Team Prashant Jain continues dumping PSU stocks, increases stake in private banks

Team of fund managers at HDFC Mutual Fund led by Prashant Jain continued selling PSU stocks for another month in April but loaded up private banks, logistics players and auto stocks.

The money manager sold over 4 crore shares of NTPC, which generates electricity, at the time when the country is reeling under shortage of power. The stock rallied sharply in April but has seen some selling recently.

The stock, however, remains a strong buy candidate as analysts see it reaping rewards amid the energy crisis and a hot summer. The consensus target on the stock is at Rs 178, against the current price of Rs 148.

The fund house also booked profits in ITC and sold 1.6 crore shares of the FMCG company. The stock has been an outperformer for a while even as the overall market has tanked. It also remains an overwhelming favourite among analysts.

HDFC MF also sold over 1 crore shares of the government-owned-fossil fuel miner and thermal power generator NLC India. Besides, it sold 20-90 lakh shares of Power Finance Corporation, State Bank of India, Coal India, REC, GAIL (India), Tata Motors, Exide Industries, NHPC, CESC, SJVN and Power Grid Corporation of India.

Gateway Distriparks, a logistics player, topped the list of buys in April for the mutual fund. The fund manager bought 63 lakh shares of the company. The company provides freight services in ocean, roads and rails. Amid the supply chain mismatch, many analysts see the company emerging as a winner.

The fund house also continued adding HDFC Bank, of which it bought 43 lakh shares during the month. Apparently, the fund managers are betting on the company’s sustained growth especially after its merger with HDFC, which is scheduled to be completed within 15 months. Many analysts are also upbeat on its prospects.

The mutual fund house also acquired 20 lakh and 17 lakh shares of Indian Bank and ICICI Bank, respectively. The latter is a crowd favourite on Dalal Street. Analysts and investors see ICICI Bank outperforming its peers in terms of growth.

Besides, the fund house also bought 5-16 lakh shares of Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, HCL Technologies, Apollo Tyres, Bank Of Baroda, Ipca Laboratories, Ashok Leyland, SBI Cards And Payment Services and Hindustan Aeronautics.

Some of the buying and selling in above mentioned names could also be because of changes in index composition that passive funds follow.

During the month, HDFC Mutual Fund also exited from Adani Wilmar selling all of 6 lakh shares it held. At the same time, it entered into Mirza International and Campus Activewear