Punjab National Bank Shares Jump As Q3 Profit Doubles

Shares of Punjab National Bank rose on Friday after its standalone net profit doubled in the third quarter of the current financial year.

The bank's standalone net profit during the quarter ended December rose to Rs 4,508 crore, compared to Rs 2,223 crore in the year-ago period. The net interest income—the difference of interest earned and interest paid— for the quarter rose 7% to Rs 11,032 crore.

This compares to Rs 10,293 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Punjab National Bank's asset quality also improved during the quarter under review, with the gross non-performing assets ratio declining to 4.09% from 4.48% in the previous quarter.

PNB's stock rose as much as 5.54% during the day to Rs 101.87 apiece on the NSE. It was trading 4.50% higher at Rs 100.86 apiece, compared to a 1.04% advance in the benchmark Nifty 50 as of 3:07 p.m.

The share price has declined 11.77% in the last 12 months. The relative strength index was at 60.26.

Eight out of the 18 analysts tracking this bank have a 'buy' rating on the stock, five recommend a 'hold' and as many suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analysts' price targets implies a potential upside of 3.8%.