Bajaj Finance Shares Rise 3% Following Q4 Earnings, Brokerages Maintain Overwhelmingly Bullish Outlook

Bajaj Finance Sees Steady Q4 Financial Performance, Brokerages Maintain Bullish View

Bajaj Finance stock rose over 3 percent in early trade on Thursday, extending yesterday's modest gains, after the non-banking financial company (NBFC) reported a steady Q4 financial performance. The stock was trading at Rs 962.6, up 3.5 percent, after ending Wednesday's session at Rs 930 ahead of the results.

The company reported a 22 percent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 5,465 crore for Q4FY26, slightly below the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of Rs 5,524 crore. Net interest income (NII) grew 20 percent to Rs 11,781 crore, also coming in marginally below expectations of Rs 11,853 crore.

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Bajaj Finance's Assets under management (AUM) rose 22.4 percent to Rs 5.1 lakh crore, crossing the Rs 5 lakh crore milestone. New loans booked increased 20.5 percent to 12.89 million. The company's deposit book declined 4 percent year-on-year, while its customer franchise expanded to 119.33 million.

Brokerages largely retained bullish ratings on Bajaj Finance stock, highlighting strong growth visibility and improving credit cost outlook. HSBC, Nomura, and Jefferies maintained 'buy' calls with target prices of Rs 1,100, Rs 1,140, and Rs 1,210 per share, respectively, implying meaningful upside from current levels. JPMorgan also remained positive with an 'overweight' rating and a target price of Rs 1,080.

HSBC maintained its 'buy' call on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,100, highlighting management guidance of a 15-30 basis points decline in credit costs in FY27. The brokerage expects a robust earnings growth trajectory, implying a 26.5 percent EPS CAGR over FY26-28.

Nomura kept its 'buy' rating with a target price of Rs 1,140, citing improving asset quality trends and higher profitability targets, with return on assets seen in the range of 4.3-4.7 percent.

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Jefferies retained its 'buy' call on the stock, with a target price of Rs 1,210, implying an upside of over 30 percent. The brokerage said that lower credit costs and better fee income supported earnings, while AUM growth remained strong at 22 percent.

JPMorgan, which has an 'overweight' rating with a target price of Rs 1,080, said the performance was largely in line. The brokerage pointed to healthy asset quality and benign early delinquency trends despite external disruptions.

Macquarie remained the outlier, maintaining an 'underperform' rating with a target price of Rs 860, implying a downside of about 7-8 percent. It cited risks around credit costs, while warning that the guidance assumes a normalised environment, leaving room for potential downside if conditions deteriorate.

The company's board also recommended a final dividend of Rs 6 per share for FY26, including a special payout linked to gains from the sale of Bajaj Housing Finance shares.