Brokerage Views: Citi On HDFC Life, Star Health, Morgan Stanley On ONGC And More

Brokerages from Citi Research to Nomura and Goldman Sachs took calls on various companies and sectors on Thursday. Citi Research has upgraded HDFC Life Insurance Co. and maintained its rating on Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Nomura downgrades ABB India to 'neutral' from a 'buy' rating, and Goldman Sachs has initiated coverage of Indian energy stocks.

NDTV Profit is tracking what the brokerages are putting out on specific stocks. Here are all the top calls from the brokerages that you need to know about on Thursday.

Citi On Star Health

Citi Research retains 'sell' on Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. with a target price of Rs 545 apiece.
Despite price hikes across multiple retail product lines, growth remains sluggish.
Trends in distributor payout ratios will remain monitorable amid rapid distribution diversification.
Citi cuts high-growth phase-growth CAGR a notch (1%), leading to target multiple of 24 times the P/E versus 26 times earlier.

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Citi On HDFC Life Insurance

Citi Research upgrades HDFC Life Insurance to 'buy' from 'neutral'.
Expects 25-35% YoY overall APE growth in Q4.
Has underperformed ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co., Max Financial Services Ltd., SBI Life Insurance Co. and Nifty 50 by 22%, 45%, 13% and 10% in one year.
Expect company's efforts to strengthen its agency base in FY24.

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Morgan Stanley On ONGC

Morgan Stanley maintains 'overweight' on ONGC at target price of Rs 304 apiece, implying a 7% upside.
ONGC's outperformance is likely to continue with improved capital allocation.
Stable regulations to support 18-20% return on equity.
Slow ramp-up in domestic production by 2024 flagged with upside from improving earnings.
ONGC provides stable cash flow.

Nomura On ABB

Nomura downgrades ABB India to 'neutral' from 'buy' rating, but raised target price to Rs 6,660 apiece from Rs 5,740 apiece.
Recent stock rally of 54% in past six months warrants rating downgrade.
Raises CY25 earnings by 5% on margins touching 15% by CY26
Structural changes over last three years leading to 14-15% margin trajectory.
Premium valuation to sustain driven by improved margins visibility.

HSBC On ICICI Lombard

HSBC maintains 'buy' on ICICI Lombard. Target unchanged to Rs 1,990 apiece.
Strong premium growth, market share gains
Sharp improvement in combined ratios
Company optimistic on growth on pricing discipline
Company d at P/E of 35-times FY26e EPS

Jefferies on ICICI Lombard

Jefferies maintains 'buy' on ICICI Lombard, with a target price of Rs 1,950 apiece.
Growth in net premiums reflect better underwriting.
Motor and fire see higher improvement in profitability.
Health and commercial lines to lead growth.
Partnership with Policybazaar is positive.

Goldman Sachs On India Clean Energy

Power Grid

Goldman Sachs initiates 'buy' on Power Grid with a target price of Rs 355.
Largest beneficiary of transition linked grid capex, not priced in stock price
Expect it to fund 30% of India's grid capex by FY23E given low debt and strong free cash flow.
Cost of equity reduction led by beta compression expected to drive re-rating

Hitachi Energy India
Initiates 'buy' on Hitachi Energy India ,with a target price of Rs 8,250.
Prefers its positioning as pure upstream manufacturing beneficiary
Expected to benefit from global transmission equipment shortage tailwinds

Schneider Electric Infra
Initiates 'Sell' on Schneider Electric Infra. The target price is Rs 470
Risk-reward unfavourable post 375% stock rally over last 12 months
Expect 18% core earnings CAGR over FY23-40E
Terminal growth of 8% beyond expected growth appear to be priced in

Emkay On Auto, Ancillaries

Emkay Global Financial Services highlights bottoming-out of the small car segment with narrowing decline, as affordability catches up amid steep regulation-led price hikes largely behind.
SUV shift/share has stabilised in the past three quarters at 52-54% levels in PVs, even as underlying trends continue to deteriorate.
The research firm highlights new demand/bookings to have dipped in FY24 vs reported 9% wholesale growth.