Bharat Electronics shares: Buy consistent, dependable defence player BEL, says Antique

Calling Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) as one of the most consistent performers in the defence sector and a dependable player, Antique Stock Broking suggested a 'Buy' rating on the stock, with a target price of Rs 376 apiece.

The domestic brokerage cited a solid track record of delivering 12 per cent revenue, 19 per cent Ebitda and 16 per cent profit after tax, compounded annually, over FY14-24; and noted that order inflow for BEL during the same period grew a robust 24 per cent annually, leading to an all-time high order backlog of Rs 76,000 crore at the end of FY24.

It has built in 15 per cent, 19 per cent and 21 per cent revenue, Ebitda and PAT CAGRs over FY24-27, respectively, similar to what the company has been consistently delivering over the last ten years.

"Recent stock price correction along with the broader sector and market correction offers a good entry point to own a quality defence stock with market leadership position in the defence electronics segment," Antique said.

BEL shares are down 10 per cent in 2025 so far. The stock, however, is up 25.6 per cent in the past one year.

The brokerage said BEL is all set to deliver strong double-digit earnings growth (21 per cent CAGR) over FY24-27. It maintained its positive stance on the long term prospects of BEL, saying the defence player has over the years developed multiple levers of growth by establishing robust infrastructure and strong relations with government entities. It also diversified into non-defence businesses to create new growth avenues.

BEL has guided for Rs 25,000 crore order inflow to materialise in FY25 and expects the order inflow to significantly improve for FY26 on the back of large ticket orders like QRSAM (Rs 25,000-30,000 crore). The next generation corvette/ MRSAM (Rs 15000 crore) is expected to be finalised in FY26, along with regular base orders worth Rs 15,000 crore.

The year-to-date order inflow for BEL stands at Rs 13,000 crore and given the guidance of Rs 25,000 crore, Antique Stock Broking expects order inflow to gain momentum in the near term.

"Calculated order backlog stands at Rs 74,400 crore, providing revenue visibility of 3.2 times its TTM revenue. BEL expects the large-ticket QRSAM order to materialise by the end of FY26. The ordering pipeline from a medium-term perspective is healthy with large-ticket orders like a) Long range radars, b) BMP upgrade order, c) Electronic warfare system, which will ensure more than Rs 40,000 crore of annualised order inflow for FY26/ 27," Antique said.