Shares of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank rose nearly 8 percent in the early trading session on Wednesday, November 9 after the bank posted its highest-ever quarterly profit at ₹294 crore in the September quarter (Q2FY23).
During Wednesday’s trade, the stock opened at a price of Rs. 28.90 per share against the previous close of ₹28.10 and rallied further to touch an intraday high of ₹30.40. At 12:15 pm, it was trading at ₹29.80 on the NSE.
The stock touched a 52-week-high of Rs. 30.50 on November 7, 2022 and a 52-week-low of ₹13.50 on June 23, 2022, indicating that at the current level, the stock is trading at 117 percent above its 52-week low and just 2.5 percent below its 52 week high.
The stock has been on a bull run and has returned over 73 percent to its shareholders in the past six months. Moreover, the stock has shown a growth of 54 percent year-to-date. However, the stock has declined over 54 percent in the last five years.
On Monday, Bengaluru-based Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) posted its highest-ever quarterly profit at ₹294 crore in the September quarter, led by a strong disbursal growth and fall in bad loans, reported PTI.
The bank had posted a net loss of ₹274 crore in the year-ago period. However, compared sequentially, the net profit was up by nearly 45 percent from ₹203 crore in the quarter that ended June 2022.
In the July-September period of 2022-23, total income jumped by 63 percent to ₹1,139.83 crore as against ₹699.74 crore last year, the official report stated.
The bank's gross advances at the end of the quarter under review grew by 44 percent to ₹20,938 crore as compared to the last year. In value terms, the gross NPA fell to ₹929 crore from ₹1,713 crore. Likewise, the net NPAs came down to 0.04 percent ( ₹7.32 crore) as compared to 3.29 percent ( ₹435.14 crore).
In the September quarter of FY23, the CASA ratio stood at 26.9 percent, up from 22.5 percent in the same quarter a year ago. Retail banking CASA increased by 79% year over year.
Domestic brokeage house HDFC Securities has an 'add' call on Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd with a target price of ₹43.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd., established in 2016, is a banking company with a market capitalization of ₹5,492.16 Crore. It is a mass market focused bank in India, catering to financially unserved and under-served segments and committed to building financial inclusion in the country.
The bank has a Pan-India presence, with over 59.7 lakh customers, 575+ banking touchpoints across 248 districts, 24 states and union territories - as of September 30, 2021, its website shows.
According to a Mintgenie poll, an average of 13 analysts have a ‘Strong buy’ call on the stock.
