HPCL Defies Forecasts

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. has gained the most among state-run oil refiners and marketers in the last six sessions, driven by its proposed merger with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and quarterly earnings.

HPCL rose 22 percent during the period, compared to Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.'s 17 percent and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.'s 11 percent.

Better-than-expected earnings for the quarter ended June, higher refining margins, a stronger rupee and high crude prices have also aided HPCL's performance.

That has helped the oil refiner outperform peers year to date, gaining 56 percent. IOC has risen 33 percent and BPCL 25 percent so far this year.

Analyst failed to predict this as 28 percent of those tracked by Bloomberg have a ‘sell' rating on the stock. That's more than 14 percent ‘sell' rating for IOC and 19 percent for BPCL.

HPCL's forward enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation stands at 8.1 times, cheaper than BPCL but higher than IOC.