Stock Recommendations Today: Dabur, RK Forgings, Voltas, Coal India On Brokerages' Radar

Dabur Ltd's March quarter performance is drawing mixed reactions from brokerages, with weak core numbers but expecting gradual recovery.

Coal India Ltd. is on the radar too, as improving volumes and prices subdued in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, analysts see limited downside due to valuation.

Over at the macro level, Jefferies sees the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan as a cause of concern. However, it added that any correction in the market would be short lived.

NDTV Profit tracks what analysts are saying about various stocks and sectors. Here are the key brokerage calls to watch on Thursday.

Brokerages On Dabur

Macquarie

• Macquarie maintains a Neutral rating on Dabur with a target price of Rs 480.

• Fourth quarter Ebitda was broadly in line with expectations.

• Dabur is targeting high-single-digit sales growth for fiscal year 2026.

• The company expects gradual recovery, supported by the impact of a 3.5–4% price hike implemented in fourth quarter.

Citi

• Citi maintains a Sell rating on Dabur and has increased the target price to Rs 470 from Rs 450.

• Dabur ended fiscal 2025 with weak overall performance.

• Citi notes continued challenges across both growth and profitability.

• They are watching to see if the company's recent strategic refresh can drive a sustained acceleration in performance.

Citi on Coal India

• Citi maintains a Neutral rating on Coal India and has slightly raised the target price to Rs 395 from Rs 390.

• Fourth quarter volumes and pricing were subdued.

• They expect limited upside in e-auction coal prices due to existing inventory levels in the system.

• While valuations limit downside risk, Citi sees limited visibility on potential upside triggers.

Jefferies on India-Pakistan Conflict

• Jefferies highlights rising concerns over the India-Pakistan border situation.

• It notes that previous incidents of this nature over the past decade have largely de-escalated with minimal impact on financial markets.

• However, an escalation cannot be ruled out entirely.

• In the event of escalation, Jefferies expects negative implications for the tourism sector and high-beta stocks.

• Any market correction resulting from such an event is likely to be short-lived, according to their view.

Macquarie on Voltas

• Macquarie maintains an Outperform rating on Voltas with a target price of Rs 1,520.

• The Unitary Cooling Products segment showed a margin surprise on the positive side.

• The project business has returned to losses.

• The summer season is turning out to be weaker than initially expected.

• Macquarie believes that near-term upside is limited and continues to prefer Havells over Voltas.

CLSA on MRF

• CLSA maintains an Outperform rating on MRF and has raised the target price to Rs 1,68,426 from Rs 1,28,599.

• MRF reported an EBITDA margin of 15% in fourth quarter, which is a 337 basis points increase quarter-on-quarter.

• The company appears to be at the beginning of a margin upcycle.

• CLSA expects the full benefit of the recent commodity price correction to reflect in second quarter of financial year 2026.

• MRF's industry leadership and superior capital efficiency continue to drive steady cash flows.

UBS on RK Forgings

• UBS has downgraded RK Forgings from Buy to Neutral and lowered the target price to Rs 680 from Rs 1,500.

• The company is facing multiple headwinds including tariffs, a slowdown in the commercial vehicle sector, and an inventory write-off.

• A weakening global CV cycle and tariff-related slowdowns are expected to impact performance.

• The recent one-time inventory write-off could negatively affect future projections.

• While the long-term outlook for Indian forging companies gaining global market share remains positive, medium-term challenges are likely to dampen growth and profitability.

• UBS has reduced its financial year 2026 and fiscal 2027 earnings estimates by 17% and 23%, respectively, based on the current environment.

BofA on PNB

• Bank of America maintained an Underperform rating on Punjab National Bank with a target price of Rs 100.

• The fourth quarter results were a miss on key core profitability drivers.

• BofA views PNB's core profitability as among the weakest within the public sector bank space.

• Current valuations already assume that the bank will sustain return on assets.

• Given the limited room for positive surprises, the risk-reward does not appear attractive.

• The fiscal 2026 guidance for net interest margin and RoA is considered aggressive by BofA.