NCC, Ambuja Cement and more: Globe Research's 5 top stock picks with up to 57% upside potential

Ambuja Cement: The brokerage has a ‘buy’ call on the cement major with a target price of ₹650, indicating an upside of 48%. The company has strong fundamentals and is backed by the largest and fastest-growing conglomerate Adani Group in India, noted the brokerage. It added that the firm ensures quality growth and maintains robust financial fundamentals. The optimisation of its operating performance has helped the company strengthen its financial performance. It further noted that the company is aligned with the country’s growth agenda and lined up a capacity expansion of 14 MTPA to be achieved over the short term.

Bank of India: The brokerage has a ‘buy’ call on the public sector lender with a target price of ₹125, implying a 34% upside on the back of strong financials and a large deposit base. The management expects credit growth of 11-12% during the current year. To enhance yield on advances and NIM, the bank continues to align its assets growth to high yielding areas with focus on RAM advances and mid corporate advances. With the bank’s continuous drive for managing asset quality, it expects gross NPA ratio to be contained below 6% and credit cost between 60 bps and 70 bps. Its aim at maintaining NIM above 3.0%, thus ensuring a sustainable growth in profits, noted the brokerage.

Cigniti Technology: The brokerage has a ‘buy’ call on this IT stock with a target price of ₹1,050, indicating a 28% upside. This is primarily driven by strong financials, huge industry growth prospects and a debt-free balance sheet. It is the market leader in North America with a growing presence in the rest of the world. The firm is engaged in providing quality engineering & software testing services to clients across various industries.

Jio Financial Services: The brokerage has a ‘buy’ call on this newly listed NBFC stock with a target price of ₹375, which implies an upside of 48% on the back of strong parentage, a high network base, and strong growth opportunities. At the current price of ₹253, the stock is trading at a reasonable price to book value of 1.4 times which is lower than its peer group, stated the brokerage. Jio Finacial Services Limited is the third largest NBFC company after the Bajaj Twins— Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv. Further, JFSL is anticipated to foray into insurance, stockbroking, asset management & other feed–based activities. The potential for balance sheet expansion for JFSL is significant. It has a liquid asset base of around ₹20,700 crore. The projected realisation of ₹1 lakh crore in net worth over time with a 6.1% stake in RIL could be a game changer for JFSL, said the brokerage.

NCC: The brokerage has a ‘buy’ call on the PSU stock with a target price of ₹250, implying a 57% upside. This will be driven by strong financials, robust order book, low debt levels, and strong revenue growth. As on June 30, 2023, the company has an order book of ₹54,110 crore. It has achieved a revenue CAGR of 17% in the last 3 years and is planning to continue sustainable growth. The stable economy, strong balance sheet and capex plan of the govt will give further momentum to continue its growth journey, said the brokerage.