** Analysts at Jefferies lower price target on Australia's Nickel Industries NIC.AX to A$0.65 from A$0.80; maintain "hold" rating on stock
** The Indonesia-focussed miner slumped nearly 30% on Tuesday after reports that Indonesia is mulling raising royalties paid by mining companies from commodities like coal, nickel and copper, among others
** Brokerage says the proposed changes to Indonesia's royalty structure would see a drop of 15% in long-term earnings from current NIC projects
** Heightened geopolitical and policy instability has eroded our confidence in NIC's earnings visibility and growth outlook, says brokerage
** Jefferies flags that decreased visibility on project earnings outlook and increased policy volatility could see reduced investment in Indonesia nickel supply
** Increasing risk of working capital build, soft nickel prices and decreasing liquidity over 2025 are near-term headwinds — Jefferies
** Stock down 26.7% YTD
(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru)
((Rishav.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com))