Brokerage Views: Citi On HDFC Life, Star Health, Morgan Stanley On ONGC And More

Brokerages from Citi Research to Nomura and Goldman Sachs took calls on various companies and sectors on Thursday. Citi Research has upgraded HDFC Life Insurance Co. and maintained its rating on Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Nomura downgrades ABB India to 'neutral' from a 'buy' rating, and Goldman Sachs has initiated coverage of Indian energy stocks.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..Citi Research retains 'sell' on Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. with a target price of Rs 545 apiece.Despite price hikes across multiple retail product lines, growth remains sluggish.Trends in distributor payout ratios will remain monitorable amid rapid distribution diversification.Citi cuts high-growth phase-growth CAGR a notch (1%), leading to target multiple of 24 times the P/E versus 26 times earlier..Vodafone Idea FPO: GQG, Fidelity And Redwheel Funds Top Investors .Citi Research upgrades HDFC Life Insurance to 'buy' from 'neutral'.Expects 25-35% YoY overall APE growth in Q4.Has underperformed ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co., Max Financial Services Ltd., SBI Life Insurance Co. and Nifty 50 by 22%, 45%, 13% and 10% in one year.Expect company's efforts to strengthen its agency base in FY24..Nestle Uses Excess Sugar In Baby Food Products, Especially In Developing Countries: Report.Morgan Stanley maintains 'overweight' on ONGC at target price of Rs 304 apiece, implying a 7% upside.ONGC's outperformance is likely to continue with improved capital allocation.Stable regulations to support 18-20% return on equity.Slow ramp-up in domestic production by 2024 flagged with upside from improving earnings.ONGC provides stable cash flow..Nomura downgrades ABB India to 'neutral' from 'buy' rating, but raised target price to Rs 6,660 apiece from Rs 5,740 apiece.Recent stock rally of 54% in past six months warrants rating downgrade.Raises CY25 earnings by 5% on margins touching 15% by CY26Structural changes over last three years leading to 14-15% margin trajectory.Premium valuation to sustain driven by improved margins visibility..HSBC maintains 'buy' on ICICI Lombard. Target unchanged to Rs 1,990 apiece.Strong premium growth, market share gainsSharp improvement in combined ratiosCompany optimistic on growth on pricing discipline Company valued at P/E of 35-times FY26e EPS.Jefferies maintains 'buy' on ICICI Lombard, with a target price of Rs 1,950 apiece.Growth in net premiums reflect better underwriting. Motor and fire see higher improvement in profitability. Health and commercial lines to lead growth.Partnership with Policybazaar is positive.. Power GridGoldman Sachs initiates 'buy' on Power Grid with a target price of Rs 355.Largest beneficiary of transition linked grid capex, not priced in stock priceExpect it to fund 30% of India's grid capex by FY23E given low debt and strong free cash flow.Cost of equity reduction led by beta compression expected to drive re-rating Hitachi Energy India Initiates 'buy' on Hitachi Energy India ,with a target price of Rs 8,250.Prefers its positioning as pure upstream manufacturing beneficiary Expected to benefit from global transmission equipment shortage tailwinds Schneider Electric Infra Initiates 'Sell' on Schneider Electric Infra. The target price is Rs 470 Risk-reward unfavourable post 375% stock rally over last 12 monthsExpect 18% core earnings CAGR over FY23-40ETerminal growth of 8% beyond expected growth appear to be priced in.Emkay Global Financial Services highlights bottoming-out of the small car segment with narrowing decline, as affordability catches up amid steep regulation-led price hikes largely behind. SUV shift/share has stabilised in the past three quarters at 52-54% levels in PVs, even as underlying trends continue to deteriorate. The research firm highlights new demand/bookings to have dipped in FY24 vs reported 9% wholesale growth..Reliance Industries Ltd. is likely to consider the IPO of Jio Platforms.Telecom sector to see two tariff hike rounds in next three years.Raise Jio Platforms EV (RIL stake) to $104 billion from $96 billion.Assume 150 bps lower steady state RMS for Jio..Stock Market Today: All You Need To Know Going Into Trade On April 18

Brokerage Views: Citi On HDFC Life, Star Health, Morgan Stanley On ONGC And More

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

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