Brokerage Views: Jefferies, Citi On Kotak Bank, Morgan Stanley On Axis Bank And More

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. are in brokerages' focus. Kotak Mahindra Bank's interest margins can be adversely impacted due to the Reserve Bank of India's recent crackdown. Morgan Stanley maintains 'overweight' rating on Axis Bank after the fourth-quarter results.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..Jefferies maintains 'hold' on Kotak Mahindra Bank with a target price of Rs 1,970 apiece. The RBI has pointed material gaps in digital and security platforms over last two years.Embargos to be reviewed upon audit and resolution.HDFC Bank took nine to 15 months to clear a similar issue.Trim earnings by 1-2% to factor in potential risk..RBI embargo is the most unexpected outcome.Kotak Mahindra Bank was at the forefront of building digitalised ecosystem revamping customer acquisition journey.Incident will adversely impact growth, NIM and fee income.Pace of branch expansion needs to accelerate..Investec maintains 'buy' with a target piece of Rs 2,300 per share.High growth in the past few quarters — both digital account openings and credit cards issued.Higher tech and branch costs can be offset by lower acquisition costs.Marginal impact on earnings due to ban on issuing fresh credit cards.Decline in mix will effectively impact return on assets by 2.4 bps and earnings per share by 1% in FY26.Any price correction will be due to multiple changes; trading at 2x P/B on FY26 basis, the downside is limited..RBI Bars Kotak Mahindra Bank From Issuing New Credit Cards, Adding Customers Online.Maintains 'neutral' rating with a price target of Rs 2,070.The research firm believes resolution could follow 9-15 month timeline.Growth impact should be relatively lower as digital customer balances tend to be low.Bank has a flex in other vertical businesses for growth.Earnings impact is difficult to ascertain at this time.Impact would depend on how long ban lasts.Assuming a 15-month overall timeline, growth impact should be contained..Maintain 'neutral' with a price target of Rs 1,860.RBI ban is a significant setback.Ban on digital onboarding is bound to affect growth over medium-term.Duration of the ban remains key monitorable..Morgan Stanley maintains 'overweight' rating on Axis Bank at Rs 1,450 apiece.Q4 net profit was 19% above brokerage estimates.Core revenue and asset quality surprised positively.Management expects peak funding costs in Q2, assuming no further deposit rate hikesModeration in deposits was owing to Citibank deposits being part of Q4FY23.Management expects loan growth to grow 3-4 percentage points higher than that system.See potential for growth acceleration over the medium term.Valuation at 1.7 times FY25 core Price-to-book ratio is attractive..Axis Bank Q4 Results: Profit Rises 17%, Beats Estimates.Citi maintains 'buy' on Hindustan Unilever at Rs 2,755 target price.Fourth quarter results in line with weak expectations.There were initial signs pointing to eventual performance acceleration. Expects growth as negative pricing could reverse in H2FY25.Company’s self-help initiatives could drive turnaround.Expects near-term demand to improve gradually.Management optimistic of monsoon reviving rural demand.Trims FY24-26 earnings estimates by 2%.Emkay maintains 'add' on Hindustan Unilever at Rs 2,500 target price.Q4 results in line with brokerage estimates. Volume growth led by mid-single-digit growth in homecare.Struggle to revive growth, recoup margin reflected in valuation.Management commentary suggests actions are in place, but with a lag.Concerns on demand slump, inability to drive in-time innovation.Builds 7% sales and 10% earnings CAGR over FY24-26.FY25/26 earnings expectations 5-6% below consensus..HUL Q4 Results: Profit Down 6% At Rs 2,406 Crore, Higher Costs Hurt Margin.Motilal Oswal maintains 'buy' on Voltas at Rs 1,650 target price.Estimates company room-air-conditioner segment market share to have grown to 22%. RAC to be long-term structural play, given low penetration in India.Expects RAC industry to register 15% CAGR over FY24-26Expects RAC sales volumes to rise 25% YoY in FY24.Raise EPS estimates by 20%/16%/11% for FY24/FY25/FY26..Nomura maintains 'reduce' rating on LTI Mindtree with target price Rs 4,170.LTIMindtree noted two client project cancellations in the BFSI vertical.Margin disappoints again in 4QFY24, significant improvement hinges on growth revival.Lower FY24-26F EPS by 4-8%, EPS estimates are 9-12% lower than Bloomberg estimates..Jefferies downgrades LTIMindtree to 'underperform' from 'buy' and cuts target to Rs 3,960 from Rs 5890.Revenue decline led by manufacturing vertical due to cancellation of two BFSI projects.Growth weakness was broad based, except for the top five clients.Management cautious on discretionary IT spends to remain at FY25 levels.Sees limited scope for margin expansion; cuts estimates by 50-100 basis points.Cuts FY25/26 EPS estimates by 7-9% on lower growth and marginsCompany likely to underperform vs larger peers in FY25..LTIMindtree Eyes Healthier Start To FY25 After Q4 Results Disappoint.Citi maintains 'sell on LTIMindtree at Rs 4,165 target price.Lowers FY25E-26 EPS estimates by 4-5%, which remain well below consensus.Headcount down 3.4% YoY despite high utilisations could provide limited visibility.Forward looking revenue indicators look weak; no margin recovery in sight..Maintains 'hold' with target price Rs 5,380 apiece.Persistent decline in margins.Management was slightly more positive on FY25 growth, stayed negative on margins.Capex is guided to remain elevated through FY25-26 at Rs 8-10 billion.Earnings estimate further cut by 3-5%.Valuations are now more moderate than in the past..Citi Research maintains 'neutral' on AU Small Finance Bank, with target price of Rs 646 apiece.Core NIMs moderated to 5.14%; earnings beat led by fee income.Rise in cost of funds by 8 basis points quarter-on-quarter and flat yields on AUM led to NIM moderation..Stock Market Today: All You Need To Know Going Into Trade On April 25

Brokerage Views: Jefferies, Citi On Kotak Bank, Morgan Stanley On Axis Bank And More

Here are all the top calls from the brokerages that you need to know about on Thursday.

Choose a plan