BEL shares down 3% after Q3 results; should you buy, sell or hold this defence stock?
Choice Institutional Equities added that they see near-term optionality from NGC orders worth Rs 3,000-5,000 crore in Q4 and the large-ticket QRSAM order, where the probability exceeds 90% for Q4 FY26.
- Jan 29, 2026,
- Updated Jan 29, 2026 12:02 PM IST
Shares of Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) slipped more than 3 per cent in Thursday’s trade, facing profit booking despite the Navratna defence PSU reporting a strong set of numbers for the third quarter ended December 2025.
At 11:36, the BEL counter was quoting at Rs 445 apiece on the BSE, down 1.85 per cent, after falling 3.2 per cent to touch a day’s low of Rs 438.50 in early trade against its previous close of Rs 453.40.
In a regulatory filing submitted to exchanges, the state-owned defence major reported a robust 20 per cent growth in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) attributable to owners of the company, which stood at Rs 1,579.10 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2025, compared to Rs 1,311 crore posted in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated revenue from operations surged to Rs 7,153.85 crore during the quarter, up from Rs 5,792.09 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The brokerages remain largely optimistic about the defence behemoth, citing strong order pipelines and margin expansion.
JM Financial maintained an ‘Add’ rating on BEL counter with a revised target price of Rs 480. The brokerage highlighted that the favourable execution mix and increasing indigenisation resulted in EBITDA margin expanding 100 bps YoY to 29.7 per cent, which came in ahead of estimates.
Choice Institutional Equities reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating with a target price of Rs 550, valuing the stock at 40x FY28E EPS.
Choice noted in its report that the company is firmly in a sweet spot, driven by strong execution, accelerating order momentum and improving strategic depth.
Choice Institutional Equities added that they see near-term optionality from NGC orders worth Rs 3,000-5,000 crore in Q4 and the large-ticket QRSAM order, where the probability exceeds 90% for Q4 FY26.
Nuvama retained its ‘Buy’ call, valuing the stock at 45x FY28E EPS with a revised target price of Rs 525, up from Rs 520. Similarly, Jefferies maintained a 'Buy' rating on the stock and raised its price target to Rs 565 from Rs 510 per share.
As per the exchange filing, the order book position of the company as on January 1, 2026, stood at Rs 73,015 crore.
JM Financial said that with major orders likely to be concluded in the fourth quarter, the management is confident of surpassing its order inflow guidance of Rs 27,000 crore for FY26. Major expected inflows include the Next Generation Corvette (NGC) orders and the Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) project, it said.
Shares of Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) slipped more than 3 per cent in Thursday’s trade, facing profit booking despite the Navratna defence PSU reporting a strong set of numbers for the third quarter ended December 2025.
At 11:36, the BEL counter was quoting at Rs 445 apiece on the BSE, down 1.85 per cent, after falling 3.2 per cent to touch a day’s low of Rs 438.50 in early trade against its previous close of Rs 453.40.
In a regulatory filing submitted to exchanges, the state-owned defence major reported a robust 20 per cent growth in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) attributable to owners of the company, which stood at Rs 1,579.10 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2025, compared to Rs 1,311 crore posted in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated revenue from operations surged to Rs 7,153.85 crore during the quarter, up from Rs 5,792.09 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The brokerages remain largely optimistic about the defence behemoth, citing strong order pipelines and margin expansion.
JM Financial maintained an ‘Add’ rating on BEL counter with a revised target price of Rs 480. The brokerage highlighted that the favourable execution mix and increasing indigenisation resulted in EBITDA margin expanding 100 bps YoY to 29.7 per cent, which came in ahead of estimates.
Choice Institutional Equities reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating with a target price of Rs 550, valuing the stock at 40x FY28E EPS.
Choice noted in its report that the company is firmly in a sweet spot, driven by strong execution, accelerating order momentum and improving strategic depth.
Choice Institutional Equities added that they see near-term optionality from NGC orders worth Rs 3,000-5,000 crore in Q4 and the large-ticket QRSAM order, where the probability exceeds 90% for Q4 FY26.
Nuvama retained its ‘Buy’ call, valuing the stock at 45x FY28E EPS with a revised target price of Rs 525, up from Rs 520. Similarly, Jefferies maintained a 'Buy' rating on the stock and raised its price target to Rs 565 from Rs 510 per share.
As per the exchange filing, the order book position of the company as on January 1, 2026, stood at Rs 73,015 crore.
JM Financial said that with major orders likely to be concluded in the fourth quarter, the management is confident of surpassing its order inflow guidance of Rs 27,000 crore for FY26. Major expected inflows include the Next Generation Corvette (NGC) orders and the Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) project, it said.