India Cements shares rally 16%, hit a 52-week high on heavy volumes

A combined 9.8 million shares, representing 3.2 per cent total equity of India Cements, changed hands on the NSE and BSE till 03:00 pm.

Shares of India Cements soared 16 per cent to Rs 153.10, also its 52-week high on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Thursday in an otherwise weak market on the back of heavy volumes. The stock of the cement manufacturer surpassed its previous high of Rs 140 hit on May 26, 2020.

At 03:00 pm, India Cements was quoting at Rs 151, up 14 per cent, as compared to one per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex at 43,757 points. The trading volumes on the counter rose more than eight-fold today. A combined 9.8 million shares, representing 3.2 per cent of the total equity of India Cements, changed hands on the NSE and BSE so far.

Radhakishan Damani, the retail tycoon, and his family hold about 20.4 per cent stake in India Cements as of September 30, 2020, the shareholding pattern data shows. Earlier, this year between February and March, Radhakishan Damani, Gopikishan S Damani along with Persons Acting in Concert had acquired a stake in India Cements via open market purchases.

Analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services have a ‘sell’ rating on India Cements as the brokerage firm believes the company’s inability to reduce debts in absence of capex has been a concern for the last few years.

However, the management remains optimistic on the demand recovery, led by a pick-up in government spending. They expect prices to remain stable in the South markets and believe that there will not be any fight for market share gain. Cement prices in the South region have been volatile historically and sustainability needs to be seen for building in aggressive assumptions, the brokerage firm said in the September quarter result update.