Shares of IDFC First Bank experienced a 4.6 percent decline on Thursday, June 22, following a remarkable period of delivering multi-bagger returns of 160 percent over the past year.
There has been a speculation recently regarding the bank's inclusion in the MSCI Standard Index, which has contributed to the upward momentum of its shares over the past month.
Industry experts suggest that IDFC First Bank may potentially enter the index during the upcoming MSCI review scheduled for August 2023, driven by its exceptional performance.
During Thursday’s trade, the stock opened at a price of Rs. 81.90 per share, negative against the previous close of Rs. 82.20 and dropped further during the early trading session to touch an intraday low of Rs. 78.
It was trading at ₹78.40, down by 4.62 percent, at 11:20 a.m. on the NSE.
The stock touched a 52-week high of Rs. 84.50 on June 19, 2023 and a 52-week low of Rs. 28.95 on June 22, 2022, indicating that at the current level, the stock is trading over 170 percent above its 52-week low and just 7.2 percent below its 52-week high.
The stock has grown over 18 percent in the last one month. Moreover, in the past six months, it has increased by nearly 38 percent. Furthermore, the stock yielded a positive return of almost 87 percent in the last five years.
During the fourth quarter of the financial year 2023, IDFC First Bank experienced robust earnings growth. The bank's customers' deposits and loan books remained strong, leading to a significant increase in net interest income (NII). In comparison to Q4FY22, the NII surged by 35% year-on-year, reaching ₹36 billion in Q4FY23 from ₹26.7 billion.
Furthermore, IDFC First Bank achieved a net profit that more than doubled, reaching a record high of ₹8.1 billion in a single quarter. This remarkable growth was driven by the healthy expansion of the bank's lending book and successful deposit mobilization efforts.
In other developments, Madhivanan Balakrishnan was appointed as the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of IDFC First Bank on Wednesday following the RBI's approval.
The bank confirmed in an official statement that Balakrishnan's promotion was recommended by the nomination and remuneration committee, with a proposed tenure of three years.
IDFC First Bank received a downgrade from CLSA, a brokerage firm, as one of their analysts changed their rating from 'buy' to 'underperform'. Along with the downgrade, CLSA also assigned a price target of Rs. 85.00 per share.
IDFC First Bank Limited is an India-based banking company and includes treasury, corporate/wholesale banking and retail banking segments. The company operates approximately 596 branches and over 677 automated teller machines (ATMs).
