INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Overseas portfolio investors, or FIIs, have been largely bearish on Indian equities so far in 2018
But there are a few companies FIIs would not desert no matter how bad the future outlook gets.
For last 40 quarters, FII holdings in nearly
100 companies from the BSE500 index have been hovering above their mean and median
No marks for guessing, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) is the most favoured firm among them all
and 69 per cent in last 40 quarters, data available with corporate database Ace Equity showed
Shares of HDFC have grown nearly 275 per cent in last 10 years.
HDFC reported strong growth in loan disbursement for March quarter as well
They include HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and City Union Bank
At the end of March, 2018, FII holding in each one of these was higher than the median and mean holdings of past 10 years
investors have been rather cautious on Indian equities this year, having been net sellers in 32 out of 40 sessions till May 29; meaning they
inflow of over Rs 48,000 crore
A shift in yield dynamics between the developing and developed world, weakness in emerging market currencies against the greenback, softer
earnings growth, concern over corporate governance issues and political risks ahead of the general elections in 2019 are some of the factors
that have kept FIIs jittery
Auto companies Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra and Mahindra, Eicher Motors also have pride of place on the list of FII favourites
Shares of Eicher Motors have rallied over 9,500 per cent in last 10 years, while those of Maruti Suzuki have jumped over 1,000 per cent in
for MM to Rs 975 from Rs 860 earlier
The stock traded at Rs 1,983 on May 29.
Several midcap stocks, many of which have been multibaggers in recent months, such as Astral Poly
Technik, Page Industries, Kajaria Ceramics, Supreme Industries, Britannia Industries, Motherson Sumi System, Balkrishna Industries, Godrej
Consumer Products, SRF, Shilpa Medicare, Phillips Carbon Black and Titan Company too figure on the list of top 100 FII favourite companies
Even in the most bearish times, these overseas investors have rarely sold shares on these counters.
Edelweiss Investment Research is
positive on Phillips Carbon Black with a target price of Rs 328, indicating an upside of over 30 per cent from current level
Shares of Balkrishna Industries are up over 1,600 per cent in last 10 years.
FIIs are also looking confident on oil and gas majors Petronet
LNG, Hindustan Petroleum, Gujarat State Petronet, IGL and Bharat Petroleum
At the end of March quarter, their stakes in these companies were higher than their mean and median holdings of last 10 years.
