Shares of GAIL India surged 3.7 percent on Monday, March 06, after the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Steel Mining Limited to provide natural gas to its Ferro Alloys Plant at Athgarh in Odisha’s Cuttack district.
According to the MoU, GAIL will supply the agreed quantity of natural gas through its pipeline from Gujarat to Athgarh.
During Monday’s trade, the stock opened at a price of Rs. 106 per share, closely against the previous close of Rs. 105.25 per share and grew further during the early trading session to touch an intraday high of Rs. 109.15. It was trading at ₹108.10, up by 2.71 percent, at 11:25 a.m. on the NSE.
The stock touched a 52-week high of Rs. 115.67 on April 19, 2022 and a 52-week low of Rs. 83 on September 26, 2022, indicating that at the current level, the stock is trading 30 percent above its 52-week low and 6.5 percent below its 52-week high.
The stock has increased nearly 14 percent in the last one month. Moreover, in the past six months, it has gained over 16 percent. However, the stock has yielded a negative return of a little over 1 percent in the last five years.
Furnace oil emits more carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and sulphur oxides than natural gas. Natural gas emits 27 percent less CO2 and has lower levels of other pollutants. The project will lead to greenhouse gas emission reduction by 968 tons.
In other news, the nation's primary gas pipeline operator is looking to revolutionize its petrochemical operations by introducing ethane imported from the United States to fill the gap left by the government's prioritization of natural gas for other sectors. The company aims to use the new fuel source to drive efficiency and productivity in its petrochemical operations.
The company reported a consolidated total income of ₹36334.20 crore for the quarter ended December 2022, up 36.77% from the corresponding period last year. The total income was 6.65% lower than that reported in the previous quarter. The company reported a net profit after tax of ₹-151.51 crore for the quarter.
Brokerage house JM Financial has a 'buy' call on GAIL (India) with a target price of ₹120, reported The Economic Times.
Global research and broking firm Morgan Stanley gave an 'outperform' rating to GAIL India with a target price of ₹124, reported Moneycontrol.
Another Brokerage, Citigroup, maintained its ‘buy’ rating on GAIL India with a target price of ₹110.
GAIL (India) owns and operates a network of approximately 14,500 kilometers (km) of natural gas pipelines. It is also focused on expanding its presence in renewable energy, such as solar, wind and biofuel.
According to a MintGenie poll, 29 analysts on an average have a ‘STRONG BUY’ call on the stock.
