28 July 2010

A guide to Forbes India 20 stocks portfolio



By: Pravin Palande, T Surendar/Forbes India
Around this time last year, Mumbai was still impatiently waiting for the arrival of the monsoons. It would have been the season’s best reprieve for anxious investors who were till then reeling under the heat of a global market meltdown. In retrospect though, it may have been the ideal starting point for Indian investors. 

20 stocks you must own


Exactly a year before now, in our first cover story on the markets, we had recommended that investors resume buying. We had recommended a portfolio of 20 stocks that would mirror an array of opportunities the Indian economy presented.
A year later, barring two companies, the portfolio has ended with positive returns. Three companies P&G, Page Industries and Pidilite have returned 100%. Five other stocks gained 70%.
On the whole, the Forbes India 20 portfolio was up 54%, compared to 45% of the mid-cap index (most of our recommendation was from this category). The broad market went up by 15% during the same time.
To be honest, there were enough easy pickings. Many companies were powering ahead before the global bust and yet, their valuations had fallen off the cliff. Almost all our stock picks had a strong domestic story that helped insulate them from the global instability.
But that was last year. Many Indian companies are now quickly reaching their pre-slump level in sales. Having scaled back expansion plans, they will soon churn out their full capacities, leaving little headroom for volume growth.
Investors have already guessed that Indian companies will continue to perform well, and lapped up stocks at prices that have already discounted the current financial year’s earnings.
Our considered opinion is that any investments in the stock market may not yield above-average returns in the next one year. 



Morning views



hakti Pumps losing steam as investors offload shares

Shares of Madhya Pradesh-based Shakti Pumps, manufacturer of submersible pumps and motors, have been weighed down by selling pressure in the past couple of sessions.

The stock, which fell 4.3% to Rs 285.50 on Tuesday, has fallen over 15% in the past couple of days after witnessing a sharp rally in the past few months on large volumes. Dealers tracking the counter say that some wealthy investors, who had loaded up the stock, are selling.

According to the market buzz, the company was rumoured to be close to bagging some large orders from the government. But in the absence of any such announcement, these investors dumped the stock. The stock clocked a high of Rs 340 last Friday.

Ferro Alloys in demand on stake sale buzz

Ferro Alloys Corporation has been in the thick of activity on bourses of late on talk some groups are in the race to buy a stake in the company.

Initially, the talk was that the promoters of Ferro Alloys’ were only interested in selling a minority stake. Subsequently, there was speculation that a majority stake sale was also being explored. However, differences over valuations between prospective buyers and the promoters have led to talks getting stalled.

Brokers said promoters are demanding at least Rs 50 per share, while the prospective buyers are not willing to pay that much, especially as the stock is currently trading at about Rs 31. Ferro Alloys officials were unavailable for comment on the matter. The stock has risen about 17% in the last six sessions.