The shares of State Bank of India on Monday surged almost 4 per cent to Rs 622 apiece after the largest lender in the country posted its highest quarterly profit over the weekend. The lender posted a surge of 74 per cent in its net profit to Rs 13,264 crore for the quarter ended September, against Rs 7,627 crore in the year-ago period, on the back of robust loan sales, higher interest income and lower provisions. In five days, the stocks of the lender have managed to climb over 6 per cent amidst the volatility in the market.
At least 25 of the 40 brokerages covering the stock have raised their price targets since SBI’s results over the weekend, lifting the median target to Rs 700 from about Rs 660, Refinitiv data showed. The majority of the brokerages have increased their price targets for the lender after SBI declared their results, according to Refinitiv.
SBI reported a “best-in-class” quarter, clocking higher-than-industry credit growth at 20 per cent from a year earlier, Emkay Research said on Sunday. The country’s biggest bank has revised its credit growth outlook to 14-16 per cent for the current financial year driven by strong revival in capex cycle and corporates replacing overseas credit with rupee loans, SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara said, as it is seeing demand from infrastructure, renewable power, oil and marketing companies, and services sectors. The bank had earlier projected FY23 credit growth at 11-12 per cent.
Analysts remain overwhelmingly bullish on the stock, with not one recommending it a “sell”. According to ICICI Securities, SBI’s share price has surged over 2x in the past five years. We believe SBI with its humongous size has reported consistently upbeat performance with this quarter seeing above-par growth in earnings and return ratios. The stock, long due for re-rating, should see a strong positive reaction. Hence, we retain our Buy rating on the stock.
