The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    These are analysts’ most-loved stocks on Dalal Street: Own any?

    Synopsis

    At the top of the list is private lender ICICI Bank, which is among the world’s most widely-tracked stocks. The bank has 28 ‘strong buy’ ratings – the highest for any Indian company, on the publicly available Reuters Eikon database. It also has 17 ‘buy’ ratings.

    Rise-11---istockiStock
    Real estate developers Brigade Enterprises and Sobha enjoy 9 ‘strong buy’ ratings each. While Brigade has 2 ‘buy’ ratings, Sobha has 10, despite the challenging Covid-19-tainted environment.
    Mumbai: Analysts have been flagging stretched valuations, especially in the largecap pack, after the relentless rally on the back of a gush of liquidity, especially from foreign funds.

    At such a juncture too, a host of companies have no ‘sell’ or ‘hold’ ratings, and analysts who track them all have ‘buy’ ratings.

    These are analysts’ most-loved companies on Dalal Street. They rank among the top 100 in terms of market capitalization, and have only ‘buy’ or ‘strong buy’ ratings as on date.

    At the top of the list is private lender ICICI Bank, which is among the world’s most widely-tracked stocks. The bank has 28 ‘strong buy’ ratings – the highest for any Indian company, on the publicly available Reuters Eikon database. It also has 17 ‘buy’ ratings.

    On August 27, IDBI Capital initiated coverage on the stock with a ‘buy’ rating, saying ICICI Bank is well prepared among peers to weather the Covid-19 storm highest provision coverage ratio (PCR) at 75 per cent, highest Covid-19 provisions and higher home loan portfolio.

    “Strong liability franchise and higher Tier I capital ratio will advantage the bank when the economic growth recovers. We expect credit growth for the bank to remain higher than the banking industry led by market share gain,” the brokerage said in a note.

    Next on the list is aluminum producer Hindalco Industries, even as the company posted its first loss in 18 quarters in the three months ended June. The stock had 13 ‘strong buy’ and 8 ‘buy’ ratings.

    “Results were below our estimates, driven by higher-than-anticipated costs in both the domestic business and Novelis. However, the outlook for Aluminum remains positive on strong growth outlook in China and consequent recovery in aluminum prices,” Emkay Global said in an August 18 note, while maintaining its ‘buy’ rating on the stock. It also raised its target price to Rs 225 from Rs 187 earlier.

    stocks storyETMarkets.com
    Other stocks that enjoy this privilege are PNC Infratech, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Brigade Enterprises and Sobha.

    For roads and highways developer PNC Infratech, 13 analysts are recommending a ‘strong buy’, while 7 suggest ‘buy’ ratings.

    On August 31, Prabhudas Lilladher maintained a ‘buy’ rating on the stock, and raised its target price to Rs 219 from Rs 205 earlier, saying the company was on a strong footing.

    The brokerage said PNC Infratech remains one of its preferred picks in road infra space given its healthy order book, stellar execution pace with most projects getting completed within stipulated time, stable Ebitda margins and comfortable debt-equity ratio of 0.13 times.

    Adani Ports is India’s largest private multi-port operator, and the stock has 11 ‘strong buy’ and 15 ‘buy’ ratings. In a note on September 3, Jefferies said Adani Ports has the balance sheet strength to acquire and bid for incremental assets. The brokerage has a ‘buy’ rating on the stock.

    “We believe Adani Ports is well placed to enhance shareholder value from distress asset sales in the current environment,” Jefferies analysts said.

    Real estate developers Brigade Enterprises and Sobha enjoy 9 ‘strong buy’ ratings each. While Brigade has 2 ‘buy’ ratings, Sobha has 10, despite the challenging Covid-19-tainted environment.

    In a report on August 14, Edelweiss Securities said that RERA- (Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act) driven consolidation is throwing up growth opportunities for organised players such as Brigade Enterprises.
    “However, Covid-19 is going to challenge the robustness of the business, particularly in the retail and hospitality assets. We believe the company’s ability to manage cash flows will determine the stock’s trajectory,” Edelweiss said while maintaining a ‘buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 192.

    Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangalore-based Sobha managed to post a profit in the quarter ended June, contrary to expectations of a loss. The company reported a net profit of Rs 6.6 crore, down 93 per cent from a year ago as sales and construction activities were stalled because of the lockdown.

    In a note on August 12, HDFC Securities pointed that despite the first half of the quarter being marred by lockdown-related issues, Sobha’s total collections for the quarter stood at Rs 550 crore, which was commendable, and sales activity has picked up in June and trend is flowing into the September quarter, with the company indicating better times. The brokerage maintained a ‘buy’ rating on the stock, with a price target of Rs 348.



    (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.

    Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price

    ...more


    (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.

    Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in