BHEL, ONGC, LIC, Indian Bank, SAIL and BOM among PSUs with 4 quarters of FII buying

Of the 12 stocks with market capitalisation above Rs 50,000 crore that have seen FPI ownership rise for four consecutive quarters, seven are public sector undertakings (PSUs). These include Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC), Indian Bank, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and Life Insurance Corporation of India Ltd.

Buying in these stocks comes even as FPI ownership in BSE 500 stocks fell to a 10-year low of 17.3 per cent in the September quarter. FPI outflows in 2026 alone stand at a whopping Rs 2,41,406 crore, the highest for any calendar year.

Data compiled from corporate database AceEquity suggests FPI stake in BHEL has increased in each of the past four quarters to 9.94 per cent in the September quarter, against 6.23 per cent in the year-ago quarter, up 371 basis points. FPIs held 9.53 per cent stake in Q1, 7.23 per cent in Q4FY26 and 6.23 per cent in BHEL at the end of the December 2025 quarter.

State-run refiner ONGC saw FPIs raise their stake to 8.55 per cent in the September quarter from 8.01 per cent sequentially and 6.98 per cent in the year-ago quarter.

In Indian Bank, FPI stake now stands at 6.87 per cent, compared with 4.68 per cent a year ago. FPI stake in Bank of Maharashtra rose to 6.5 per cent from 2.35 per cent a year ago. In IOB, it rose marginally to 0.48 per cent from 0.31 per cent.

Steelmaker SAIL also witnessed FPI buying, with foreign investors holding a 7.3 per cent stake in Q2 against 3.76 per cent a year ago. FPI ownership in India's largest life insurer, LIC, stood at 1.55 per cent, up from 0.13 per cent a year ago.

With November seeing strong inflows, Jefferies believes stocks such as Reliance Industries Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, Max Healthcare, JSW Energy, UltraTech Cement Ltd, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (IndiGo), Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL), Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), DLF and Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd could benefit from a reversal in FPI flows.

The global investment bank said large-cap valuations have turned more reasonable, with the Nifty 100 trading at 18.6 times its estimated one-year forward earnings per share (EPS), 5 per cent below its 10-year average. India offers significantly low beta, Jefferies said. Citing higher liquidity and FPI ownership, it sees large caps as the more direct beneficiaries of a revival in FPI flows.