ICICI Bank Shares Touch Record High

Shares of ICICI Bank have been trading at all-time highs of $885, and brokerages anticipate further gains as they continue to be bullish on the bank stock following the publication of its annual report. According to analysts, ICICI Bank's annual report supports their belief that the bank is making good headway toward strengthening its balance sheet with a strong emphasis on the retail franchise. 

The performance of ICICI Bank has been good, driven by stable asset quality, limited provisioning, and a strong core PPOP. Margin expansion is being aided by a balanced combination of a high yielding portfolio (Retail/Business Banking) and a low-cost liabilities franchise.

"We anticipate RoA/RoE to improve to 2.1%/17.1% by FY24 due to asset quality continuing to hold strong, loan growth becoming more diverse, and margins likely to increase as a result of the recent RBI rate hikes. With a SoTP-based target price of $1,050, we maintain our Buy rating, according to Motilal Oswal. Its top stock selection in the banking industry is still ICICI Bank. According to ICICI Bank's FY22 annual report, the cost of PSL compliance on agri-loans is significant due to a jump in the NPL percentage to 5.3% and a doubling of PSL costs (4% of PBT).