ITC rallies over 4%; stock top gainer on BSE Sensex

Shares of ITC rallied as much as 4.37 per cent to Rs 175.20 apiece on the BSE on Monday after reports said global brokerage firm CLSA has upgraded the stock to “Outperform” from “Buy” with the target price of Rs 220 per share.

At 11:05 AM, the stock was trading over 2.75 per cent higher at Rs 172.50 on the BSE against Friday’s close of Rs 167.85. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was trading 0.5 per cent higher at 40,712 levels.

The stock of ITC had hit a 52-week high of Rs 266.2 on November 11, 2019, while its 52-week low level stands at Rs 134.95, touched on March 13, 2020.

CLSA, as per reports, said the long-term positives of the company are unfolding as the revenue diversifies. Thus, the outlook is positive with compelling valuations.

The diversified conglomerate will focus on going deeper into Bihar and Bengal with its fresh dairy products over the next few years. Bihar and Kolkata in Bengal are the two markets where ITC’s fresh dairy products such as milk, curd, paneer and lassi – are currently available, said a Business Standard report dated October 8.

According to a yet another report by Business Standard, ITC’s Savlon is set to cross consumer spend of Rs 1,000 crore this year, a more than fourfold jump from last year and the first from the personal care portfolio to achieve the milestone. Sameer Satpathy, divisional chief executive officer, personal care products business at ITC, said, Savlon would be the first brand from the personal care portfolio to clock in consumer spend of Rs 1,000 crore.