Canara Bank shares: Rekha Jhunjhunwala stayed put in this PSB stock; here's what lies ahead

Rekha Jhunjhunwala, wife of late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, has kept her stake unchanged in the Canara Bank for the quarter that ended on March 31, 2023, the latest shareholding pattern of the lender suggests. Jhunjhunwala kept her stake unchanged for the straight second quarter in a row.

According to the latest shareholding pattern, Rekha Jhunjhunwala owned 3,75,97,600 equity shares, or 2.07 per cent stake, of Canara Bank as of March 31, 2023, which is currently worth about Rs 1,075 crore. Her stake stood at the same level on December 31, 2022.

The shareholding of Canara Bank was transferred to Rekha Jhunjhunwala after the legendary investor and the big bull of Dalal Street Rakesh Jhunjhunwala passed away in August 2022. His shares are now transferred to Rekha Jhunjhunwala, his surviving better half.

Shares of Canara Bank were trading slightly down, about a per cent, to Rs 285.70 at 11.45 am on Wednesday as the lender commanded a cumulative market capitalization of Rs 53,000 crore. The stock settled at Rs 287.90 on Tuesday. It is trading about 17 per cent below its 52-week high at Rs 341.60, hit in January this year.

Shares of Canara Bank have jumped 26 per cent in the last six months, while the stock is up 20 per cent in the last one year. However, it has plunged about 18 per cent in the year 2023 so far.

Established in 1906, Bengaluru-based Canara Bank is the fourth largest Indian public sector bank (PSB). The government of India nationalized Canara Bank, along with 13 other major commercial banks of India in 1969. Outside India, the bank has offices in London, Dubai and New York.

According to the data from Trendlyne, Rekha Jhunjhunwala publicly holds 29 stocks with a net worth of over Rs. 26,770.9 crore, as per the latest corporate shareholdings filed so far.

Antique Stock Broking also has a 'buy' rating on the stock and pegs its value at Rs 405. It expects Canara Bank to report a 26.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in NIIs to Rs 8,848.7 crore, while its profit is pegged at Rs 2,949.8 crore, up 77 per cent YoY. Asset quality to remain strong and credit cost contained and Canara Bank is among its valuation's reversion plays.

Among PSBs, top names are expected to report 15-18 per cent YoY growth in advances and other PSBs are likely to report growth equivalent to the system’s growth, said ShareKhan by BNP Paribas.

"PSBs, having a higher share of MCLR-linked loans in their books, could see better margin performance because pass-through has been slow. We remain watchful on margin guidance going forward as we are closer to peaking of margins for banks," it added.

Another domestic brokerage firm, Kotak Institutional Equities, finds Canara Bank among the attractive lenders and has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 340 apiece.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Business Today)

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