Stock Picks Today: Honasa, HAL, Hindalco, HUL, And More On Brokerages' Radar

Honasa Consumer Ltd., Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. are among companies that have drawn commentary from top brokerages on Friday. Analysts have tweaked share price targets and future outlook after some of these companies announced their December quarter results.

Brokerages On HAL Q3 Results

Goldman Sachs

• Maintain Neutral with TP of Rs 5255.
• Q3FY26 Results Review: Balanced risk-reward.
• Execution of Tejas Mk-1A order to be closely tracked.
• Margins impacted by higher than expected employee cost.
• Robust order book is comforting; waiting for the pick-up in execution.

JPMorgan

• Maintain Overweight with TP of Rs 6004.
• Q3FY26 results were in-line.
• Quarterly P&L can be volatile due to the nature of its business.
• Enjoys a large market opportunity even excluding AMCA.
• Attractive valuation is an opportunity; LCA delivery is catalyst.

Jefferies

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 6220.
• 40% discount to BEL; execution delay priced in.
• Q3 EBITDA was 5% above estimates as revenue was a 3% beat.
• 9M revenues were up 11% YoY vs management guidance of 8-10% growth.
• Believe delivery of the first batch of Tejas Mk1A aircraft in the next six months is enough for a stock re-rating.
• Downside from current levels is limited.

ALSO READ:HAL Bags Rs 2,312-Crore Contract From Defence Ministry For Eight Dornier 228 Aircraft

Brokerages On Honasa Consumer Q3 Results

Jefferies

• Maintain Buy; Hike TP to Rs 500 from Rs 470.
• Building on the momentum from the earlier quarter.
• Reported an even better Q3 with growth in the teens and nearly twice that in younger brands.
• Mgmt sounded confident in its outlook for growth & margins.
• Journey has been bumpy, but the company is steadily emerging from this, which should also restore investor confidence.

Goldman Sachs

• Maintain Neutral; Hike TP to Rs 330 from Rs 315.
• Q3: Strong beat driven by growth and cost efficiencies.
• Earnings beat driven by stronger growth and lower than expected other expenses.
• Younger brands + Focus categories driving the growth recovery.
• Offline channel revamp showing results.

ALSO READ: Honasa Consumer Q3 Results: Mamaearth Parent's Profit Doubles, Margin Expands

Brokerages On Hindalco Industries Q3 Results

Citi

• Downgrade to Neutral from Buy; Hike TP to Rs 1000 from Rs 920.
• Structural ally bull thesis may be offset by leverage worries.
• See leverage concerns pending insurance recovery for the Oswego fires and clarity on the amount.
• Cash flow impact is higher than earlier anticipated.
• Expect Novelis net Debt/EBITDA to rise from 3.7x to 4.5x by FY27.

Jefferies

• Maintain Hold; Hike TP to Rs 890 from Rs 855.
• Weak quarter and Novelis concerns.
• India business witnessed weaker-than-expected performance of aluminum business.
• Raise FY27-28 EPS by 6% on higher aluminum prices.
• Concerned on multiple fire incidents clouding Novelis' operational outlook as well as rising debt levels.

HSBC

• Maintain Buy; Cut TP to Rs 1210 from Rs 1240.
• Strong underlying Q3; Oswego a one-time exceptional event, investors should look through it.
• Underlying earnings robust and should continue to improve.
• Large net debt increase partly driven by higher working capital in India, which should reverse.
• South32 aluminium production cut guidance highlights tight market.

ALSO READ: Hindalco Q3 Results: Net Profit Slumps 57% As One Time Loss Weighs

Brokerages On Hindustan Unilever Q3 Results

Goldman Sachs

• Maintain Buy; Cut TP to Rs 2750 from Rs 2800.
• Q3: Gradual recovery ahead, multiple strategic initiatives.
• Home care growth likely to accelerate, as pricing growth likely to turn positive.
• Encouraging recovery in foods.
• Makes major changes to organization structure to drive speed and innovation.

Jefferies 

• Maintain Buy; Hike TP to Rs 2850 from Rs 2815.
• HUL mgmt struck a confident tone on its outlook.
• Mgmt outlined initiatives focused on speed, agility, and customisation under the ‘Unified India' strategy.
• See push toward portfolio transformation, with an intent to take fewer but higher-impact bets.
• Like the strategic direction & commentary, the stock is likely to remain range-bound until growth pick-up is visible.

ALSO READ: Hindustan Unilever Q3 Results: Profit, Volume Growth Miss Estimates; Stock Declines Over 3%

Jefferies on Max Financial Q3 Results

• Maintain Buy; Hike TP to Rs 2240 from Rs 2130.
• Continues to grow well; valuations attractive; stays as top pick.
• VNB growth led by premium (APE) growth & margin expansion aided by better mix.
• 13M persistency ratio fell to 85%, so will watch trends here.
• Raise VNB est by 6% & see 16% VNB CAGR over FY26-28.

Brokerages on Bharat Forge Q3 Results

Kotak Securities

• Maintain Sell; Hike TP to Rs 1250 from Rs 1025.
• Segmental outlook improving; valuations remain expensive.
• Expect revenue growth to accelerate from now on.
• See an improvement in demand trends in the domestic auto segment on the GST cut.
• Expect bottoming out of the US and EU CV segments.
• With the US-India trade deal, expect improved profitability.
• Despite baking in recovery, valuation remains expensive.

Citi

• Maintain Sell with TP of Rs 930.
• FY26 Results Below Estimates; Outlook is very positive.
• Mgmt. is optimistic about exports as well as domestic segments.
• Mgmt is very positive about defence segment and expects 30-40% YoY growth in FY27.
• Remain cautious as defence order execution has been delayed.
• Valuations adequately price-in the positives but provide little room for error.

ALSO READ: Bharat Forge Q3 Results: Net Profit Up 28%, Revenue Sees Uptick

Jefferies on Petronet LNG

• Maintain Underperform; Cut TP to Rs 200 from Rs 225.
• Q3 review: weak print; capital allocation worry.
• Capacity expansion at Dahej by Mar-26 has little committed offtake as of now.
• Progress on PDHPP project has been slow.
• Proceeding with LNG terminal on the East Coast where it faces stiff competition.
• Cut FY26-27E Ebitda 8%/6% on the miss and lower marketing margins.

Citi on Coal India

• Maintain Neutral; Hike TP to Rs 415 from Rs 370.
• Q3 volumes and blended realizations lower YoY.
• Next wage revision in July 26.
• Volume trends remain muted; likely limited upside to e-auction prices given inventory in the system.
• Valuations limit downside, lack visibility on upside triggers.

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