Public investors' faith in these 8 stocks leaves big holes in their portfolios

NEW DELHI: Public investors' faith in most stocks has yielded them little returns over the last one year. In some 55 stocks wherein they increased stakes for three consecutive quarters this financial year, over 30 are trading with cuts, shows data from ACE Equity.

Among these, 8 stocks have fallen over 35%, with HLE Glascoat emerging as the biggest wealth destroyer. The company's shares are down 55% in the last one year. Meanwhile, public investors' stake, which predominantly consists of retailers, has risen to 24.67% in Q3FY23 from 23.81% in Q4FY22.

It is followed by TV18 Broadcast whose shares are down 48% in the past one year but the public holding has surged from 25.49% in Q4FY22 to 29.41% in Q3FY23.

Quess Corp, Wockhardt, Welspun India, Indian Energy Exchange, Johnson Controls and Avanti Feeds are among other stocks that have destroyed these investors' wealth. These stocks are down between 35-46%.


"Historically, barring very few cases, whenever public shareholding goes up in percentage terms, the extra alpha comes down because the consensus view is high. When the consensus view is high, the stock performance seems to be flattish as the news gets discounted, and future events are factored into the price. In most cases, retail investors are late to join the party," said Kranthi Bathini of Wealthmills Securities.

Most of the above-mentioned stocks have little coverage, with analysts maintaining a consensus sell rating on TV18 Broadcast and Indian Energy Exchange, shows data available with Trendlyne.

Quess Corp and Avanti Feeds have consensus buy recommendations. For Quess Corp, the average target price of Rs 710 suggests the stock must rally nearly 80% from current levels to achieve the same. As for Avanti Feeds, the average target price of Rs 529 is 36% up from current prices.

Analysts, meanwhile, have a hold call on Welspun India while they are split on Johnson Controls.


Shining Bright
At the other end of the spectrum, Bharat Dynamics, which has also seen a consistent rise in public shareholding, has rewarded investors handsomely. The stock has rallied over 81% in the last one year. It is trailed by another stock from the defence space — Hindustan Aeronautics — which has risen over 75%.

Narayana Hrudayalaya, Housing & Urban Development Corporation, Trent, Adani Enterprises, Cera Sanitaryware, Fine Organic Industries, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India, Lemon Tree Hotels and Solar Industries India are among stocks that have rallied over 10%.

(Data Inputs: Ritesh Presswala)

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)