LIC Shares Surge 4% Following Q4 PAT Results

Shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the insurance giant, witnessed a nearly 4 per cent increase to Rs 615.6 in Thursday's intraday trading on the BSE. This surge followed LIC's announcement of a standalone net profit of Rs 13,428 crore for the quarter ending in March, representing a significant growth of 466 per cent compared to the same quarter last year. 

Nevertheless, LIC witnessed an 8 per cent decrease in its net premium income, which amounted to Rs 1.31 lakh crore in the March quarter. This figure is in contrast to the Rs 1.43 lakh crore recorded in the same quarter of the previous year. Additionally, LIC's first-year premium for the reporting quarter stood at Rs 12,811 crore, showing a decrease of 12 per cent compared to the year-ago quarter. 

On the positive side, income from investments saw a slight increase, reaching Rs 67,846 crore for the January-March period, compared to Rs 67,498 crore in the same period last year. Net commission during the quarter rose by five per cent to Rs 8,428 crore, surpassing the previous year's figure of Rs 7,996 crore. Nonetheless, over the entire fiscal year, LIC experienced a 10 per cent decrease in profit, reaching Rs 36,397 crore, in contrast to the Rs 40,431 crore reported in fiscal year 2022. 

The company's board has recommended a final dividend of Rs three per equity share for the year ended March 2023. As of 1:08 pm, the stock was trading 1.52 per cent higher at Rs 602.6 on the BSE. Year-to-date, the stock has declined by 15 per cent, while it has dropped by 26 per cent over the past year. 

According to data, the average target price for LIC is Rs 798, indicating a potential upside of 32 per cent from the current market prices. The consensus recommendation from 15 analysts is to buy the stock, with 12 analysts giving strong buy and buy ratings, and three holding ratings.