SINGAPORE — Dec. 25, 2025 — Keppel Ltd stock (SGX:BN4) heads into the year-end with a familiar 2025 theme: a steady stream of asset monetisation headlines, a very visible share buyback programme, and an analyst community that has become materially more constructive on the “New Keppel” transformation story.
With markets shut today in many places for Christmas, the most recent SGX trading data sits at Dec. 24, when Keppel was indicated at S$10.35. [1]
Below is what’s driving the latest Keppel share price narrative as of 25.12.2025, and the key forecasts and analyses investors are leaning on heading into 2026.
Keppel share price today: what the market last printed (Dec. 24)
Keppel last traded around S$10.35 on Dec. 24, after opening near S$10.29 and moving within an intraday range of roughly S$10.27 to S$10.35, according to delayed quote data published by ShareInvestor. [2]
Independent market-data summaries also put Keppel’s market capitalisation in the high teens (S$ billions) as of Dec. 23–24, reflecting a strong 2025 re-rating compared with the prior year. [3]
What’s new around 25.12.2025: the three items investors keep circling
1) Another day, another buyback (literally)
Keppel has been an unusually consistent participant in its own market—filing daily share buy-back notices through December. On Dec. 24, SGX buyback tallies show 50,000 shares repurchased, with buyback prices reported in a band around S$10.28 to S$10.34. [4]
This matters less for the absolute number of shares (50,000 is not huge in isolation), and more for the signal: management is telling investors, repeatedly, that buybacks are now a recurring part of capital return.
2) A December data-centre divestment that fits the “asset-light” script
On Dec. 16, Keppel said its connectivity division agreed to sell remaining interests in two Singapore data centres to Keppel DC REIT for S$50.5 million, with completion expected in 1Q 2026. [5]
This is basically Keppel doing what it has been telling the market it will do: recycle capital, simplify structures, and push mature assets into vehicles (like REITs) that can hold them long-term—while Keppel focuses on fee-based management and operating platforms.
3) Corporate housekeeping: voluntary liquidation of subsidiaries
Also in December, The Business Times reported that three Keppel subsidiaries were placed under voluntary liquidation. This was framed as streamlining, rather than a thesis-changing event. [6]
On its own, a liquidation notice rarely moves a mega-cap. But alongside buybacks and divestments, it reinforces the “less clutter, more focus” message investors have been rewarding.
The big 2025 story behind BN4: “New Keppel” and the re-rating cycle
Keppel’s October 9M update is the anchor point for much of the current sell-side narrative.
In its 9M 2025 business update, Keppel said the “New Keppel” (excluding non-core assets slated for divestment and the M1 telco business reclassified as discontinued operations) delivered:
- Net profit up over 25% year-on-year for the New Keppel
- Recurring income up close to 15% year-on-year
- Private funds raised with combined FUM of S$6.7 billion in 9M 2025
- About S$2.4 billion in asset monetisations announced in 9M 2025, including S$1.3 billion tied to the proposed divestment of M1’s telco business
- A shift in dividend framing: payouts to be based on New Keppel’s annual net profit, with some monetisation cash also used to reward shareholders [7]
Reuters’ coverage of the same update put the market reaction bluntly: profit growth and higher recurring income helped push the stock to then-record levels in late October, while Keppel pointed to a pipeline of further monetisation deals. [8]
If you want the punchline of why this matters for the stock: markets typically pay higher valuation multiples for recurring, fee-like earnings than for one-off project gains and legacy industrial cyclicality. Keppel is explicitly trying to move itself into that “asset manager + operator” bucket.
Buybacks: from “nice to have” to a central pillar of the equity story
Keppel’s buyback drumbeat didn’t start in December; it became a headline feature after the company launched a S$500 million share buyback programme in 2025, and it has remained a core talking point in analyst notes since. [9]
By late 2025, The Straits Times reported Keppel had repurchased S$92.6 million worth of shares as at end-September, following the July launch of the programme. [10]
The practical investing takeaway here is not “buybacks are always good” (they aren’t). It’s this:
- Buybacks can support the share price during volatile tape days.
- They can also signal confidence—if the company is not starving growth capital.
- And they become especially meaningful when paired with a credible divestment pipeline that “refills the tank.”
Keppel is trying to run exactly that loop: monetise → recycle → return capital → repeat.
The M1 transaction: still a catalyst, still a potential overhang
Keppel’s broader restructuring has included separating what it wants to keep (“core platforms”) from what it wants to sell (“non-core portfolio for divestment” + select legacy assets).
A major 2025 milestone on that path was Keppel’s announcement that it would sell M1’s mobile business to Simba Telecom, while retaining certain ICT assets (including data centres, connectivity and subsea cable-related infrastructure). Reuters described the deal structure, including an enterprise value of about S$1.43 billion and expected net proceeds around S$1 billion, alongside an accounting loss reported in connection with the divestment. [11]
Why investors keep watching this:
- Completion timing and final economics can influence the pace of special dividends or incremental buybacks.
- The “what Keppel keeps” piece matters for the long-term thesis: keeping digital infrastructure exposure (data centres, subsea cables, power) is a big part of why some brokers have argued for a scarcity premium. [12]
Analyst forecasts and price targets: the street has turned meaningfully more bullish in late 2025
Analyst expectations for Keppel are not monolithic—but they have trended upward through the second half of 2025.
