Navratna Defence PSU Stock to Buy: Up 30% YTD, this scrip continues to be on brokerages' radar; have it in portfolio?
BEL Share Price News, Navratna PSU Stock: Here's what analysts at various brokerages make of the Navratna PSU stock now.
BEL Stock Price, Navratna PSU Shares: A Navratna PSU stock has appreciated by Rs 20.1, or 5.5 per cent, in four back-to-back trading sessions, and counting. Having surged as much as 30.4 per cent so far in 2025, the largecap defence scrip—part of the BSE 100 universe—has been in the spotlight of Dalal Street this week amid market buzz about significant order wins and strong operational results, with analysts’ targes implysing upside of as much as 17.3 per cent, as of May 23, 2025.
The stock belongs to the defence space on Dalal Street—and one of the top-performing PSU scrips. Any guesses?
Here's how analysts view the Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) stock now.
Image credit: BEL website (bel-india.in)
Latest Market Buzz | BEL likely to manufacture S-400?
BEL is working jointly with the DRDO to manufacture an S-400 defence system under a project called “Kusha” in a deal worth an estimated Rs 40,000 crore, sources told Zee Business. BEL is expected to complete a prototype of the project over the next 18 months, they said.
At the time of publishing this report, Zee Business was yet to receive a response to its queries to BEL requesting confirmation.
BEL shares clinch weekly gain
Amidst the news, the stock clinched a weekly gain of 3.0 per cent, outperforming declines of 0.6 per cent and 0.1 per cent in the Nifty50 and Nifty PSE gauges, respectively.
Is there more upside possible in the BEL stock?
Positive analyst views; UBS upbeat about BEL’s improving competitive edge
The stock has seen a number of upgrades and positive views from many analysts this month. Also, the defence space has taken centre stage on Dalal Street amid a ceasefire agreed between India and Pakistan at Pakistan’s request.
This week, UBS upgraded BEL to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ while raising its target price for the Navratna stock to Rs 450 from 320. At Friday’s closing price, the brokerage’s target implies a potential upside of 17.3 per cent in the stock. Upbeat about BEL’s improving competitive edge and growth, UBS believes that the PSU’s long-term pipeline with a faster translation to revenue is underappreciated by the market.
UBS prefers BEL over HAL
According to the brokerage, BEL looks better placed in terms of expected earnings growth and order book ramp-up over the next three years.
CLSA target at Rs 423
CLSA has maintained an ‘accumulate’ rating on BEL with a revised target price of Rs 423 per share instead of its earlier Rs 294 per share. The target suggests an upside of 10.3 per cent in the PSU stock, as of May 23.
According to the brokerage, the key takeaway from BEL’s Q4 results is that its slowdown in inflows and backlog in FY25, on account of a high base, are now behind.
According to CLSA, BEL is set for a lofty $6 billion in order wins in the next 15 months.
Morgan Stanley raises BEL stock target to Rs 418
While retaining its ‘overweight’ rating for the stock, Morgan Stanley has raised its target price to Rs 418 from Rs 364.
BEL remains Morgan Stanley’s preferred pick for its execution track record, better control over supply chain than HAL, its strong order pipeline.
The brokerage expects BEL to clinch a revenue CAGR to the tune of 15-17.5 per cent over the next five years, and 20 per cent afterwards.
Now, let’s take a look at BEL’s latest earnings report.
BEL Q4 FY25 Results Summary
BEL staged a strong operational performance for the final three months of FY25 on May 19.
Its net profit jumped 18.4 per cent to Rs 2,127 crore with revenue growing 6.8 per cent to Rs 9,149.6 crore, according to a regulatory filing.
Both top-line and bottom-line were better than analysts’ expectations. According to Zee Business research, BEL was estimated to log a quarterly net profit of Rs 1,738 crore with revenue of Rs 8,867 crore.
BEL Q4 Earnings | How Navratna CPSE performed operationally
The company clocked 23.1 per cent growth in its quarterly EBITDA to Rs 2,816.1 crore while its margin expanded by 410 basis points to 30.8 per cent, far better than estimates.
According to Zee Business research, BEL’s March-quarter EBITDA was pegged at Rs 2,216 crore and margin at 25 per cent.
BEL Order Book
Many analysts have a positive outlook on the company’s order book.
As of May 19, the PSU’s order book reportedly stood at Rs 71,650 crore.
How have BEL shares performed in 2025 YTD?
The BEL stock has delivered a return of 30.4 per cent so far this year, and taken its gains to almost 33 per cent in a year, as of May 23. To put that into perspective, the headline Nifty 50 index has gained 4.7 per cent and 8.2 per cent during these timeframes, respectively.