Brokerage firms have given a big thumbs up to ICICI Bank’s Q4 performance. Most of them remain bullish on the private lender, citing its strong earnings growth, healthy margins, and improving asset quality despite a tough macro environment.
From Motilal Oswal, Nomura and Nuvama to Jefferies and CLSA – here is what top brokerages are saying after ICICI Bank reported its March quarter results.
CLSA on ICICI Bank: Raises target price, maintains ‘Accumulate’
CLSA also gave a positive view of the bank, raising its target price from Rs 1,600- 1,700 per share. While it maintained an ‘Accumulate’ rating instead of a full ‘Buy’.
Jefferies on ICICI Bank: Stays a top pick
Jefferies echoed a similar sentiment, maintaining a Buy rating and increasing its target price to Rs 1,710 from Rs 1,57. The brokerage underlined the bank’s consistent RoA of over 2%, along with resilient asset quality and solid capital levels, as reasons to stay bullish.
Nuvama on ICICI Bank: ‘Buy’ rating
The brokerage Nuvama has reiterated a ‘Buy’ rating to ICICI Bank, citing strong PPOP and earning delivery. Furthermore, the brokerage house has revised its target price to Rs 1,630/3.2x BV FY26E from Rs 1,470
According to a report, ICICI Bank delivered a “strong beat on NIM, PAT and asset quality” in the fourth quarter of FY25. The brokerage highlighted a 15 basis point jump in core net interest margin (NIM) quarter-on-quarter, significantly ahead of their expectation of just 2 basis points.
Loan growth was at 13% year-on-year, while deposits grew at a healthy 14% YoY. The lender’s credit cost fell from 38 basis points to 27 basis points QoQ, and its profit after tax (PAT) rose 18% YoY and 7% QoQ.
The brokerage firm also noted that slippages declined from 1.9% to 1.6%, and that the asset quality in business banking is turning out to be better than expected, as the bank remained selective and cautious while lending.
Nomura on ICICI Bank: ‘A cut above the rest’
Another brokerage firm, Nomura also maintained its ‘Buy’ call, highlighting sector-leading RoA and asset quality, and raised its target to Rs 1,690 from Rs 1,575.
The brokerage house was equally optimistic about ICICI Bank’s performance, describing Q4FY25 as another robust quarter. The lender reported a PAT of Rs 12,600 crore, which was not only up 18% YoY but also 4% higher than Nomura’s estimate.
“ICICI’s sector-leading delivery across all parameters (asset quality, loan and deposit growth, and RoA) places it a cut above the rest of the sector,” noted the brokerage.
Furthermore, the brokerage pointed out in the report that they do expect net interest margins to decline slightly over the next couple of years owing to repo rate cuts, they still believe ICICI will deliver sector-leading return on assets (RoA) of 2.2–2.3% and return on equity (RoE) of 16–17% during FY26–28.
“We value the core bank at 2.8x Mar-27F BVPS and subsidiaries at Rs 185/share,” the report added.
Motilal Oswal on ICICI Bank: Remains Top sector pick, Ups target price to Rs 1,650
The brokerage firm Motilal Oswal has reiterated its bullish stance on ICICI Bank, calling it its “preferred Buy in the sector” after the lender posted a strong Q4FY25 performance. The firm has raised its target price to Rs 1,650 from earlier levels, valuing the stock at 2.7x FY27E ABV.
According to the brokerage, the private bank’s earnings beat was driven by a significant expansion in net interest margin (NIM), healthy fee income, and contained provisions.
“ICICI Bank remains our preferred Buy in the sector,” Motilal Oswal said in its report. “We upgrade our earnings estimates by 2.5%/4.2% for FY26/FY27 on the back of positive NIM surprise and controlled credit costs.”
According to the brokerage, ICICI Bank’s loan book remained healthy with net advances growing 13.3% YoY and 2.1% QoQ, while domestic net advances rose 13.9% YoY. Deposit growth remained strong at 14% YoY and 5.9% QoQ, with average CASA ratio stable at 38.4%.
The brokerage house further added that it expects the bank to deliver a return on assets (RoA) of 2.3% and return on equity (RoE) of 17.5% in FY27.
ICICI share performance
Post the Q4 results, share price of ICICI Bank rose over 1.5% in early trade on Monday. The stock was seen trading at Rs 1,427 at 9:20 am.