Very rarely does the metal sector go quiet. Normally, product cycles, steel prices, and global signs are noisy enough to pull investor attention for sure.
However, a quieter shift is happening. A few mid-tier metal players have silently cleaned their balance sheets, guarded margins, and increased their incomes. Yet they still trade at valuations that seem frozen in a past cycle.
This detachment is strange. India’s industrial expansion, infrastructure growth, mounting industrial output, and even green-energy hardware demand suggest a long-term need for metals.
Yet some of the best-positioned businesses seem to be overlooked completely because they’re not gracing the headlines.
So, we chose three such metal stocks that have a low P/E + low EV/EBITDA compared to industry medians and exhibit strong fundamentals, all drawn from Screener in, and company filings. Both P/E and EV/EBITDA are valuation metrics.
#1 The turnaround play: Maithan alloys
Maithan Alloys flies under the radar, a fact that is often obscured by the cyclic instability of the metal sector.
And it may not receive the same level of attention as most steel companies, but its numbers prove one thing: the company could be sturdier than the market gives it credit for.
The ferro-alloys maker had a consolidated net profit of ₹758 crores in FY25 (excluding a one-time adjustment), a ~182% YoY jump backed by effective gains and better price realizations.
The revenue for the second quarter was ₹491 crores, marking a ~5.37% growth YoY. However, the volatile demand environment meant marginal growth compared to the previous quarter. The net loss this quarter was ₹119 crores, marking a 184% drop from the same quarter in FY25. The company saw lower-than-expected manufacturing and sales due to rising power costs affecting plants in several cities, weak demand, and low realisations.
Share Price Trend 1-Year
The average return on equity has been 17% over the last three years.
A look at the valuations will show the stock trades at a deep discount. Its EV/EBITDA is around just 4.51×, below the broader metals’ median of 10.92. It has a P/E multiple of 6.20x, much lower than the median P/E of 15.48x.
A cutback in debt during FY24–FY26 has improved its balance sheet, providing the company with a strong financial profile in the ferro-alloys segment.
Does it deserve investor interest?
Maithan is a prominent producer of manganese-based ferro-alloys in India, which are crucial inputs for manufacturing steel.
As India’s infrastructure, construction, and trade push rises, the demand for high-quality steel increases, eventually leading to a growth in ferro-alloys demand.
Maithan also benefits from long-term customer stickiness and cost discipline, considering that it has restarted its wholly-owned subsidiary Impex Metal and Ferro Alloys in November this year.
Why does it stand out?
Given Maithan’s decrease in long-term debt, efficient operations, the reward-to-risk ratio seems favourable: solid earnings, steady cash flows, and a valuation that appears to discount the company’s long-term capability.
Why is it ignored?
It’s a mid-cap in a sector overshadowed by giants. But that’s precisely where the underlying mispricing perhaps lies.
Why could it surprise?
Ferro-alloys are used as a base of the steel value chain. When steel demand rises, input manufacturers like Maithan may see first-mover advantages.
Also, with EV/EBITDA still low, even small corrections in pricing or volume could potentially prompt a re-rating.
#2 The Infrastructure Proxy: Jindal SAW
Jindal SAW combines industrial metals manufacturing and downstream pipes/tubular supply, an under-explored position that spans both metal demand and infrastructure usage.
The company lies at a rare junction of metals and infrastructure through its products for water systems, oil & gas, and manufacturing networks. Despite its tactical significance, the market appears to overlook its improving fundamentals.
The company posted a revenue of ₹4,234 crores in Q2FY26, a drop of ~24% YoY compared to the previous financial year. Its net profit of ₹139 crores was ~70% lower than the same quarter in FY25.
Share Price Trend 1-Year
The company currently trades at a P/E of around 7.63x, lower than the median of 22.01x. The EV/EBITDA is ~5.3x, far below most peers in the pipes/tubes and industrial metals segments.
The stock price grew at a compounded annual rate of 52% over three years, while the average ROE was 15% during the same period.
Does it deserve investor interest?
Jindal SAW supplies pipes, tubes, and related industrial-metal products that are essential for the oil & gas, water supply, urban utilities, and infrastructure sectors.
