HDFC Life shares fell 0.28 per cent to ₹549.00 on Friday afternoon despite positive analyst ratings. The insurer reported a 13 per cent profit rise to ₹1,119 crore for the half-year ended September 30, 2026. Many brokerages kept buy ratings, even as the stock trades near its 52-week low range.
Shares of HDFC Life Insurance Company (NSE: HDFCLIFE) were trading marginally lower at ₹549.00, down 0.28 per cent, on the National Stock Exchange on Friday afternoon, a day after the insurer reported its first-half FY27 results. The stock touched an intraday low of ₹532.60 before recovering, with traded volume of 33.57 lakh shares worth ₹181.62 crore by 1.17 pm.
Three brokerages maintained positive ratings on the stock after the results. Motilal Oswal Financial Services reiterated a Buy with a target price of ₹680, valuing the insurer at 1.8 times FY28E embedded value. Elara Securities kept its Buy with a ₹740 target, implying 34 per cent upside from current levels, trimming VNB estimates by 0.6-1.4 per cent citing an elevated ULIP mix. JM Financial held an Add rating with a ₹610 target, noting the recovery in HDFC Bank-sourced business and improving product mix as key positives.
HDFC Life's board on October 15 approved standalone results for the half-year ended September 30, 2026. Total annualised premium equivalent grew 11 per cent year-on-year to ₹8,245 crore. Value of new business rose 12.1 per cent to ₹2,037 crore, with new business margins at 24.7 per cent, up 20 basis points from H1 FY26. Profit after tax increased 13 per cent to ₹1,119 crore. Assets under management stood at ₹4.09 trillion, up 14 per cent year-on-year. Individual WRP grew 11 per cent in Q2, ahead of the private industry's 10 per cent, lifting private market share to 16.2 per cent.
Elara noted a concern around persistency, with 13th-month persistency slipping to 83 per cent from 86 per cent a year earlier, partly due to softer ULIP renewals amid equity market volatility. Motilal Oswal flagged rising distribution reform proposals by IRDAI as the key overhang for the sector.
The stock is down nearly 27 per cent year-to-date and trades at a 52-week low range, having hit ₹508.70 in September 2026 against a high of ₹788.50 in November 2025. Its current price-to-earnings ratio stands at 58.39.