ITC, RIL, BEL, JFS among 13 Nifty stocks to hit 52-week lows in October; target prices

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), ITC Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Jio Financial Services Ltd are among 13 Nifty constituents that hit their 52-week lows in October so far. This comes even as Bloomberg consensus estimates suggest 27 per cent potential upside for the Nifty over the next 12 months.

RIL and BEL hit fresh lows earlier today, with consensus estimates suggesting potential upsides of 31-40 per cent for the two stocks.

BEL hit a one-year low of Rs 360.50. Amid the ongoing weakness, the stock received at least four 'Buy' calls in the past week. Kotak Institutional Equities said the correction offered a more balanced risk-reward, supported by a strong pipeline of large defence programmes, with missiles and exports emerging as key growth drivers. BEL's 12-month consensus target price of Rs 488 suggests 31.7 per cent potential upside.

RIL hit a 52-week low of Rs 1,160.20 today. Jefferies said largecaps such as RIL are better placed as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) begins a rate-hike cycle. Nuvama last week retained its 'Buy' rating on the stock, with a target price of Rs 1,766, saying the oil-to-telecom major could report stronger-than-expected Ebitda growth in the September quarter. The domestic brokerage expects RIL's consolidated Ebitda to rise 17 per cent year-on-year (YoY), against its earlier estimate of 12 per cent, driven by a further expansion in middle distillate crack spreads. The consensus target price stands at Rs 1,639, implying 39.8 per cent potential upside.

ITC shares surged 5 per cent to Rs 266.90 intraday, a day after hitting a 52-week low of Rs 253.15 following block deals worth nearly Rs 9,400 crore involving GQG. For the September quarter, Emkay expects ITC's net sales to grow 3 per cent YoY, while Ebitda is likely to decline 15 per cent, mainly due to the drag from the cigarettes segment. Nonetheless, the FMCG major's 12-month consensus target price of Rs 325 suggests 21.9 per cent potential upside.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd were among the auto stocks that hit 52-week lows on Thursday. Max Healthcare Institute Ltd, NTPC Ltd, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd and Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) also touched their one-year lows on the same day.

Among Nifty stocks, M&M offers the highest potential upside of 47 per cent, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates, with a 12-month target price of Rs 4,127.61. TCPL's target price of Rs 1,318 implies 38 per cent potential upside, while NTPC's target price of Rs 427 suggests 37 per cent upside. Consensus targets for Max Healthcare, Maruti Suzuki and ONGC also point to significant potential gains.

Bharti Airtel Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) and Jio Financial Services Ltd hit their one-year lows on October 1. Bharti Airtel's 12-month consensus target price of Rs 2,300 suggests 27 per cent potential upside, while HUL's target implies 28 per cent upside. Jio Financial's consensus target price of Rs 300 indicates 29 per cent potential upside.