The energy-sector capex globally, proposed extensions, Indian city-gas distribution, and water infrastructure directly feed into Jindal SAW’s core business.
As order flows recover, income visibility increases. With reasonable valuations, the stock may be structurally strong despite cyclicality.
Why it’s overlooked?
It falls between two stories, neither a pure-play metal stock nor a conventional infrastructure name, which has made investors wrongly bucket it as cyclical.
Why could it surprise?
If the industrial expenditure in the energy, pipelines, and infrastructure sectors in India and abroad picks up, the demand for tubular products could see a rapid increase.
#3 The Growth Beast: National Aluminium Company
NALCO is among the most integrated aluminium players in India. However, it is still undervalued compared to its structural strengths. The company’s mining-to-metal model guarantees it limits raw material costs, a vital moat in unpredictable markets.
Though not a small-cap as the previous two, NALCO stays under-loved, notably by retail investors who favour the bigger, high-visibility metal firms.
That means the stock is mispriced, considering the high demand for aluminium because of India’s infrastructural push.
The recent quarters show higher alumina and metal output, strong power-plant performance, and improved cost efficiency. The company posted a revenue of ₹4,292 crores in Q2FY26, marking a rise of 7.27% YoY from the previous financial year.
It had a net profit of ₹1,430 crores, showing a jump of 37% YoY during the same period. The stock price grew at a CAGR of 50% over three years, while the return on equity was 20% for the same period.
Share Price Trend 1-Year
The valuation remains attractive at 7.97x compared to the aluminium industry median P/E of 20.95x. The EV/EBITDA levels are remarkably relevant at 4.60x, much lower than the industry median of 11.63, considering the company’s integrated model and strategic significance.
Does it deserve investor attention?
Aluminium demand is connected to high-growth sectors such as green-energy firms, EV production, railways, power transmission, and industrial lightweighting.
With India advocating indigenisation and capacity growth, unified players like NALCO could see a demand pickup without being overly susceptible to supply-side cost spikes.
Why is it ignored?
Short-term commodity-price fluctuations often overshadow long-term demand opportunities.
Why it could surprise?
If global aluminium prices increase or local demand picks up, NALCO’s valuation could rerate significantly.
The common thread
All three companies are trading at EV/EBITDA multiples well below typical industry averages, indicating that the market isn’t pricing in a full recovery or rally.
Each has a reasonably healthy balance sheet, minimal debt or net-cash position, which offers a buffer against cyclical shifts, a rare quality among metal firms.
Their business models link directly to underlying macro themes: infrastructure expansion, steel/metal demand, energy, and industrial growth, areas where India is observing gradual long-term investment.
Finally, the valuation gap appears wide, not just on earnings metrics, but on an enterprise-value basis, offering lopsided benefits relative to drawbacks, if the demand recovers.
Risks to watch
The metals sector is volatile and often comes with risks.
A drop in aluminium, ferro-alloys, or steel demand globally could squeeze margins sharply.
The growing energy and raw-material costs, notably coal and power, can dent Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation for smelters and alloy producers.
Global demand cycles affect realisations for players with overseas exposure. Changes in tariffs, export duties, or anti-dumping measures from global allies can alter pricing.
The three companies represent the unusual mix of clean balance sheets, low valuations, and strategic significance, especially when India is moving to a multi-year industrial and infrastructure growth.
Their valuations suggest uncertainty, but their operating performance shows broad stability and readiness for the next metals up-cycle.
For investors, if industrial growth stays positive, these “quiet misfits” may become the biggest surprises in the metals space.
Disclaimer:
Note: We have relied on data from www.Screener.in throughout this article. Only in cases where the data was not available have we used an alternate, but widely used and accepted source of information.
The purpose of this article is only to share interesting charts, data points, and thought-provoking opinions. It is NOT a recommendation. If you wish to consider an investment, you are strongly advised to consult your advisor. This article is strictly for educative purposes only.
Archana Chettiar is a writer with over a decade of experience in storytelling and, in particular, investor education. In a previous assignment, at Equentis Wealth Advisory, she led innovation and communication initiatives. Here she focused her writing on stocks and other investment avenues that could empower her readers to make potentially better investment decisions.
Disclosure: The writer and her dependents do not hold the stocks discussed in this article.
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