Is LIC stock undervalued? Kotak Equities suggests buying with Rs 1,175 target
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) looks inexpensive, domestic brokerage firm Kotak Institutional Equities has maintained a ‘buy’ call on the stock, revising its target down to Rs 1,175 from an earlier Rs 1,250, to reflect a lower investment return following the recent correction in equities.
“The correction in equities and a severe slowdown in business, following the surrender value guidelines, continue to weigh on the prospects of LIC. Trends in (equity) markets have high sensitivity and drive over 50% of its EV. The slowdown in APE and management’s stance on dealing with the same are monitorable. Inexpensive valuations support our BUY rating,” said the domestic brokerage firm.
Kotak Equites also mentioned that there has been a sharp decline in LIC’s equity investment book and the business momentum has also been weak. However, they noted that the current valuations at 0.58X (trailing) September 2025E factor in these updates.
LIC’s equity investment book has declined by 6.9% since December 31, 2025, after a 5.3% fall in 3QFY25. On an FYTD basis, the overall equity investment book is up 2.2%.
“We estimated investment variance at Rs518 bn in 1HFY25; we now estimate a loss of Rs50 bn in 2HFY25E (we estimated a gain of Rs250 bn earlier), with lower unwind due to reduced expectation of excess real-world return over risk-free rates,” Kotak Equities report said.
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On the business front, LIC reported a 24% year-on-year decline in APE in 3QFY25, following strong growth in 1HFY25. January and February