Why LIC Housing Shares Are Crashing Even As Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations

LIC Housing shares slumped close to 5% in early trade on Wednesday breaking the stock’s two-day gaining streak.

What Happened: LIC Housing’s net interest income – the difference between the income a bank makes from its lending activities and the interest it pays to depositors – stood at ₹1,990.3 crore in the March quarter, up 22.1% from the ₹1,630 crore it reported in the same quarter last year.

The company’s net profit came in at ₹1,180.28 crore, up around 5% from the ₹1,118.64 crore profit it booked in the year-ago period. The company’s earnings beat street estimates by a wide margin. Earnings per share for the quarter stood at ₹21.46. The company declared a ₹8.50/share dividend for the year ended March 2023.

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Brokerages had a mixed reaction to the company’s performance. Morgan Stanley maintained its ‘underweight’ rating for the stock with a price target of ₹320. Citi also maintained its ‘sell’ rating for the stock with a price target of ₹360. On the other hand, Jefferies maintained its ‘buy’ rating for the stock with a target price of ₹500. Global brokerage firm CLSA also maintained its ‘buy rating for the stock with a price target of ₹550.

Price Action: LIC Housing shares were down 5.24% to trade at ₹374 per share shortly after markets opened on Wednesday.

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