This week in analyst picks we take a look at stocks with YoY revenue and profit growth above 10% in Q3. We also look at forward PE ratio estimates for these stocks one year from now. 

The forward PE estimate is the expected value of earnings to the share price one year ahead. To calculate the FY24 forward PE ratio, we use the Forecaster's target price estimates and annual one-year forward forecaster EPS estimate.

1. Larsen & Toubro: BOB Capital Markets maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this construction and engineering company, and raises its target price to Rs 2,440 from Rs 2,390. This indicates an upside of 12.7%. In Q3FY23, the company’s net profit grew 24.3% YoY to Rs 2,552.9 crore and revenue rose 17.3% YoY to 46,389.7 crore. 

Analysts Vinod Chari, Tanay Rasal and Nilesh Patil write that the firm remains “the best play on India’s capex story, and is our preferred capital goods pick.” They believe the company is well-positioned to benefit from the Centre’s push toward infrastructure given its robust tendering pipeline and order win rate of 15–20%. The analysts also see increasing private sector orders as a positive for the company. In Q3FY23, private sector orders accounted for 39% of L&T’s total order inflows, up from 18% a year ago.

Given the robust order pipeline, the analysts anticipate healthy growth in order inflows in the coming quarters. Chari, Rasal and Patil expect the company’s revenue to grow at a CAGR of 16.9% over FY22-24. Larsen & Toubro’s FY24 forward PE estimate is 31.7, higher than the current PE TTM of 30.

2. Coal India: ICICI Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this coal mining company and revises its target price to Rs 282 from Rs 294. This implies an upside of 28.6%. In Q3FY23, the firm’s net profit surged by 70.1% YoY to Rs 7,755.6 crore and revenue grew by 23.7% YoY to Rs 35,169.3 crore. 

Analysts Rahul Modi and Anshuman Ashit cite cost increases - driven by higher wage provisioning and contractual expenses - for lowering the target price despite robust results. The analysts do point out that growth was driven by an increase in volumes and realisations. They expect this growth momentum to continue given the strong domestic demand for coal. The analysts expect Coal India’s production volume to touch 700 million tonnes in FY23. They added, “With 9MFY23 production/offtake already at 479 and 509 million tonnes (+15.8%/+5.4% YoY), CIL's volume is poised to reach 700 million tonnes in FY23.”

Given the strong operational performance and with domestic demand for coal remaining strong, Modi and Ashit anticipate the company’s net profit to grow at a CAGR of 11.4% over FY22-25. The forward PE estimate for Coal India stands at 5.3, higher than its current PE TTM of 4.6.

3. Bajaj Finance: KRChoksey maintains a ‘Buy’ call on this NBFC with a target price of Rs 8,030, indicating an upside of 30.3%. In Q3FY23, the company’s net profit grew by 39.9% YoY to Rs 2,973 crore while its revenue grew by 26.4% YoY to Rs 10,786 crore. 

Abhishek Agarwal said, “Bajaj Finance continued to post strong growth in terms of business and profitability.” He added, “The NBFC has registered the highest-ever customer addition during the quarter.” The analyst is optimistic about the finance company on the back of its strong background, brand name, diversified product offerings, prudent risk management, and long-term potential for robust AUM growth. He expects Bajaj Housing Finance (a subsidiary) to be a core driver for growth in upcoming quarters, led by improving opportunities in the housing finance business. 

Agarwal expects profit and net interest income to grow at 35.1% and 25.4% CAGR respectively, and the asset quality to remain stable. The forward PE estimate for Bajaj Finance is 39.5, which is higher than the current PE TTM of 34.4.

4. Laurus Labs: ICICI Direct retains a ‘Buy’ call on this pharmaceutical company with a target price of Rs 400. This indicates an upside of 21.2%. In Q3FY23, the company reported an increase of 32.1% YoY in net profit to Rs 203 crore. It reported revenue of Rs 1,546.2 crore (up by 49.5% YoY), which the analysts Siddhant Khandekar, Kushal Shah and Utkarsh Jain believe increased on the back of 210% YoY growth in custom synthesis. 

According to the analysts, the company is well-positioned to meet the fast-growing global demand for new chemical entity drug substances and drug products with ongoing supplies for seven commercial products. They are also positive about the pharma company due to its robust order book, product launches in anti-diabetic (FY23) and CV portfolio in the United States and Europe that have a target opportunity at $40 billion. The forward PE estimate for Laurus Labs is 27.7 as against the current PE TTM of 19.4. 

5. Westlife Foodworld: Axis Direct maintains its ‘Buy’ call on this fast food restaurant holding company with a target price of Rs 930, indicating an upside of 32.7%. In Q3FY23, the company’s net profit increased by 72.4% YoY to Rs 36.4 crore and its revenue grew by 28.7% to Rs 619.2 crore. 

Analyst Preeyam Tolia believes that same-store sales growth stood at 20% led by increased footfalls, improved product mix and price hikes. His confidence in the restaurant chain holder comes from bright future prospects supported by the company’s strong execution track record of revenue and EBITDA growth, driven by new product launches and cost rationalisation programs. He expects Westlife Foodworld to deliver revenue EBITDA growth of 30% and 43% CAGR, respectively,  over FY22-25. Westlife Foodworld’s forward PE estimate is 104.3 as compared to the current PE TTM of 102.7.

All these stocks have a higher forward PE ratio as the average target share price of these stocks is relatively higher compared to their forward earnings per share.

Note: These recommendations are from various analysts and are not recommendations by Trendlyne.

(You can find all analyst picks here)