Axis Bank’s retail growth, excess provisions make analysts bullish

Mumbai: Brokerages have raised target prices on Axis Bank by as much as 28 per cent despite the bank reporting a decline in net profit for the December quarter.The bank’s cushion on identified stress assets, low restructuring and retail loan growth have prompted analysts to remain bullish. Shares of Axis Bank ended up 6.2 per cent at Rs 670.85 on Thursday.The lender reported a 36 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 1,117 crore for the quarter due to higher provisioning.Edelweiss, Kotak Institutional Equities, Jefferies, Bank of America Securities and HSBC have maintained their buy ratings while Macquarie and Credit Suisse have retained ‘outperform’.80518514CLSA raised its target price on the stock to Rs 1,000 — the highest among top brokerages — from Rs 850.“The bank has 75 per cent coverage of pro-forma NPAs and +60 per cent coverage of non-NPA stress making the bank the best provided against any potential stress and should lead to credit cost normalisation in FY22 itself,” said CLSA.Axis Bank’s gross NPA for the quarter stood at 3.44 per cent, lower than 4.18 per cent in the September quarter.Edelweiss, which raised target price by 28 per cent to Rs 770, said excess provisioning and capital raise will go a long way in increasing perceived equity sanctity.

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