Bottom Fishing | Penny stocks that mutual funds hold. Are they worth it?

Penny stocks are those which are traded at very low prices. Though there is no standard definition in India, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has defined all shares trading below $5 as penny stocks, as per Investopedia’s report. Penny stocks mostly have low market capitalisation and are highly illiquid at the exchanges. They are mostly under-researched stocks and may not be well-known to the larger investing public. Here is the list of stocks traded below Rs 20 and are held by domestic mutual funds. Data compiled from BSEIndia.com shows that most of them have been traded in a narrow range over the last two years. Portfolio data source is ACEMF and were as of September 30, 2022

City Online Services
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 4.7
Number of schemes that held the stock: 1
MF’s investment value: Rs 0.1 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 2 crore
Sector: Telecommunication - Service Provider
Scheme that held the stock: DSP Equity Opportunities Fund

Shukra Jewellery
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 6.5
Number of schemes that held the stock: 1
MF’s investment value: Rs 0.1 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 9 crore
Sector: Diamond & Jewellery
Scheme that held the stock: UTI ULIP

Sadbhav Infrastructure Project
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 6.7
Number of schemes that held the stock: 4
MFs’ investment value: Rs 4.4 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 236 crore
Sector: Engineering – Construction
Scheme that held the stock: HDFC Capital Builder Value Fund

SRM Energy
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 7.6
Number of schemes that held the stock: 1
MF’s investment value: Rs 0.2 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 7 crore
Sector: Textile
Scheme that held the stock: UTI ULIP

Vodafone Idea
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 8.7
Number of schemes that held the stock: 3
MFs’ investment value: Rs 6.5 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 27,847 crore
Sector: Telecommunication - Service Provider
Schemes that held the stock: DSP Dynamic Asset Allocation, DSP Equity Savings, SBI Equity Savings Fund

Gayatri Bio Organics
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 10.2
Number of schemes that held the stock: 1
MF’s investment value: Rs 0.5 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 63 crore
Sector: Consumer Food
Scheme that held the stock: SBI Large & Midcap Fund

Tine Agro
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 11.1
Number of schemes that held the stock: 1
MF’s investment value: Rs 0.2 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 6 crore
Sector: Textile
Scheme that held the stock: Baroda BNP Paribas Multi Cap Fund

MEP Infrastructure Developers
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 15.2
Number of schemes that held the stock: 2
MFs’ investment value: Rs 10.4 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 278 crore
Sector: Engineering – Construction
Schemes that held the stock: HDFC Balanced Advantage, HDFC Infrastructure Fund

Sadbhav Engineering
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 12.9
Number of schemes that held the stock: 5
MFs’ investment value: Rs 24.6 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 221 crore
Sector: Engineering – Construction
Schemes that held the stock: Aditya Birla SL Balanced Advantage, Aditya Birla SL Infrastructure, HDFC Hybrid Equity, HDFC Small Cap, SBI Contra Fund

Hindustan Construction Company
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 14.5
Number of schemes that held the stock: 3
MFs’ investment value: Rs 101.2 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 2,195 crore
Sector: Engineering – Construction
Schemes that held the stock: HDFC Balanced Advantage, HDFC Flexi Cap, HDFC Infrastructure Fund

PTC India Financial Services
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 14.2
Number of schemes that held the stock: 1
MF’s investment value: Rs 14.2 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 914 crore
Sector: Finance – NBFC
Scheme that held the stock: Quant Small Cap Fund

YES Bank
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 16.0
Number of schemes that held the stock: 3
MFs’ investment value: Rs 2.6 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 40,089 crore
Sector: Bank – Private
Schemes that held the stock: JM Large Cap, SBI Multi Asset Allocation, Tata Quant Fund

Hathway Cable & Datacom
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 16.1
Number of schemes that held the stock: 3
MFs’ investment value: Rs 27.9 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 2,841 crore
Sector: Telecommunication - Service Provider
Schemes that held the stock: Aditya Birla SL Pure Value, Aditya Birla SL Retirement-30, ICICI Pru Equity & Debt Fund

Reliance Power
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 16.5
Number of schemes that held the stock: 1
MFs’ investment value: Rs 6.6 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 5,593 crore
Sector: Power Generation/Distribution
Scheme that held the stock: HDFC Large and Mid Cap Fund

Dish TV India
Stock price (as of Oct 12, 2022): Rs 16.1
Number of schemes that held the stock: 2
MFs’ investment value: Rs 51.9 crore
BSE Mcap (Full): Rs 2,964 crore
Sector: TV Broadcasting & Software Production
Schemes that held the stock: Aditya Birla SL Flexi Cap, Taurus Largecap Equity Fund