ICICI Group Stocks: Up to 60% return potential in these 3 shares — Do you own them?

Brokerages have maintained a broadly positive stance on ICICI Group stocks, with upside potential seen in both ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company, despite some near-term challenges flagged by analysts.

ICICI Prudential Life: Positive Bias Despite Cuts

For ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, most global brokerages continue to recommend the stock, even as they trimmed target prices in some cases due to weak growth metrics and return ratios.

Add Zee Business as a Preferred Source

Brokerage Actions and Target Price Changes

Nomura upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’, while cutting its target price to Rs 680 from Rs 740. Citi maintained its ‘buy’ rating and raised the target price to Rs 885 from Rs 875, implying a potential upside of over 60 per cent from the current market price of Rs 546.

JP Morgan maintained its ‘overweight’ stance but reduced the target price to Rs 670 from Rs 730. Jefferies also maintained a ‘buy’ rating and increased the target to Rs 670 from Rs 655.

Growth Outlook and Key Concerns

HSBC retained a ‘buy’ rating with a target price of Rs 690, citing inexpensive valuations and expectations of growth recovery. The brokerage said growth is likely to pick up with steady margins, but added that volatility due to assumption changes needs to be reduced for further re-rating.

Morgan Stanley maintained ‘overweight’ with a target price of Rs 670, noting that the value of new business (VNB) and margins beat estimates, supported by strong retail protection and favourable yield curves. However, it flagged concerns about persistence and operating variance.

Mixed Views on Performance Metrics

UBS maintained a ‘neutral’ stance with a target price of Rs 760, highlighting strong growth in retail protection and margin expansion. It said annual premium equivalent (APE) growth remained modest at 2 per cent year-on-year, while VNB rose 11 per cent.

Macquarie retained a ‘neutral’ rating with a target price of Rs 710. It highlighted weak growth across key metrics, including APE, VNB, embedded value (EV), return on EV (RoEV), and persistency, in FY26. It added that the outlook for FY27 remains uncertain due to a lack of guidance.

Bernstein maintained ‘market perform’ with a target price of Rs 720. It said new business profit growth in the fourth quarter was strong, although topline momentum remained modest. The brokerage added that margins were supported by product mix shifts, operational efficiencies, and favourable yield movements.

ICICI Prudential AMC: Strong Franchise Momentum

For ICICI Prudential AMC, brokerages remained largely positive, citing strong franchise momentum, market share gains, and stable inflows, even as mark-to-market losses impacted reported earnings.

UBS maintained a ‘buy’ rating and raised its target price to Rs 3,900 from Rs 3,320, indicating an upside of around 16 per cent from the current market price of Rs 3,353. It said core performance remained strong and margins are improving, despite near-term yield headwinds.

HSBC also maintained ‘buy’ and increased its target price to Rs 3,800 from Rs 3,600. It said earnings outperformance is likely over FY27-29, supported by market share gains, operating leverage, and yield improvement.

Citi retained a ‘buy’ rating with a target price of Rs 3,900. It said core profit before tax was largely in line, while lower employee expenses supported profitability. It added that flow trends remain strong and product expansion into alternatives could drive future growth.

Jefferies maintained ‘buy’ and raised its target price to Rs 3,770 from Rs 3,600, citing lower expenses and resilient performance. It said the stock could act as a defensive play in volatile markets, supported by lower exposure to small- and mid-cap segments.

CLSA maintained ‘accumulate’ and increased its target price to Rs 3,730 from Rs 3,500. It said quarterly profit was impacted by mark-to-market losses, but operating performance remained steady. It highlighted strong growth in average assets under management (AUM), which rose 26 per cent year-on-year to Rs 11 trillion.

Morgan Stanley maintained ‘equal weight’ with a target price of Rs 3,320, indicating limited upside. It said operating revenue was in line with expectations, but valuations appear full at current levels.

ICICI Lombard: Divergent Views Continue

Brokerages see divergent potential in ICICI Lombard General Insurance, with Citi indicating a downside of about 6 per cent from its target price of Rs 1,700 compared to the current market price of Rs 1,813.

In contrast, HSBC sees an upside of around 26 per cent, with a target price of Rs 2,200 against the current level of Rs 1,750, reflecting a more positive outlook on the stock.

Brokerages noted that mutual fund inflows, including systematic investment plans and lump-sum investments, have remained strong, supporting AUM growth despite volatile market conditions.