A play on broader economic recovery: 6 stocks from core industrial supplies segment with upside potential

Every industry has different operating conditions which have high correlation with the kind of ROE companies in the industry generate. The bigger question is how sustainable that number is. Of all the stocks, which our algorithms come up with, we took companies from, FMCG, software, financial services and speciality chemical. ET screener powered by Refinitiv’s Stock Report Plus lists down stocks with high upside potential over the next 12 months, having an average recommendation rating of “buy” or strong buy .

There are many sectors which have been able to do well because of policy push by the government. Many may not realize that “Tipper” which is a kind of light commercial vehicle ( LCV) did extremely well due to the fact that it is used in road construction and in the last eight years, that has done extremely well. Similarly a tile company did well because there was a housing boom and auto ancillary which was focussed on EV did well due to push to EV. Now with increased probability of continuation of policy push, some of these sectors and companies are likely to see continued tailwinds. ET screener powered by Refinitiv’s Stock Report Plus applies different algorithms & filters to all BSE and NSE stocks, and lists stocks which fulfill the various criteria as specified into the algorithms & filters to find those which might help navigate the stock market.

The Indian manufacturing sector is expected to witness significant growth in the upcoming years due to the government's focus on the sector, according to Arvind Kothari, the Founder of Niveshaay. Kothari expects renewable energy, recycling, and electronics manufacturing to emerge as promising potential wealth creators for the decade. In contrast, companies with poor cash flow and low visibility in earning growth could underperform in FY24, despite a strong earnings recovery season in Q4 anticipated.

There are some sectors which are able to face bears in a better way. The reason, the operating matrix of those sectors is such that rising interest rates and other economic headwinds have little impact on their working because they are taking care of a need which is very basic in nature and if spending has to be done on that, it cannot be postponed. Pharmaceutical companies come into that category. This is not to say that there was a phase of almost 7 years that pharma stocks became under-performers. That was a very different reason, most of which have been taken care of. So there is a good chance that this time pharma stock will be able to tackle bears in a much better way.

Decline in oil prices, increased economic activity are tailwinds. Will the step taken by RBI to control inflation show an impact on overall economic growth this quarter and that is what may turn out to be a headwind. The list of the logistic companies is based on upside estimated by the analysts, with the highest potential stock coming on the top of the list.

At a time when worrying about what will happen to the global financial markets is the norm, it is better to stay focussed on long term wealth creation and companies which have the right combination to make it. Of all the stocks, which our algorithms come up with, we took companies from four sectors: defence, FMCG, agrochemical and natural resources. ET screener powered by Refinitiv’s Stock Report Plus lists down stocks with high upside potential over the next 12 months, having an average recommendation rating of “buy” or strong buy .

Financial sectors stocks tend to do well, where there is inflow from foreign portfolio investors, the reason, it is their preferred sector for taking exposure to the Indian market for decades as it can also act as a proxy for GDP growth. After a gap of two months, September and October, FPI have been net buyers in the month of November and till date in December. Given the fact that in the last one year there has been a sort of underperformance by financials stocks, there is high probability that we might see some of them making a come back, we take a look at stocks from this sector where one of one of valuation matrix meets the criteria for investing for long term.

In 2008, the IPO of a power company got subscribed in less than a minute of its opening and the size of that issue was Rs 11,563 crore. This just shows the desire to own power sector stocks at that point of time. From those days of frenzy to the nadir in 2014, when power companies were on the top of the list of NPA of the banks. Power companies have seen both the extreme of valuations. It is a sector where after many failures and to some extent a consolidation, some companies have emerged which know how to deal with all kinds of economic and industry cycles. That is probably the reason why a number of companies from the power sector have seen a sharp re-rating in the last one year. Hoping the survivors have learnt their lessons.

While the recent performance of stocks like REC, PFC and recently listed IRDEA has brought focus back to one segment of power companies. But the fact is that in the last few years, the sector has been going through a consolidation. Some of it was forced by the banks due to many companies going under the IBC and some due to the fact that any industry which has gone through a troubled phase of almost a decade, the players who are able to survive tend to get more attention because they have learnt the art of surviving a tough phase which is one most important feature for long term survival. Power sector stocks are now catching up with what the market has witnessed in the last few years.

There are some sectors where the macro structure is such that for one or the other reasons the overall growth is higher. This is not to say that growth comes without phases of slowdown, but when tailwinds come they are able to take care of all the slowdown and over a period of time, growth is much better. So, at times valuations are high, take exposure to stocks and sectors where at least there is high probability of growth ensuring that over a period of time, valuations get normalized. When we talk of market size it is not only India but in some cases global markets also. Second, look at business that is bound to grow as markets expand and every transaction brings in some money to the topline and industry structure is such that cost does not grow in the same proportion leading to higher and stable margins.