 "ICICI Lombard")
Shares of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company soared up to 14 per cent to Rs 1,256.70 on the BSE in Monday’s intra-day trade after ICICI Bank announced its plan to increase 4 per cent stake in the company. ICICI Bank would acquire at least 2.5 per cent stake out of the above planned 4 per cent before September 9, 2024. This removes a key overhang on the stock.
The board of directors of ICICI Bank approved an increase in shareholding in ICICI Lombard, in multiple tranches up to 4 per cent additional shareholding as permissible under applicable law, to ensure compliance with the Section 19(2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and make ICICI Lombard, a subsidiary of ICICI Bank, subject to receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, the company said in an exchange filing.
On March 10, 2023, ICICI Lombard had informed about an extension in timeline granted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for divesting ICICI Bank’s shareholding in ICICI Lombard to less than 30 per cent of the company’s paid up capital till September 9, 2024. As on March 31, 2023, ICICI Bank held 48.02 per cent in the Company.
"ICICI Bank's decision to increase its stake in ICICI Lombard was followed by RBI's approval for HDFC Bank to increase its stake in its insurance arm before the merger. However, ICICI Bank will require RBI approval for the same," ICICI Securities said in a note.
“Going ahead, growth in the motor segment is likely to be back ended with the company waiting for the rationalization of pricing in the OD segment. On the health segment, the benefits of price hike and improving efficiency of the agency channel should translate into improved profitability. Synergy benefits from Bharti AXA merger (technology related), scale benefits, and improvement in mix on health business (higher share of retail health) should aid in improving the combined ratio and RoE over the next couple of years,” Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in company update. The brokerage firm retained its BUY rating and target price of Rs 1,400 (29x FY25E).
Technical View
Bias: Negative
Resistance: Rs 1,207; Rs 1,282
Support: Rs 1,163; Rs 1,102
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The stock has been trading with a negative bias for quite some time. However, today's sharp rally saw the stock spurt and reach within 100-DMA (Daily Moving Average) resistance at Rs 1,282.
Presently, the stock is seen testing the resistance around the super trend line at Rs 1,207. The stock needs to sustain and close above the same, for further gains to emerge and the trend to turn favourable.
On the flip side, in case, the stock fails to sustain above Rs 1,207, it could dip towards the nearest support at Rs 1,163 - the 50-DMA. The 20-DMA support for the stock stands at Rs 1,102.
(With inputs from Rex Cano)
