UCO Bank shares jump 8% today amid heavy volumes; here's what analysts say

Shares of UCO Bank Ltd rose sharply in Friday's trade amid heavy volumes. The stock jumped 8.02 per cent to hit a day high of Rs 28.03 over its previous close of Rs 25.95. Around 77.67 lakh shares changed hands today on BSE, which was nearly thrice compared to the two-week average volume of 26.61 lakh shares. Turnover on the counter stood at Rs 21.37 crore, commanding a market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs 33,082.14 crore. The counter has lost 12.60 per cent so far this year. However, it has zoomed 130.06 per cent in the past one year.

On the earnings front, UCO Bank's net profit jumped 110 per cent to Rs 652.97 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal (Q3 FY23) against Rs 310.39 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The net Interest Income (NII) in Q3 FY23 rose to Rs 1,951.87 crore compared to Rs 1,762.61 crore same period a year ago, clocking a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 10.74 per cent. Non-performing assets (NPAs) fell to Rs 2,406.90 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 3,333.59 crore in Q3 FY22.

Resistance on the counter could be seen between Rs 28 and Rs 30 levels, analysts suggested.

Pravesh Gour, Senior Research Analyst at Swastika Investmart, said, "The counter has witnessed a breakout of trend-line resistance on the daily charts. It has retested its previous breakout level after hitting a fresh 52-week high. The overall structure of the counter is impressive, as it is trading above all its important moving averages with a positive bias in momentum indicators. On the upside, Rs 29.50 has become an immediate resistance area; above this, we can expect a run-up towards Rs 32-plus levels in the near term. On the downside, if it breaks the Rs 25 level, then 24 is the next support level."

AR Ramachandran from Tips2trades said, "UCO Bank looks bullish on the daily charts and a close above resistance of Rs 27.65 could lead to a higher target of Rs 30 in the coming days. Support will be at Rs 26.25."

Ganesh Dongre, Senior Manager - Technical Research Analyst at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, said, "Investors can wait for some more time to enter this stock. No fresh buy is recommended at current levels."

Rajesh Bhosale, Technical Analyst at Angel One, said the counter faces key hurdles at Rs 28-30 levels.

The stock was last seen higher than 5-day, 20-, 100- and 200-day moving averages but lower than 50-day moving averages. The counter's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) came at 52.71. A level below 30 is defined as oversold while a value above 70 is considered overbought. The company's stock has a price-to-equity (P/E) ratio of 19.47. The earnings per share (EPS) of the firm came at 1.33, lower than the P/E ratio.

The scrip has a one-year beta of 0.54, indicating low volatility.

Meanwhile, Indian equity benchmarks returned to positive territory in late-morning deals today, led by gains in banks, metals, financials and energy stocks.

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