The shares of Ambuja Cements rose over 1% to Rs 431 on the BSE on Wednesday, even as the cement major reported a 34% year-on-year (YoY) decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 577 crore for the first quarter of FY27. Despite the weak earnings, brokerages have retained their 'Buy' ratings on the stock.The Adani Group company's revenue from operations fell 7.5% YoY to Rs 9,474 crore from Rs 10,244 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY26. EBITDA declined 19% YoY to Rs 1,589 crore from Rs 1,962 crore a year ago, while the EBITDA margin contracted to 16.7% from 19.1%. The company attributed the weaker performance to disruptions caused by the West Asia crisis and higher raw material costs.Management said that, given the 60–90-day fuel inventory cycle, the impact of peak fuel cost inflation is expected to be felt during the seasonally weaker second quarter, which could weigh on industry profitability in the near term.The company added that the industry faced cost pressures during Q1 due to higher prices of imported fuels such as petcoke and thermal coal, along with elevated freight and logistics costs stemming from geopolitical tensions in West Asia.Nuvama on Ambuja Cements share priceNuvama highlighted that Ambuja Cements' Q1 volumes declined 7% YoY, while EBITDA increased 26% sequentially despite cost pressures arising from the ongoing US-Iran conflict. "We believe this is the right approach in the current challenging environment," the brokerage said.Nuvama maintained its 'Buy' rating on the stock and raised its target price to Rs 555 from Rs 541. The revised target implies an upside potential of more than 30% from the stock's previous NSE closing price of Rs 426.Also read | Ambuja Cement Q1 Results: Net profit drops 34% YoY to Rs 577 crore; revenue falls 7.5%Motilal Oswal on Ambuja Cements share priceMotilal Oswal said Ambuja Cements' Q1 operating performance was broadly in line with its estimates, as lower-than-expected operating costs offset weaker-than-expected volumes and realisation per tonne.The brokerage noted that management continues to prioritise profitable growth over volume expansion, with trade sales rising to 78% of total volumes. The company is consciously reducing its low-margin non-trade business in acquired assets. While this strategy affected near-term capacity utilisation, it is expected to improve profitability over time, the brokerage said."We believe improvement in the cost curve, higher capacity utilisation and volume growth, integration of acquired assets, and timely completion of ongoing expansions will remain key variables to watch," Motilal Oswal said, while largely maintaining its earnings estimates.The brokerage reiterated its 'Buy' rating with a target price of Rs 500, implying an upside potential of about 17%.JM Financial on Ambuja Cements share priceJM Financial said Ambuja Cements' consolidated EBITDA declined 19% YoY but came in ahead of its estimates, primarily due to lower-than-expected operating costs.On the expansion front, the brokerage noted that Ambuja remains on track to increase its installed cement capacity from the current 109 million tonnes (mt) to 119 mt by the end of FY27. The company has also outlined a roadmap to add 8–10 mt of organic capacity annually thereafter.Factoring in the Q1 FY27 performance, JM Financial raised its FY27 EBITDA estimate by 4% while trimming its FY28 estimate by 4%. It maintained its 'Buy' rating with a target price of Rs 515, implying an upside potential of about 21%.Ambuja Cements share priceAmbuja Cements shares have declined around 1% over the past week and were largely flat over the past month. The stock, however, is down about 24% so far in 2026.Over the longer term, the stock has fallen more than 30% in the past year and around 6% over the last three years. It has delivered a modest return of about 4% over the past five years.Also read | Ambuja Cements to slow capacity additions until utilisation improves(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)