Tata Motors climbs 4%, hits 52-week high on improved earnings outlook

The stock has rallied 47 per cent in the past three months and 89 per cent in the last six months

Shares of Tata Motors hit a 52-week high of Rs 205.20, up 4 per cent, on the BSE in Monday's session, surpassing its previous high of Rs 201.80, touched on January 15, 2020.

The stock of the Tata group commercial vehicles company outperformed the market on the expectation of improved earnings. In the past three months, Tata Motors stock has rallied 47 per cent as against a 21 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex, while in the last six months, it has added 89 per cent as compared to a 34 per cent gain in the benchmark index.

In the month of December, Tata Motors reported a 21 per cent increase in total vehicle sales in the domestic market to 53,430 units.

The company’s commercial vehicle (CV) domestic sales in the October-December quarter (Q3FY21) stood at 82,155 units, up 48 per cent against the previous quarter, the company said in an exchange filing. READ HERE

M&HCVs and ILCVs led the recovery, growing by 10 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively over Q3FY20 with higher demand in infrastructure, including road construction, mining and e-commerce segments. The offtake continued to be higher than retail to support sequential month on month growth in retail while ensuring healthy inventory levels in the pipeline, the company said in a press release on January 1, 2021. 

Meanwhile, according to a Business Standard report, the Tata Safari, the erstwhile SUV which became synonymous with the segment and ruled the Indian roads for close to two decades, will soon be back in a new avatar codenamed Gravitas. CLICK HERE FOR FULL REPORT

Analysts believe the OEM will benefit from improving demand outlook, cost-cutting initiatives and better free cash flow (FCF) generation. Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR’s) retail volumes are improving from Covid lows, and system inventories are normalizing.

"The loss-making India passenger vehicles (PV) business has turned the corner and reported a positive margin, driven by robust market share gains. This will improve domestic cash flows and make the PV business more attractive for potential partners," analysts at HDFC Securities said in November 2020 report.