ITC stock hits all-time high on Q3 numbers, gets price upgrade
BNP Paribas believes the "valuations still look reasonable" after the Kolkata-based cigarette-to-hotel conglomerate reported cigarette sales volume that grew, in percentage terms, in their mid-teens, while consumer staples and hotels businesses re...
By ET Bureau | Updated:
Agencies
Nirmal Bang upgraded the stock and valued it 15% higher at 26.5 times its September 2024 earnings on the back of strong return ratios and financial performance.
Mumbai: ITC shares rose to an all-time high on Monday after third-quarter earnings at India's largest cigarette maker beat Street estimates by a wide margin, prompting more analysts to join the bandwagon of rating and price target upgrades for the second time in less than one week.
On Monday, shares of ITC advanced for the fifth straight session to close at ₹383.50 apiece on the NSE, up 0.75% from Friday's close. The stock made a new high of ₹388.2.
BNP Paribas believes the "valuations still look reasonable" after the Kolkata-based cigarette-to-hotel conglomerate reported cigarette sales volume that grew, in percentage terms, in their mid-teens, while consumer staples and hotels businesses reported all-time-high operating margins of 10% and 31.5%, respectively.
"With a modest 1% increase in duty on cigarettes and improving outlook for FMCG and Hotels, we think ITC is well positioned for a strong FY24. We raise FY24/25E earnings by c1%," the brokerage said in a client note.
Nirmal Bang upgraded the stock and valued it 15% higher at 26.5 times its September 2024 earnings on the back of strong return ratios and financial performance.
On aggregate, analysts raised the consensus target by another 7.1% to ₹428 per share, after raising it from ₹388 to ₹400 in an immediate reaction to the Budget proposal of hiking Calamity Duty on certain cigarettes - a move that is understood to drive out illicit players and increase the sales volume of organised cigarette players.
