EPC player NCC's shares jumped nearly 4 percent on May 16 after brokerages upgraded price targets, implying strong upside potential for the stock. The shares of the Rekha Jhunjhunwala-backed construction company were trading at the highest level seen in over three months.
NCC on May 15 reported a net profit of Rs 254 crore for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2025, marking a 6 percent rise from the Rs 239 crore net profit reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. Its revenue from operations however tumbled nearly 5.5 percent on-year to Rs 6,131 crore. The company noted that it achieved its highest-ever annual order inflow of Rs 32,888 crore in the entire financial year 2025, with its consolidated order book hitting an all-time high of Rs 71,568 crore as on March 31, 2025.
Nuvama on NCC
Nuvama maintained a 'Buy' on NCC shares with a target price of Rs 282 apiece, implying an upside potential of nearly 24 percent from the previous close. The brokerage also reduced its estimates for FY26E and FY27E EPS by 4 percent and 7 percent respectively.
The management during an earnings call indicated that the execution could have been better. "Execution on the JJM projects has been adversely impacted in FY25 due to payment issues. Work on the smart meter project in Bihar has commenced while that in Maharashtra is also likely to gather pace now," Nuvama said.
JM Financial on NCC
JM Financial too maintained a 'Buy' on NCC but reduced its target price to Rs 285 apiece from the earlier estimate of Rs 330 apiece. The latest target price implies an upside potential of over 25 percent from the stock's previous closing price.
"NCC reported weak earnings in 4Q25 as adjusted PAT at INR 2.53bn (up 4% YoY) was below JM Financial's estimate of INR 2.64bn due to lower revenue and margins. We have cut FY26/27E EPS by 14%/13% factoring lower revenue/margins and higher interest costs," the brokerage said.
JM Financial noted that NCC has survived adverse business cycles and is showing marked improvement in operations and NWC management.
ICICI Securities on NCC
ICICI Securities retained its 'Buy' rating on the stock and hiked the target price to Rs 262 apiece (from the earlier Rs 239 apiece target price). The latest estimate implies an upside potential of over 15 percent from the stock’s previous closing price.
"The weakness in revenues stemmed from slow execution in water projects and smart meter orders. While the order execution on water projects is yet to pick up, it now forms only a small portion (6%) of the total order book (OB). Also, NCC received an order of INR 300bn in FY25. We believe that order execution on a few of the older orders is slow, leading to low growth in FY26E. We believe, revenues are likely to pick up in FY27E," the brokerage said.
Also read: Our LIVE blog on Q4 results
CLSA on NCC
CLSA turned out to be the most bullish on NCC shares, with a 'outperform' rating on the stock. The international brokerage kept a target price of Rs 315 apiece, implying an upside potential of nearly 38 percent from the stock's previous closing price, according to the brokerage note seen by CNBC-TV18.
NCC shares have gained nearly 8 percent in the past five days. The stock however has fallen nearly 15 percent in 2025 so far.
Also read: Our LIVE blog on stock market updates
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