Shares of SBI Life Insurance Company jumped over 5% to hit their 52-week high of Rs 1,434 in Friday’s trade on the NSE. The gains were following Morgan Stanley’s overweight stance on the counter for a price target of Rs 1,650.
In a note, the US-based brokerage underlined management commentary that maintained the company’s APE (annual premium equivalent) growth guidance at 18-20% while pegging 28-30% growth in its VNB (Value of New Businesses) margin guidance. It further said that there was nothing on the table as of now about the risk of an increase in commission payouts to parent SBI.
With today’s rally, the stock has remained unbeaten in the last four trading sessions.
The SBI Life shares are trading above their 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMA).
At 56.7 and 65.5, momentum indicators RSI and MFI are in the medium range and indicate a potential upside. The stock has also traded with considerable stability with a 1-year beta of 0.2.
SBI Life’s net profit rose by a marginal 0.8% to Rs 380 crore in the quarter ended September 2023, compared with Rs 377 crore in the year-ago period.
Net premium income during the second quarter increased 22% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 20,050 crore. It was Rs 16,477 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The insurer saw strong growth in individual new business premiums at 20% to Rs 10,170 crore in the first half of the current fiscal. New business premium (NBP) grew 24% to Rs 16,260 crore in the same period, aided by 28% growth in single premium business.
Protection new business premium jumped 25% to Rs 2,000 crore in H1FY24 due to growth in group protection business of 34%.
Gross Written Premium (GWP) during the first rose 21% to Rs 33,730 crore, mainly due to 28% growth in single premium and 17% growth in renewal premium.
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