Analysts see over 15 per cent upside in Maruti Suzuki shares post strong Q4 numbers

After an impressive set of the fourth quarter results by the country's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India, brokerage houses like Sharekhan and Reliance Securities have upgraded the target price of Maruti Suzuki shares to Rs 4,400 and Rs 4,199, respectively.

Sharekhan had earlier set a target price of Rs 4,250.

Maruti Suzuki on Monday announced its fourth quarterly result and beats market estimates. For the quarter ended March 2015, the company registered net profit of Rs 1,284.24 crore, up 60.52 per cent, against Rs 800.05 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The management of Maruti Suzuki has targeted a double-digit volume growth in 2015-2016, in excess of the industry growth estimate of 6-8 per cent.

According to Sharekhan, Maruti Suzuki continued to fortify its market leadership position and reported a 6.2 per cent volume growth for the quarter outpacing the industry.

The benefit of a sharp depreciation in the Japanese Yen (JPY) as against the US Dollar on operating profit margin was visible during the quarter as margins expanded by 322 basis points sequentially to 15.9 per cent.

With a strong product portfolio and a robust product pipeline, it is best positioned to defend its market share and leadership position.

Reliance Securities in its research note says, "We have been highlighting Maruti as our top pick to play recovery in the Indian automotive sector and continue to believe the company is in the midst of a best model cycle."

In the past one year, the share price of the company jumped 87 per cent to Rs 3,646.70 on April 27 against Rs 1,952.40 on April 28 last year.