Brokerage Views: Citi On ACC, HPCL, Nuvama On UltraTech And More

Brokerages have Hindustan Petroleum Corp., ACC Ltd. and NTPC Ltd. among others on their radar following the release of their first-quarter earnings on Monday.

HPCL's standalone net profit declined 87.5% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 356 crore in the quarter ended June, missing estimates. Meanwhile, ACC reported a revenue of Rs 5,155 crore for the quarter under review, beating estimates.

Nuvama Research has its views on UltraTech Ltd. following its acquisition of India Cements Ltd on Sunday.

NDTV Profit tracks what the brokerages are putting out on stocks and sectors. Here are all the top calls from analysts that you need to know about on Tuesday.

Citi On HPCL

Citi maintains 'buy' with a target price of Rs 420 apiece, implying an upside of 9.9% from the previous close.
First quarter Ebitda of Rs 1,600 crore was well below the Rs 2,500 crore estimate.
Decline in gross refining margins were as expected.
Results miss primarily on LPG under recovery of Rs 2,500 crore.
Lowers HPCL's fiscal 2025 and 2026 gross refining margin forecasts to $7.5 and $8.5, respectively.
Lower fiscal 2025 blended petrol and diesel marketing margin to Rs 1.5 per litre.
The Ebitda estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 changed by -17% and -5%, respectively.

Citi On NTPC

Citi maintains 'buy' on NTPC with a target price of Rs 467 per share, implying an upside of 18.4% from the previous close.
The company remains top pick in electric utilities.
In the first quarter, net profit grew 11% year-oon-year to Rs 4,500 crore.
fiscal 2025 consolidated capex guidance at Rs 35,000 crore.
Company to foray into nuclear energy generation via joint venture.
The first nuclear project of 2.8 gigawatt planned at capex of Rs 170-180 million per megawatt.
Slow progress on renewable capacity addition on operational issues.
Company to add 3GW, 5GW and 8GW capacity in fiscal 2025, 2026 and 2027, respectively.

Also Read: NTPC Hits Lifetime High As Q1 Profit Meets Estimates, Termed 'Top Pick' By Citi

Nuvama On UltraTech Cement

The brokerage maintains 'hold' with a target price of Rs 11,800 per share, implying a downside of 0.8% from the previous close.
India Cements acquisition to cement its leadership in South India.
ICL acquisition, Kesoram cement assets to strengthen firm's positions in the south.
Acquisitions to potentially push capacity to 200 million tonne by fiscal 2026-end.
Access to limestone reserves positive given high acquisition price, capex needed to life efficiency of older plants.
Kesoram, ICL acquisitions likely to push UTCL’s capacity share in south beyond 20%.
Maintain neutral view on cement sector on weak pricing, run up in stocks.

Citi On ACC

The brokerage maintains 'buy' with a price of Rs 3,000 per share, implying an upside of 14.9% from the previous close.
First quarter Ebitda came 2% below brokerage estimates.
Lower realizations offset the benefits of lower costs.
ACC to benefit from cost efficiencies targeted by Ambuja group.
Cuts fiscal 2025, 2026 and 2027 Ebitda estimates by 22%, 4%, and 2%, respectively.

Also Read: ACC Remains Good Buy, To Benefit From Adani Group's Cost-Saving, Says Citi

Nuvama On Power Grid Corp.

The brokerage maintains 'reduce' with a target price of Rs 236 apiece, implying a downside of 31% from the previous close.
Standalone profit down 2% year-on-year on higher dividend income, regulatory gains in base quarter.
Capex guidance for fiscal 2025 stands at Rs 18,000 crore.
Expects earnings-per-share to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6% over fiscal 2024-2026 despite strong capex guidance.
Lowers average growth in earnings-per-share as high voltage direct current projects add to earnings after 2.5 years of build.
Believe the company has ran out of near term triggers pertaining to order intake.

UBS On BEL

The brokerage downgraded the company to a 'neutral' rating from 'buy' with a price target of Rs 340 per share, an upside of 5.9% from the previous close.
The 145% stock rally in past one year largely led by 70% higher order intake.
Valuation leaves little room for a positive surprise.
Believes stock medium-term growth potential is priced in.
Believes HAL presents better new order growth potential in next 1-2 years.

Jefferies On BEL

The brokerage retained 'buy' with a target price of Rs 370 per share, an upside of 19% from the previous close.
Order book of Rs 76,700 crore gives revenue visibility from fiscal 2024-2027.
Rs 25,000 crore revenue guidance maintained for fiscal 2025.
Raises fiscal 2025-2027 earnings-per-share estimates by 2-3% to reflect improvement.
Exports should rise to 9% of sales.

Citi On Colgate-Palmolive

The brokerage retained 'sell' with a target price of Rs 2,850 per share.
Estimates 6% volume growth for the overall company.
Believes that while there is opportunity for growth/consumption and Colgate India seems to be investing behind this.
Estimate moderation in margin expansion going ahead.

Jefferies on Colgate-Palmolive

Retains 'buy' with target price of Rs 3,570, implying an upside of 13%.
Pick-up in rural demand, along with strong execution helped Colgate drive growth.
Higher than expected gross margins.
Upgrade FY25-27E EPS estimates by 6%.

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