Consensus targets (as of 25.12.2025): still upside, but wide dispersion
One Singapore market site aggregating consensus estimates pegged Keppel’s consensus target price at S$12.455 as of Dec. 25, 2025, implying about ~20% upside versus a S$10.35 share price reference. [13]
Separately, Simply Wall St’s snapshot around Dec. 23 indicated analysts’ average price target near S$10.99, but with a broad high/low range (roughly S$7.80 to S$13.17). [14]
That spread tells you something important: Keppel’s valuation is still model-sensitive, especially around (1) divestment timing and (2) how much of the future earnings base is truly recurring.
JP Morgan’s “New Keppel” call: S$12.50 and a scarcity-premium argument
A widely-cited catalyst for the late-2025 re-rating wave was JP Morgan’s initiation, reported by The Edge Singapore, with a 2026 target price of S$12.50. Their logic: Keppel should be valued more like a global asset manager/operator tied to digital infrastructure (data centres, power, subsea cables) than a traditional conglomerate. [15]
The note also discussed a path toward Keppel’s FUM target of S$200 billion by 2030, and pointed to capital returns via buybacks and rising dividends as part of the equity case. [16]
The November “targets up all-round” moment: UOB and CGS go higher
In early November, after Keppel’s 9M update, The Edge reported analysts lifting target prices broadly—highlighting:
- CGS International revising its target price to S$12.71 (from S$10.23 previously), pointing to drivers including fund management growth, REIT/trust deals, the Bifrost subsea cable system, and earnings contributions from new power assets (including the 600MW Sakra plant). [17]
- UOB Kay Hian raising its target price to S$11.70 (from S$10.85), alongside an explicit framework tying divestment proceeds to higher assumed dividends. [18]
This is the “capital recycling meets shareholder returns” flywheel, again—now embedded in broker models.
Not everyone is max-bullish: Morningstar flagged “fairly valued” earlier in 2025
For balance: earlier in 2025, The Edge also cited Morningstar commentary suggesting Keppel’s then-share price was close to fair value (Morningstar fair value estimate cited as S$8.60 in that context), implying less upside at that time. [19]
Markets moved since then (Keppel traded above S$10 by year-end), but the point remains: if the market price already discounts a smooth divestment-and-growth path, execution risk becomes the whole game.
What investors will watch next in 2026
A few near-term watch items matter more than the usual “macro vibes”:
1) Completion and redeployment of monetisation deals
Keppel’s own 9M update stresses continued monetisation progress and the use of unlocked cash to reward shareholders. The speed and pricing of future deals will influence both cash returns and valuation confidence. [20]
2) Digital infrastructure build-out (data centres + power + subsea cables)
The bull case repeatedly references Keppel’s integrated exposure to power and connectivity as demand for data-centre capacity expands. [21]
3) Dividend policy execution
Keppel has explicitly linked dividends to New Keppel’s annual net profit and hinted that monetisation cash can supplement shareholder rewards. Analysts are already modelling higher payouts; the market will judge follow-through. [22]
4) The next results checkpoint
Third-party market calendars suggest Keppel’s next earnings date is expected in early February 2026 (estimate). That’s typically when guidance language and dividend intent get stress-tested by the Q&A. [23]
Key risks (the un-fun section that keeps portfolios alive)
Even with bullish targets on the Street, Keppel investors still need to track:
- Execution and timing risk on divestments (getting the price you want is one thing; closing on time is another).
- Valuation sensitivity: changes in discount rates and financing costs can swing asset values and the attractiveness of recycling capital.
- Segment cyclicality in real estate and infrastructure operations, especially across multiple geographies.
- Narrative risk: Keppel is being priced increasingly like an asset manager with recurring earnings—if recurring income growth disappoints, the multiple can compress fast.
None of these are exotic. They’re just the ordinary physics of capital-intensive businesses trying to become capital-light.
Bottom line: Keppel stock enters 2026 with momentum—and a higher bar
As of Dec. 25, 2025, Keppel Ltd stock is being pulled by two forces that investors usually like:
- Visible capital returns (ongoing buybacks, and rising dividend expectations), and
- A clearer strategic identity (asset-light manager/operator with digital infrastructure exposure).
The Street’s price targets now cluster well above S$10 in many cases—some as high as the low-to-mid S$12 range—while consensus snapshots still show a wide high/low spread that reflects genuine uncertainty about how cleanly the transformation plays out. [24]
References
1. classic.shareinvestor.com, 2. classic.shareinvestor.com, 3. stockanalysis.com, 4. sginvestors.io, 5. www.businesstimes.com.sg, 6. www.businesstimes.com.sg, 7. www.keppel.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.theedgesingapore.com, 10. www.straitstimes.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.theedgesingapore.com, 13. growbeansprout.com, 14. simplywall.st, 15. www.theedgesingapore.com, 16. www.theedgesingapore.com, 17. www.theedgesingapore.com, 18. www.theedgesingapore.com, 19. www.theedgesingapore.com, 20. www.keppel.com, 21. www.theedgesingapore.com, 22. www.keppel.com, 23. www.gurufocus.com, 24. growbeansprout.com
