ICICI Bank share price hits record high today, gains 9.5% from June 4 low

ICICI Bank share price hits record high: ICICI Bank share price hit a record high of Rs 1,175.7 apiece on the BSE on Monday, after it gained 1.5 per cent in the intraday trade. With today's gain, ICICI Bank share price has surged 9.5 per cent from its June 4 low of Rs 1,073 per share.

By comparison, the benchmark BSE Sensex has added 7.4 per cent from its June 4 low of 72,079.

Over the past one year, ICICI Bank share price has leaped around 25 per cent, helping the private lender take its market capitalisation (m-cap) to Rs 8.21 trillion. The BSE benchmark, meanwhile, has risen over 20 per cent in one year.

ICICI Bank share price hit a 52-week low of Rs 899 on October 26, 2023, while it hit a record low of Rs 3.82 on February 9, 1999.

ICICI Bank has been consistently outpacing system credit growth, driven by higher growth in retail and SME segments, while the wholesale growth remains modest. With a focus on building a diversified and granular portfolio, ICICI Bank reported a 17 per cent CAGR in loans over FY22-24.

The bank has adopted data analytics-driven processes for onboarding, credit assessment, and customer monitoring. The share of unsecured loans (credit cards + personal loans) now stands at around 14 per cent of the total portfolio. A major proportion of loans in this portfolio are extended to existing customers, with a notable preference toward the salaried segment.

Looking ahead, the bank expects to focus on risk-calibrated core pre-provision profit, along with the burgeoning activity in SME, business banking and retail, which will drive overall growth, believe analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

On the deposit front, ICICI Bank delivered industry-leading deposit growth of 20 per cent in FY24, aided by continuous improvements in digital platforms and the simplification of processes to provide a seamless banking experience to customers.

That apart, ICICI Bank has been taking steps to augment its retail deposit base amid a moderation in CASA mix to 42.2 per cent in the previous fiscal year.

The management intends to maintain a healthy and stable deposit profile to keep funding cost in control. The conservative LDR of 82.3 per cent on the domestic book places the

bank well among large private banks to pursue loan growth, as per analysts.

"Over the past one year, margins have corrected by 50bp to 4.4 per cent; however, the pace of NIM compression has moderated sharply with a tiny 3bp Q-o-Q decline in margins in Q4FY24. The bank expects margins to remain range-bound with a slight downside bias in the near-term due to elevated term deposit rates (recently raised rates by 10bp) and residual repricing of its TD portfolio," MOFSL said.

"ICICI Bank is well positioned to deliver a superior performance characterised by healthy loan growth, strong asset quality and industry-leading return ratios. While we estimate margins to remain range-bound in the near term, the operating leverage is emerging as a lever to support earnings growth. The bank is witnessing healthy deposit inflow, while a benign credit-to-deposit (CD) ratio (lowest among large private banks) places it well to focus on profitable growth," MOFSL added.

The brokerage estimates ICICI Bank to deliver a PPoP/net profit growth at a CAGR of 16.7 per cent/13.7 per cent over FY24-26E, leading to RoA/RoE of 2.2 per cent/17.7 per cent. It has a 'Buy' rating with a target price of Rs 1,350.