Axis Bank share price tanked 1.86% to Rs 865.05 today after the bank posted a loss of Rs 5,728.42 crore in the January-March quarter due to the acquisition of Citibank India’s consumer business. The bank’s net interest income grew 33% on-year to Rs 11,742 crore, while the net interest margin (NIM) jumped 73 bps on-year to 4.22%. The board of directors of the bank has recommended a dividend of Rs 1 per share for FY23.
Stock call: Should you buy, hold or sell Axis Bank stocks?
Motilal Oswal: Buy – Target Price: Rs 1100
“Asset quality continued to improve with moderation in slippages and healthy trends in recoveries and upgrades. The restructured book was controlled, which coupled with a higher provisioning buffer provided comfort on credit cost. We expect AXSB to deliver an RoA/RoE of 1.9%/18.1% in FY25. Reiterate BUY with a TP of INR1,100,” said analysts at Motilal Oswal.
Emkay: Buy – Target Price: Rs 1225
“After a sharp dip in RoA to a low of 0.8% due to the hit on Citi’s portfolio acquisition in FY23, we expect the bank to report 1.8% RoA/18% RoE (inflated due to Citi’s acquisition goodwill w-off) on a merged basis (without factoring any equity dilution) over FY24-26E, owing to better growth/moderation in operational cost. We retain our BUY rating with a revised TP of Rs1,225, valuing the bank at 2x its FY25E ABV + subs’ valuation of Rs80,” said analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd.