Shares of HDFC Bank, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank rose between 2-6% on Monday after the private lenders announced better than expected results over the weekend. Yes Bank surged 6% while HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank each rose 2% during intraday trade. Buoyed by strong results in Q4, brokerages raised the price targets for these stocks as they are expected to maintain healthy loan growth in the current fiscal.
Jefferies expects HDFC Bank’s credit growth to be supported by lower loan-to-deposit ratio correction. “We feel bank’s loan growth will continue to improve over FY26 and FY27 as we expect bank’s deposit growth to stay healthy at 16%,” the brokerage said. At close, Yes Bank shares were 4% higher at Rs 18.82, HDFC Bank’s at Rs 1,922.05, up 1% while ICICI Bank’s shares was flat at Rs 1,409.40 at the NSE on Monday. Shares of both HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank hit new all-time highs on Monday. Owing to strong performance by these banks, the Bank Nifty rose 1.87% to close at a record high of 55,304.50.
Macquarie has retained its outperform rating on HDFC Bank, stating that the lender’s Q4 net profit was in line with its estimates. While other income came in below expectations, the impact was offset by stronger margins, with net interest margins rising 11 basis points sequentially to 3.54%, the brokerage noted.
Beating analysts’ estimates, HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private lender, on Saturday announced a 6.7 % year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 17, 616 crore in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year, helped by a healthy growth in interest income.
Similarly, ICICI Bank reported an 18% rise in net profit for the fourth quarter at Rs 12,630 crore, led by strong growth in interest and other income. Yes Bank’s net profit rose 63% to Rs 738.12 crore in the January-March quarter aided by fall in provisions.
CLSA said that ICICI Bank’s pre-provision operating profit and profit after tax exceeded its estimates. It reiterated its ‘outperform’ rating on the stock, increasing the target price from Rs 1,600 to Rs 1,700.
“ICICI Bank delivered yet another strong quarter, prioritising profitability over growth,” it said. It added that ICICI Bank’s asset quality remained intact, with improved slippage ratios and corporate recovery benefiting the bank.
Brokerages expect Yes Bank’s net interest margin to expand in the coming quarters. “Gross slippages moderated to 2 % annualised. We appreciate Yes’ improving operating performance and see return on assets rising from 0.6 % in FY25 to 0.9 % in FY26 and hitting the 1 % mark in FY27, benefitting from NIM expansion and muted credit costs,” ICICI Securities said.