LIC stock hits new lifetime high of Rs 1,178.60

 July 26 (IANS) Shares of state-run insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Friday touched a new lifetime high of Rs 1,178.60 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Earlier the stock had hit its lifetime high of Rs 1,175 a share, on February 9 this year. LIC's shares have rallied almost 80 per cent over the last one year, following strong operational performance or positive sentiment for PSU shares among the investors. The stock has given 38.61 per cent return much higher than the benchmark index, Sensex and Nifty which have given a return of 11.24 per cent and 12.86 per cent, respectively. The company's market capitalisation reached Rs 7.34 lakh crore, securing its position as the eighth-largest listed company in India and the second foremost among government-listed PSU companies after the State Bank of India. Taking the stock's current market price of Rs 1,171.40 apiece, the stock is trading 21.71 per cent higher than its IPO price. Meanwhile, on a year-to-date basis, private life insurers like HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd rose 6.31 per cent, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd went up 32.93 per cent and SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd rose 18.66 per cent. The company's revenue in the financial year 2023-24 has been Rs 8.46 lakh crore, which was Rs 7.84 lakh crore in the financial year 2022-23. During this period, the company's profit increased from Rs 35,997 crore to Rs 40,885 crore.