Jefferies has reiterated its bullish stance on a clutch of Indian stocks following the June quarter earnings season, retaining ‘Buy’ ratings on companies across mining, banking, telecom, IT services, consumer goods and financial services. The brokerage believes improving earnings visibility, resilient execution and favourable sector-specific trends continue to support upside despite recent market gains.
Among its top picks, Jefferies has maintained positive recommendations on Coal India, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, Coforge, KFin Technologies, AU Small Finance Bank and IDFC First Bank.
While the triggers vary from power demand recovery and telecom profitability to stronger order books, deposit growth and consumer demand, the brokerage says each company is well placed to deliver healthy earnings growth over the medium term.
Jefferies on Coforge: ‘Buy’
Jefferies has retained its ‘Buy’ rating on Coforge and raised its target price to Rs 2,040 from Rs 1,860, implying a potential upside of 19%. The brokerage continues to describe Coforge as its preferred pick in the IT services sector, citing a strong order pipeline, improving margins and benefits from the Encora acquisition.
The brokerage said Coforge’s June-quarter performance exceeded expectations, supported by stronger-than-anticipated organic revenue growth and better margins at Encora. Organic revenue grew 1.1% quarter-on-quarter in constant currency, while the 12-month executable order book expanded 45% year-on-year to $2.2 billion, providing visibility for mid-teen organic revenue growth over FY27-29.
Jefferies expects the company to deliver a 23% EPS CAGR over FY27-29 and said cost synergies from the Encora acquisition are tracking ahead of management’s original plans.
Jefferies on Bharti Airtel: ‘Buy’
Jefferies has reaffirmed its ‘Buy’ recommendation on Bharti Airtel with a target price of Rs 2,350, seeing 21% upside.
The brokerage’s analysis of the company’s standalone financials, which closely reflect its India operations, highlights continued improvement in margins, free cash flow generation and leverage.
According to Jefferies, Bharti Airtel has significantly strengthened its balance sheet, with standalone net debt-to-EBITDA declining to 1.9 times from around 4 times in FY23. The brokerage also highlighted strong cost controls across network operations and sales and marketing expenses, which helped lift profitability, while free cash flow reached Rs 29,900 crore in FY26 with margins of around 25%. Jefferies expects the company’s India mobile business to continue benefiting from tariff increases, market share gains and improving return on capital, reinforcing its positive investment view.
Jefferies on Coal India: ‘Buy’
Jefferies has retained its ‘Buy’ rating on Coal India with a target price of Rs 500, implying a 22%. The brokerage said the stock also offers an attractive 24% total shareholder return, including an estimated dividend yield of about 7%.
While Coal India’s June-quarter cash EBITDA declined 9% year-on-year and came in 11% below Jefferies’ estimates due to higher operating costs, recurring profit still rose 1% from a year ago, broadly in line with expectations.
Jefferies expects earnings to improve as electricity demand recovers after a weak FY26, with dispatch volumes projected to grow at a 5% CAGR over FY26-29.
The brokerage also believes higher international thermal coal prices should help sustain e-auction realisations, supporting profitability over the coming years.
Jefferies on AU Small Finance Bank: ‘Buy’
Jefferies has reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating on Au Small Finance Bank with a target price of Rs 1,270, up from Rs 1,250, implying a 22% upside. The brokerage continues to identify AU Bank as its preferred mid-cap banking pick, citing healthy loan growth, stable asset quality and the long-term benefits of its transition to a universal bank.
The bank reported a 37% year-on-year increase in June-quarter profit, while loans and deposits grew 23% and 24%, respectively. Jefferies said net interest margins remained resilient at 5.9%, while credit costs eased to 1% of average loans as asset quality improved.
It expects the bank to deliver 22% loan CAGR over FY26-29, supported by franchise expansion, improving operating efficiency and stronger profitability following the transition to a universal banking model.
Jefferies on KFin Technologies: ‘Buy’
Jefferies has maintained its ‘Buy’ recommendation on KFIN Technologies and increased its target price to Rs 1,175 from Rs 1,125, indicating a potential upside of 24%. The brokerage said continued deal wins, improving margins in the domestic mutual fund registrar business and stronger profit guidance reinforce its positive outlook.
The company upgraded its FY27 guidance, raising its expected PAT growth to 12-15% from 10% earlier and EBITDA growth to 17-20% from 15-17%. Jefferies believes further upside remains possible as KFin continues to expand its international business, where new client wins, platform sales and value-added services are widening the revenue pipeline.
The brokerage estimates these initiatives could contribute an additional 4-5% to consolidated revenue over time and expects the international business to become an increasingly meaningful earnings driver.
Jefferies on Hindustan Unilever: ‘Buy’
Jefferies believes the recent correction in Hindustan Unilever‘s share price offers an attractive entry opportunity, maintaining its ‘Buy’ rating and target price of Rs 2,850, which implies around 35% upside.
The brokerage described the company’s June-quarter performance as only a marginal miss, noting that consolidated revenue still grew 10% year-on-year, the fastest pace in 13 quarters, with growth evenly split between higher volumes and pricing. While margins in the home care business remained under pressure and some categories delivered softer growth.
Jefferies believes these were outweighed by continued improvement in the broader portfolio, stable demand trends and management’s confidence in maintaining EBITDA margins within the 22.5%-23.5% guidance range despite raw material inflation.
Conclusion
Overall, Jefferies’ latest recommendations demonstrated confidence in companies that combine strong execution with long-term structural growth drivers. Across sectors, Jefferies continues to favour companies with improving profitability, resilient balance sheets and clear visibility on future growth.
Disclaimer: This article features stock recommendations, target prices, and research commentary issued by third-party brokerages for informational purposes only. The views, ratings, and return projections expressed do not constitute personalized financial advice, investment recommendations, or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities. Investments in the stock market are subject to market risks, price volatility, and potential loss of capital. Readers should evaluate their individual risk tolerance and consult a SEBI-registered financial advisor before making any investment decisions. This disclaimer has been generated using AI to support user well-being and responsible content consumption.