Shares of Bharat Dynamics - a Miniratna defense PSU - have staged an 18 percent surge to hit an adjusted 52-week high of Rs 1,658.95, extending a nine-day run-up that saw a massive gain of 70 percent.
The company trades ex-split on May 24, after having recently announced it will divide one equity share with a face value of Rs 10 into two shares of a face value of Rs 5 each. This is the first such stock split ever by the company.
Explaining the rationale behind the share split, Bharat Dynamics (BDL) said it had to comply with the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management's (DIPAM) guidelines on capital restructuring, encourage wider participation of small investors, and enhance liquidity in the shares.
Bharat Dynamics has extended its year-to-date gains to over 80 percent, taking the market capitalization past Rs 58,000 crore.
Shares of BDL debuted in March 2018 at an IPO price of Rs 428 per share and have risen around 7x from that level in just over six years.
Separately, the company said A Madhavarao, BDL's CMD has been given the additional charge of Director (Finance) for a period of three months or till a regular appointment, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
BDL is scheduled to come up with its quarterly results on May 30.
According to Bloomberg data, 10 analysts have coverage on Bharat Dynamics seven of them have a "Buy" recommendation, while two analysts have a "Sell" rating, and one has a "Hold" call. Consensus estimates still see another 30 percent upside in Bharat Dynamics shares, despite the recent run-up.
BDL is not the only defense stock that has seen a sharp rally of late, riding on the 'Make in India' push and amid growing geo-political tensions between Russia, and the Middle East and challenging US-China relations.
A Jefferies note in April said it believed India’s capital spend on defense should continue at the 7-8 percent CAGR seen in the last decade. An indigenization focus could mean a double-digit growth in domestic defense spend, Jefferies added. The brokerage further said that doubling domestic defense spend from FY24 to FY30 should continue to drive stock prices upwards.
A recent Antique Broking report said it continues to be bullish on the segment and expects defense PSUs to benefit immensely as the Ministry of Defense has placed multiple big-ticket orders, that have helped DPSUs like BEL, HAL, and BDL bolster their already strong order book, meaningfully increasing revenue visibility. “We continue to believe in the robust ordering prospects that are expected to play out in the medium term as India looks to modernize its armed forces and also scale up exports with an emphasis on Make in India,” Antique said.
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