Bajaj Finance stages a strong show in Q4; time to add the stock to portfolio or book profit?

Bajaj Finance shares were in demand on Dalal Street on Thursday, a day after the NBFC reported a strong set of financial results for the quarter ended March. The Bajaj Finance stock gained as much as 3.3 per cent to Rs 6,254 apiece on BSE. 

Bajaj Finance Q4 results 

After market hours on Wednesday, Bajaj Finance reported a 30.5 per cent year-on-year jump in net profit to Rs 3,157.8 crore for the final quarter of the financial year gone by. Its quarterly net interest income (NII) — or the difference between interest earned and interest paid — grew 30.3 per cent to Rs 6,254.9 crore compared with the year-ago period. 

Both the top-line and bottom-line exceeded analysts' estimates. 

According to Zee Business research, Bajaj Finance's quarterly profit was pegged at Rs 3,090 crore and NII at Rs 6,140 crore.   

The company reported improvement in its asset quality, measured as the percentage of non-performing assets (NPAs) — or bad loans — in total loans. 

The NBFC's gross NPAs came in at 0.94 per cent for the quarter ended March, as against 1.14 per cent for the previous three months. Net NPAs reduced to 0.34 per cent sequentially from 0.41 per cent. 

Bajaj Finance dividend

The company's board recommended a dividend of Rs 30 per share, subject to shareholders' approval, with a record date of June 30. Read more on Bajaj Finance dividend

What brokerages make of the Bajaj Finance Q4 results

Maintaining a 'sell' rating on Bajaj Finance, Goldman Sachs said Bajaj Finance's Q4 results were in line with its estimates on all fronts. The brokerage raised its target price for the stock by Rs 315 to Rs 6,040 but pointed out that challenges remain for the NBFC.  

Bajaj Finance shares: Past performance

Bajaj Finance shares lost the March quarter with a loss of 14.6 per cent while the Nifty headline index dropped 4.1 per cent. As of April 26, the stock was down 7.9 per cent on a year-to-date basis.  

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