Prabhudas Lilladher has significantly upgraded its rating on Fortis Healthcare to 'Accumulate' with a target price of ₹2,320 per share in its research report dated September 07, 2026. The brokerage's latest analysis shows the stock is currently trading at 24.4x EV/EBITDA on FY28E, adjusted for Agilus stake and ESOP. The recommendation is based on expectations of 20% EBITDA CAGR over FY26-28E, representing a substantial increase from the previous target price of ₹1,050. As per PL Capital, the stock is poised for a double digit growth in the long-term despite a 66% rally over two years, with the brokerage seeing nearly 16% upside potential.
The Delhi High Court has directed the appointment of a forensic auditor to examine certain historical transactions involving Fortis Healthcare, including the dissipation of the erstwhile promoters' stake. As reported by Prabhudas Lilladher, the forensic audit involves four key areas and requires a six-month timeframe to submit reports by the auditor. The audit process may take 7-8 months to complete and will examine all Fortis share and fund movements since 24 May'16, including the scrutiny of INR 46.66bn transferred to RHT (Religare Health Trust) and the Fortis-IHH-RHT Health transaction chain. According to PL Capital, the forensic audit is limited to historical shareholding changes and will have no impact on FORH's capex, brownfield expansion or M&A plans. Management has indicated that capex and brownfield expansion plans will remain unaffected by this development, with the audit not restricting IHH from infusing further capital to raise its stake to ~51% from 31%.
Fortis Healthcare has demonstrated hospital margin improvement of 530 basis points over FY23-FY26 to 22.2%. According to Prabhudas Lilladher's analysis, the company has identified further scope for improvement through several key initiatives including improving case and payor mix, cost rationalization initiatives, and ramp-up of Manesar and Greater Noida units. Motilal Oswal highlights that over the past 15 months, FORH has delivered strong, volume-led growth in its hospital segment, maintaining occupancy at an elevated 68-69% despite a 17% increase in operating beds over the past year. The growth was supported by improved realizations and remained robust despite adverse impact of medicine pricing for patients under ECHS/CGHS category. There are signs of recovery in the diagnostics segment with an improving test mix supporting better realizations, as noted by PL Capital.
The stock was trading 0.21% higher at ₹910.21 per share on BSE with a market capitalisation of ₹68,716.29 crore at 1:40 pm on Tuesday, September 8. The stock had touched an intraday high of ₹912.70 per share and an intraday low of ₹903.50 per share. The healthcare stock touched its 52-week high of ₹1,105 per share on October 13, 2025, and the stock dipped to its 52-week low of ₹767.30 per share on April 2, 2026. With a return on equity (ROE) of 2.49%, the scrip has delivered close to 66% return in two years, though it has declined around 1.3% in two weeks, 5.26% in two weeks, and 7.9% in three months.
The integrated healthcare delivery service provider is owned by a cluster of promoters, institutional investors, domestic institutions, etc. As per PL Capital report, promoters hold 31.17% stake in Fortis Healthcare, while FIIs and mutual funds own 25.2% and 25.81% stake in the company respectively. Public & others own around 11.4% stake. PL Capital has maintained a 'Buy' rating with a revised target price of ₹1,050 per share, valuing the hospital segment at 28x EV/EBITDA on FY28E (reduced from 30x earlier). The brokerage notes that the FORH-Gleneagles integration will continue to remain a potential future consideration, with timing being a key monitorable factor as it may increase IHH's stake in Fortis Healthcare.
