Brokers' call: ACC, NTPC

ACC to Touch Rs 1,545: CS

Credit Suisse has recommended an ‘Outperform’ rating on ACC with a target price of Rs 1,545. ACC is the thirdlargest cement manufacturer in India with 30 mt of capacity, and has a pan-India presence. ACC has the highest profit sensitivity to both prices and volumes among the brokerage’s coverage companies.

“Given our positive view on cement upcycle, high operating leverage works in favour of ACC,” said a note by Credit Suisse. In addition, ACC has a favourable regional mix with lower exposure to western and central regions.

MS Still Overweight on NTPC

Morgan Stanley has maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating on NTPC as the company’s regulated business model, strong balance sheet (relative to significant leverage for most IPPs) and long-term visibility on growth.

Since the conclusion of the OFS, NTPC has outperformed the Sensex by 3% till date while Reliance Power has underperformed the Sensex by 30% since the conclusion of its OFS, thus showing the relative advantage of NTPC in the utility space.

The CCEA's inprinciple approval to price pooling had stated that this would be done only for those eligible projects that opted for price pooling.