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Shares of HDFC Life Insurance Company fell as much as 4% to Rs 581 in Friday's intraday trading on BSE after the March quarter results.The company reported a 14% growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 412 crore for the quarter ended March 2024. It was Rs 362 crore in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, the net premium income for the same period increased by 5% to Rs 20,534 crore as against Rs 19,469 crore in the last year period.Despite the budget changes impacting high ticket-sized businesses this year, the company delivered an APE growth of 20% for Q4 after adjusting for the one-off business of Rs 1,000 crore in March 2023.The company's stated aspiration of double-digit growth for the full year was achieved with us clocking an 11% APE growth for FY24, on a normalised basis. HDFC Life clocked an individual APE growth of 1% on an unadjusted basis during the reporting quarter. Read full earnings report hereShould you buy, sell or hold HDFC Life's stock? Here's what analysts sayCitigroup (Buy)Citigroup maintained a buy rating on HDFC Life but slashed the target to Rs 710 from Rs 720 earlier.It is a good medium-term stock pick, but near-term headwinds are likely to persist. The management sounded cautious about product pricing owing to elevated competition.Agency productivity improvement can surprise positively.JM Financial (Buy)JM Financial maintained its Buy rating on HDFC Life with an unchanged target price of Rs 819."We reiterate that HDFC Life has ably faced multiple headwinds, coming in from taxation on higher ticket policies, bloated costs due to Exide Life acquisition and competition in parent banca, while the stock has derated on concerns of strict regulations and HDFC Bank bringing its shareholding to below 50%. With their evolved product suite, we expect the company to deliver consistent topline growth, and improve VNB margins over FY25-FY26," it said.Motilal Oswal (Neutral)Motilal Oswal reiterated its Neutral rating on HDFC Life with a target price of Rs 670."We have cut our APE growth and VNB margins assumptions based on 4QFY24 performance and the guidance. We now estimate HDFCLIFE to deliver ~16% VNB CAGR over FY24-26 and margin to be steady in the range of 26-27%," Motilal said.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Shares of Bajaj Auto fell 3% at Rs 8,753 on Friday after the two-wheeler major reported a standalone net profit of Rs 1,936 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, which was up by over 35% from Rs 1,432.88 crore reported by the company in the year-ago period.The standalone revenue for the reported quarter stood at Rs 11,484.68 crore, up 30% from Rs 8,904.72 crore reported in the corresponding period of the last financial year.The revenue clocked an all-time high of Rs 44,685 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2024, up 23% year-on-year (YoY), arising from the record sales of both vehicles and spares, the company filing said.The company has also announced a dividend of Rs 80 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2024.Also read: Bajaj Auto Q4 Results: PAT jumps 35% YoY to Rs 1,936 croreHere’s what brokerages say on Q4 results:Kotak Institutional EquitiesOn the backing of higher average selling price (ASP) assumptions, higher gross margins, driven by a richer product mix and lower share count due to buyback, the brokerage firm maintains its ‘sell’ rating on Bajaj Auto by raising their target price by 4-5% at Rs 6,200.Overall, the domestic 2-wheeler industry volumes are expected to increase at a CAGR of 8-9% over FY25-26, driven by strong growth in the 125 cc segment and pick-up in EV volumes. However, the export 2-wheeler segment’s volume recovery is likely to fall below expectations.JP MorganJPMorgan maintained an overweight rating on Bajaj Auto but raised the target price to Rs 10,000 from Rs 8900 earlier.The company is preparing for another year of outperformance. Improving export outlook with differentiated strategy across markets. EV volume momentum can continue to support re-rating. The global investment bank expects domestic market share to be supported by new Pulsars, CNG motorcycles and more launches in Triumph.Nuvama WealthNuvama maintains its ‘buy’ call with an unchanged target price of Rs 10,340 as a strong rural demand, positive urban demand, new products, better finance availability and a favorable base effect to drive a domestic volume improvement (8% CAGR over FY24–26E) is anticipated.The upcoming launches in the premium and electric space should support volumes. The company is also launching a CNG-powered motorcycle in Jun24, with 50% lower running cost, targeting the 100–125cc segment. Successful launch of this product can provide upside to volume estimates.Motilal OswalThe brokerage firm has reiterated its ‘neutral’ stance on Bajaj Auto with a revised target of Rs 8,360.As per estimates, while Bajaj Auto is likely to outperform the domestic motorcycles segment led by its healthy launch pipeline, the export outlook still remains uncertain given the geopolitical headwinds in key markets.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

As polling for the seven-phase-long Lok Sabha election began from today, Dalal Street's 9 crore investors would be closely tracking the mood of 96.8 crore voters spread across India. Ahead of the voting for the first phase, Sensex has given up almost all of its gains made in 2024 after rewarding investors with a 20% upside last year.Typically, the market starts pricing in the impact of the election several months before but remains flattish during the elections. Dalal Street's pre-election rally started on December 4th 2023 when the Sensex rallied by 1384 points in response to the state election results which saw BJP retaining power in Madhya Pradesh and wrestling Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the opposition."Sensex and Nifty will likely remain range-bound till the time the first 3-4 phases of voting is over in the next one month. After that, smart money will start building positions in anticipation of the outcome of the election. Investors won't wait till the results are announced to go long or short," Sunny Agrawal, Head of Fundamental Research at SBIC Securities told ETMarkets.For the next one month, therefore, he expects stock-specific action based on Q3 results and earnings, but any large upside or downside looks limited"The outcome of the election is already priced in. The dip we have seen in recent days is predominantly due to external factors related to rising crude oil prices and FPI outflows because of rising bond yields and amendment in India-Mauritius tax treaty," Agrawal said, adding that the volatility is purely driven by liquidity issues.Another positive factor during the election season is the hope of a good monsoon with the Indian Meteorological Department predicting above average rainfall this year.Also read | Chote Miyan charm! 32 smallcap stocks just became more popular with mutual fundsAlthough seemingly unrelated to the election cycle, the FPI behaviour in the last few days isn't a good sign. In the last 4 trading sessions, foreigners have sold Indian stocks worth nearly Rs 20,000 crore. As a result, Sensex has also fallen 2,500 points during the period.“We would expect a dip in markets in the months post elections in line with what we have seen most election cycles after 1999. However, we believe inflation is being well managed, and the expected rate cuts, coupled with a likely yet unprecedented third term of this popular government should provide a sustainable boost to markets after that,” Aniruddh Madhusudan of Haitong Securities said.The analyst draws parallel from the 2019 Lok Sabha election where the BJP remained in power as expected, though with a much stronger showing than predicted."Markets remained elevated post the elections, but then quickly dropped to pre-election levels before soaring once again. We would use this particular instance to guide us as the macro scenario retains many of the same characteristics. A proven incumbent, the likelihood of a declining interest rate environment, and the country coming off the drought effects of an El Nino," Madhusudan said.Which stocks to buy?Citing the structural growth opportunity in Indian equities, JPMorgan has told clients to make use of any dips during the election cycle. "Long-term investors could be at least ‘neutral’ relative to the benchmark, and a strategic ‘overweight’ is warranted in our view," the brokerage has said.Going by promises made in BJP's election manifesto, brokerages see opportunities in railways, defence, auto, pharma, affordable housing and hotels.Stocks that have been listed as potential beneficiaries by various brokerages include HUDCO, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, SAIL, UltraTech, Ambuja Cements, Titagarh, Texmaco, Tata Motors, M&M, Olectra, JBM Auto, Ashok Leyland, Motherson, Sona BLW, GRSE, Mazagon Dock, L&T, Bharat Dynamics and HAL.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)