SBI shares rally nearly 3% after Citi’s double upgrade to ‘buy’
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Shares of India’s largest PSU lender State Bank of India (SBI) jumped 2.6% to hit a day’s high of Rs 713.55 on the BSE today after the global brokerage firm Citi issued a double upgrade on the stock, moving its rating from ‘sell’ to ‘buy’ and raising the target price to Rs 830. The revised price target suggests an upside potential of 19.4% in the stock from Monday’s closing price. Citi’s latest upgrade comes on the back of strong growth visibility, supported by Xpress Credit traction, a robust corporate pipeline, and an accelerated rollout of home loans (HL). The brokerage firm highlighted SBI’s ability to contain unsecured retail slippages at 0.5%, along with a reduction in the SMA-2 pool, which is expected to curb credit costs. Citi also pointed out that SBI’s valuations remain inexpensive, trading at 0.85x book value, supported by a 1% return on assets (RoA) and a 15% return on equity (RoE). Following this optimistic outlook, investor ...