Global brokerage Jefferies has placed its bets on four stocks, issuing ‘Buy’ ratings with a potential upside of up to 27%. The brokerage remains bullish on select names across sectors including life and general insurance, FMCG, and hospitality, citing resilient margins, improving fundamentals, and growth visibility.
Let’s take a look at the rationale behind each call, as per the brokerage report:
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (IPRU)
Jefferies has reiterated a Buy on ICICI Prudential Life Insurance with a target price of Rs 780. This indicates an upside of 16% from current levels.
ICICI Prudential Life saw its value of new business (VNB) decline by 3% YoY to Rs 5,000 crore in Q1FY26. However, this was still 6% ahead of Jefferies’ expectations.
According to Jefferies, “Improvement in margins was led by shift in product mix towards non-par guaranteed products over ULIPs and strong growth in protection along with increase in average tenure.”
However, the drop in the 13-month persistency ratio, down 370 bps was seen as a concern. The brokerage believes that improving this ratio is critical to maintaining profitability and reducing operational variances, especially after two years of negative surprises.
Jefferies has raised its VNB estimates by 3% for FY26-28 and expects a 16% CAGR in VNB over FY25-28. It values the stock at 1.7x Sep-27 P/EV and maintains a Buy rating with a revised target price of Rs 780.
ICICI Lombard General Insurance
Jefferies has a Buy rating on ICICI Lombard with a revised target price of Rs 2,300 from Rs 2,170 earlier, translating to a 15% upside.
ICICI Lombard delivered a strong 29% YoY growth in Q1FY26 profit at Rs 750 crore.
The general insurer faced muted premium growth (GDPI up just 1%), partly due to weaker motor segment growth. Yet, net earned premium rose 14%, and underwriting ratios remained mostly stable. Jefferies noted in its report that the pricing by PSU insurers in motor insurance remains a challenge.
Still, the brokerage expects 13% earnings CAGR and 18% ROE in FY26, and values the stock at 33x Sep-27E P/E, reiterating its Buy rating with a revised target of Rs 2,300 earlier Rs 2,170.
AWL Agri Business
Jefferies has reaffirmed a Buy on AWL Agri Business, revising its target price slightly downward to Rs 340 from Rs 350, but still projecting the highest upside among the four with a return potential of 27%.
AWL Agri Business Q1 was softer, as expected, with volume declines in both oils and foods. However, the silver lining came in the form of margin resilience, especially in the foods and industry essentials segments.
Jefferies explains: “Profitability was under pressure in edible oils, on the back of import duty reduction. Foods and Industry essentials, however, saw strong margins, which helped cushion weak oils.”
Despite trimming FY26-28 EPS estimates slightly, the brokerage maintains a positive medium-term view, banking on improving palm oil dynamics, internal cost initiatives, and base-led recovery in the coming quarters. It retains its Buy rating with a target of Rs 340 (cut from Rs 350).
ITC Hotels
Jefferies has maintained a Buy rating on ITC Hotels, raising the target price to Rs 270 from Rs 240, indicating an 18% upside.
ITC Hotels surprised the street with a 54% YoY growth in PAT in Q1, driven by strong revenue per available room (RevPAR), improved performance from its Sri Lanka hotel, and strong other income.
Jefferies believes the company’s target to scale over 20,000 keys by 2030 through an asset-light expansion strategy is on track. The brokerage also sees value unlocking from its Sapphire Residences project in Colombo, expected to contribute meaningfully from H2FY26.
“We raise EBITDA estimates by ~4% to factor in Q1 beat and slight increase in RevPAR growth,” Jefferies noted, forecasting EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 15%/23% over FY25-28. The stock is valued at 32x Jun-27 EV/EBITDA.