Shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have lost 11% from their 52-week high. IRCTC shares, which touched a 52 week high of Rs 1,148.30 on May 22, 2024 ended at Rs 1025.15 on Thursday, falling 10.72% during the period. A majority (5.2%) of this correction came after the railway firm reported its Q4 and FY24 earnings on May 28. The earnings came below estimates which led to a correction in the stock.
In the current session, the stock ended 1.71% lower at Rs 1025.15 on BSE. Market cap of the firm slipped to Rs 82,012 crore. In a year, gains from the stock have risen to 59.23%. Market cap of IRCTC fell to Rs 82,012 crore.
IRCTC stock has a one-year beta of 0.8. This signals the stock has low volatility. A total of 2.81 lakh shares of the firm changed hands amounting to a turnover of Rs 29.52 crore on BSE.
In terms of technicals, the relative strength index (RSI) of IRCTC stands at 47.9, signaling it's trading neither in the overbought nor in the oversold territory. IRCTC stock stands lower than the 5 day, 10 day, 20 day, 30 day but higher than the 50 day, 100 day, 150 day and 200 day moving averages.
Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst, Swastika Investmart said, “The counter displays a highly bullish trend, characterised by higher highs and higher lows on the daily chart. The overall structure appears promising, with the price trading above all significant moving averages (50, 100, 200-SMA). Investors may consider entering at the current price of Rs 1,045, setting a stop loss at Rs 950, and aiming for a target of Rs 1,200 in the near term.”
Jigar S Patel, Senior Manager - Equity Research at Anand Rathi said, “Since reaching a peak of approximately Rs 1140 on May 23, 2024, IRCTC has experienced a significant decline, losing around 112 points, which translates to an approximate 11% drop. Currently, it is trading within a critical range where the trendline support is around Rs 1020, and resistance is around Rs 1060. A decisive close above Rs 1060 could indicate a potential further rise towards Rs 1100. However, at this moment, it is advisable to adopt a wait-and-watch approach until the price convincingly closes above Rs 1060. Conversely, a daily close below Rs 1020 might lead to increased selling pressure, potentially driving the price down to the Rs 980 level.”
Gaurav Bissa, VP, InCred Equities said, "IRCTC has witnessed strong upside in the last few months, which was in line with the way many of the PSU stocks especially railway theme behaved. The stock made a swing high breakout, which pushed the price toward Rs 1,100 levels. However, negative divergence in RSI resulted in profit booking at higher levels and currently the prices are trading near a small rising trendline support of Rs 1,000. Investors are advised to hold the stock and fresh investment is advised on a close above Rs 1,135 which will trigger breakout in multiple patterns in point and figure charts with targets as high as Rs 1,500 levels."
Jinesh Joshi, Research Analyst, Prabhudas Lilladher said the firm saw a PAT miss and EBITDA miss due to higher other expenses. It has assigned a price target of Rs 825 with a hold rating on the stock.
“The stock currently trades at 66.1 times our FY25E EPS estimate. We currently have a HOLD rating on the stock with a price target of Rs 825,” said the brokerage.
IRCTC reported a net profit of Rs 284 crore for the March 2024 quarter, up 2 percent from the year-ago period on higher ticket sales. Revenue climbed 20% to Rs 1,154.8 crore.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBIDTA) rose 3.4% to Rs 402.96 crore. EBIDTA margin came at 34.89 percent against 36.8 percent in the year ago period.
The contribution of internet ticketing to overall revenue decreased to 31 percent from 32.8 percent last year and 37.1 percent in FY23.
The IRCTC board has declared a final dividend of Rs 4 per share for the financial year 2023-24. This is 200 percent of the paid-up share capital amounting to Rs 256 crore.