LIC shares rise 5% on posting Q1 results; how brokerages are rating stock?

LIC Q1 results review: LIC shares rose 4.6 per cent in trade after the company posted its Q1 results; should you buy or sell?

LIC Q1 results review: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) shares rose 4.6 per cent on Friday, August 8, 2025, and logged an intra-day high at ₹927 per share on BSE. The buying on the counter came a day after the company posted Q1 results, during market hours on Thursday. 

 

At 9:27 AM, LIC share price was up 3.92 per cent at ₹920.15 per share. In comparison, the Sensex was 0.2 per cent lower at 80,461.44. 

LIC Q1 results 

In Q1, LIC reported a modest 5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in net profit at ₹10,986 crore, as compared to ₹10,461 crore.

 

 

Its total premium income grew 4.77 per cent Y-o-Y in Q1FY26 to ₹1.19 trillion, with premiums in the individual segment growing 6.4 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹71,474 crore, and group business premium growing tepidly by 2.5 per cent to ₹47,726 crore.

 

Value of new business (VNB) of the insurer grew 21 per cent Y-o-Y in Q1FY26 to ₹1,944 crore. VNB margin, a measure of profitability of life insurers, of LIC in the quarter, stood at 15.4 per cent, up 150 basis points (bps) from Q1FY25. 

LIC Q1 results analysis: Here's what brokerages suggest

Motilal Oswal | Buy | Target decreased to ₹1,080 from ₹1,150 

LIC maintains its industry-leading position and focuses on achieving growth recovery through wider product offerings, higher ticket sizes, a shift in the product mix toward non-par, agency channel expansion, and a higher contribution from bancassurance and alternate channels, the brokerage said in its note. 

 

It added: A shift toward higher margin non-par products and improvement in persistence will boost VNB margin going forward. The company is also working on enhancing its digital capabilities for cost optimisation. Motilal Oswal has kept our FY26/FY27 estimates unchanged, considering the in-line performance in Q1FY26.

 

Antique Stock Broking | Buy | Target raised to ₹1,100 from ₹1,050

Factoring improved Q1 performance, the brokerage has revised its FY26-27 VNB estimates by 6 per cent to 9 per cent and Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) estimates by 5 per cent to 8 per cent.  

 

Citi | Buy | Target hiked to ₹1,370 from ₹1,320

The brokerage believes that the company posted a strong VNB growth and the stock is trading at a trough, according to reports. Margin expansion was largely a function of an improvement in the quality of business. Management sees green shoots at the agency, which is positive for the insurance behemoth.