Stocks to Watch: ITC, SBI, Zee Ent, Vedanta, RIL, Voda Idea, Nykaa, Paytm, and Others

Stocks To Watch on March 13: Equity markets ended higher on Tuesday due to heavy buying in index heavyweights amid mixed cues from Asian markets. In today’s trade, shares of ITC, SBI, Kfin Tech, Vedanta, Muthoot Capital among others will be in focus due to various news developments.

Kfin Tech: Kotak Mahindra Bank has sold 2 per cent stake in KFin Technologies through the open market for Rs 208 crore.

ITC: British American Tobacco has initiated a block deal to offload a 3.5 per cent equity stake in ITC to institutional investors, potentially raising as much as Rs 16,775 crore. The India division of the British cigarette manufacturer intends to dispose of up to 43.69 crore ITC shares through accelerated book building at a price range of Rs 384-400.25 per share, as reported by CNBC Awaaz, quoting sources. The share sale is priced at a 5 percent discount to Tuesday’s closing price at the lower end of the price band. This block trade in ITC will reduce the stake of its largest shareholder from approximately 29 per cent to about 25.5 per cent. BAT is subject to a 180-day lock-in period for any further stake sale in ITC.

SBI: On March 12, the State Bank of India complied with the Supreme Court’s order from March 11 and submitted data on electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The Supreme Court has instructed the ECI to make all this data available to the public on its website by March 15, 2024. The ECI has confirmed the receipt of this data from SBI.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises: The company has dismissed the suggestions made by the proxy advisory firm IiAS, which had urged investors to oppose the confirmation of two out of three recently appointed independent directors. IiAS had advised investors to reject the appointments of Venkata Ramana Murthy Pinisetti and Uttam Prakash Agarwal, attributing their stance to purported conflicts of interest and existing criminal charges, respectively. However, a representative from Zee has communicated to Mint that the recommendations made by IiAS were misleading.

Vedanta: On Tuesday the Securities and Exchange Board of India directed Vedanta India, formerly known as Cairn India Ltd (CIL), to remit ₹77.62 crore along with an annual simple interest of 18 per cent to Cairn UK Holdings Ltd (CUHL) due to a delay in dividend payments. Furthermore, SEBI has instructed Navin Agarwal, the Chairman and Managing Director, Tarun Jain, a Whole-time Director, Thomas Albanese, a Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer, and G.R. Arun Kumar, a Whole-time Director and Chief Financial Officer, to abstain from participating in the securities market for a period of two months.

HCC: On Tuesday, the board of Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. (HCC) gave its approval for the issuance of fully paid-up equity shares to generate Rs 350 crore via a rights issue, it said in an exchange filing. The fundraising was sanctioned in board meetings held in August of the previous year and February of this year, with the specifics of the rights issue being finalized on Tuesday. As part of the rights issue, HCC plans to release 16.66 crore fully paid-up equity shares. The company has set the rights issue price at Rs 21 per equity share, representing a 40 per cent discount to Tuesday’s closing price of HCC’s shares.

Reliance Industries: The majority of tankers carrying fuel from the refineries of Reliance Industries in western India are opting to navigate via the Cape of Good Hope. This decision is driven by the need to evade the Red Sea, which has seen an increased risk of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group, as per shipping sources and ship tracking data. Reliance is providing flexibility in its chartering contracts, allowing tanker owners to choose between the Red Sea, a crucial route for east-west trade, and the Cape of Good Hope. This flexibility ensures the safe transportation of fuels to the buyer, according to shipping sources.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories: The pharmaceutical giant said on Tuesday that it has been slapped with a tax demand and penalty exceeding Rs 74.22 crore by the GST authority for incorrect utilization of input tax credit. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has received an order, which includes interest and penalty, from the Additional Commissioner of Central Tax, Hyderabad GST Commissionerate. The order was issued on the grounds that the company had improperly used input tax credit or failed to reverse the input tax credit as per the provisions of the CGST/TGST/IGST Act, 2017. The tax amount stands at Rs 67,47,37,495, with the interest to be calculated based on applicable rates on the tax demand. The company further stated that the penalty amounts to Rs 6,74,73,752.

Vodafone Idea: The company anticipates that 40 per cent of its revenue will come from its 5G operations within 24 to 30 months following the launch of its next-generation mobile broadband service. The financially constrained telecom company has fulfilled its minimum 5G deployment obligations in four circles, as stated in an investor presentation filed on the BSE. The company is strategically focusing on repurposing its spectrum in the 900 MHz and 2100 MHz bands to enhance its 4G coverage across its 17 priority markets. Vodafone Idea, also known as Vi, stated that its goal for 5G is to account for 40 per cent of revenues within the first 24 to 30 months.

Paytm: According to sources cited by Reuters, the National Payments Corp of India (NPCI) is expected to grant a third-party application provider license to Paytm, officially known as One 97 Communications, by March 15. On the other hand, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not anticipated to prolong the March 15 deadline for Paytm Payments Bank, a banking division of Paytm, to cease its operations. Reuters reported that the third-party application provider license would enable customers to continue using the Paytm app for transactions through UPI, even after the banking segment concludes its operations.

FSN E-Commerce Ventures: Nykaa-KK Beauty, a collaborative venture involving Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, Nykaa, and Matrix India Entertainment, has ambitious plans to broaden its footprint in foreign markets, especially the Gulf region, over the coming year, as revealed by Kaif to ET. She said that they have recently initiated operations in Dubai and have a comprehensive expansion strategy for the Gulf region in the next year. Additionally, the company is set to enter two new markets, the details of which are yet to be disclosed.

Disclaimer:Disclaimer: The views and investment tips by experts in this News18.com report are their own and not those of the website or its management. Users are advised to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.