ITC becomes second most valuable firm

ITC, a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major, has become the second-most valuable Indian company, surpasses refineries giants- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Reliance Industries - in overall market capitalization (m-cap) ranking.

ITC with a m-cap of Rs 3,15,797 crore at 1014 hours, was climbed to number two position ahead of ONGC and Reliance Industries having m-cap of Rs 3,14,842 crore and Rs 3,09,596 crore respectively. Information technology giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is at number one position with Rs 495,479 crore m-cap.

Market capitalisation or the value of a listed company is arrived at by multiplying the total number of its shares with its stock price on a particular day or time.

Shares in ITC touched a record high of Rs 399.50 during intra-day trade on BSE. In past three trading sessions, the stock rallied 10% from Rs 363 on December 3 on media reports that the government was reconsidering a proposal to ban sale of loose cigarettes. The m-cap of ITC surged by Rs 25,877 crore from Rs 289,920 crore during the period.

Gautam Duggad and Manish Poddar, analysts at Motilal Oswal Securities has maintain ‘buy’ rating on the stock with a price target of Rs 425, saying that stock continues to offer best-in-class earnings visibility due to strong pricing power in Cigarettes.

Regulatory and budget related overhang will weigh on the stock’s near term performance (budget 3 months away). However, after underperformance v/s FMCG index and broader markets, valuations are undemanding (ITC is trading at 20-35% discount to tier II consumer names), in our view, says analysts in a report dated November 25, 2014.

ITC Limited

TATA Consultancy Services ( TCS )

Bombay Stock Exchange - BSE