage kept Galaxy as its only top pick among Macau operators, citing the group’s market share, cost control, a strengthening dividend payout ratio and its balance sheet. Galaxy held net cash of about $4.6 billion at the end of June, with cash and liquid investments of HK$37.7 billion.
CLSA said Galaxy’s free cash flow is poised to step up after 2027, when the company expects to complete Phase 4 of Galaxy Macau. The expansion is designed to add hotel, entertainment and other non-gaming capacity in Cotai, a project the chairman has previously said he wants to accelerate.
The purchase came during a weak period for Macau gaming stocks. Galaxy shares fell 20.1 percent in the year to October 6th, against a 5.3 percent decline in the Hang Seng Index over the same period. All six Hong Kong-listed Macau gaming groups underperformed the benchmark.
Galaxy closed at HK$30.30 on October 2nd, the day of the chairman’s share purchase, down 4.17 percent on the session.
For the first half of 2026, Galaxy reported net revenue of HK$24.23 billion ($3.09 billion), up 4 percent year-on-year, and adjusted EBITDA of HK$6.96 billion ($886 million), up 1 percent.
CLSA currently forecasts Macau gross gaming revenue growth of 2 percent in both 2026 and 2027, after cutting its earlier estimates.
