Nirmal Bang’s top stock picks for 2020

Indian benchmark indices gave returns in double digits in the year 2019, with the BSE Sensex rising nearly 15 percent and the Nifty50 gaining over 12 percent. Local equities were boosted by continued FII inflows and improved sentiment in global markets over progress in US-China trade talks. Stock broking house Nirmal Bang has picked top stock ideas for 2020. (Disclaimer: CNBCTV18.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions)

Ashok Leyland has saved costs of nearly Rs 2,000-2,300 million in H1FY20 and expects to save costs totaling to Rs 5,000 million for the current year. Green shoots like good monsoon, stable freight rate, improved financing, government measures to revive the economy & potential pre-buy before BSVI transition could drive the volume in Q4FY20.

In last week of December, many dealers in UP and MP witnessed stock out situation. Eicher Motors intends to track wholesale volume with retail volume, as it wants to ensure that dealer is not left out with BSIV inventory.

City Union Banks’s share of top 20 borrowers in FY19 loan book stood at just 5.6%, indicating low concentration of exposures.

ICICI Bank’s subsidiaries have helped generate cross-sell culture, thereby enabling fee income traction at the bank. In bad times, stakes in subsidiaries can be monetized to provide cushion against provisions, Nirmal Bang said.

There is still substantial scope for margin improvement, especially in home care and food divisions, and we believe the company is well on course to achieve further margin gains of nearly 400 bps in the medium term, Nirmal Bank said.

Rural sales for Marico’s domestic business stood at ~32% at the end of financial year 2019. The company aims to take this up by 3-4% in the next 3-5 years by driving penetration at the bottom of the pyramid and deepening direct reach.

Nirmal Bang sees upside of 30 percent in Natco Pharma's stock.

Price erosion in base business is unlikely to be painful as the same is now commoditised with a median competitive intensity of eight players across its marketed ANDA portfolio.

Our optimism is supported by anticipated continued strong growth in rental revenue of operational malls, steady growth in office space rentals and strong growth in hotels because of cyclical upturn in the sector, Nirmal Bang said.