Macquarie raises PT for Australia's South32 on improved near-term forecast

** Analysts at Macquarie raise price target for Australia's South32 S32 by 7% to A$3; maintain 'neutral' rating

** Macquarie says diversified miner's first quarter production was mixed as alumina, aluminium, copper and manganese exceeded expectations, while zinc missed estimates

** South32 on Tuesday reported Q1 manganese production of 1.4 mln wet metric tons (wmt), more than double the previous year after recovery in operations

** Brokerage upgrades S32's earnings outlook by 4-9% for FY26-FY28

** Adds unlikely power supply agreement at Mozal Aluminium in Mozambique will pose a downside risk to consensus as it could be placed on care and maintenance by March 2026

** Eight out of 16 analysts rate the stock 'hold', five rate 'buy' and three rate 'strong buy'; median PT at A$3.3, according to data compiled by LSEG

** S32 falls 2.9% to A$3.17; down 6.9% YTD