Chennai Petroleum, EIL, Indoco among small-caps picks of FIIs

Indian stock indices are consolidating after the bulls reclaimed some of the lost glory as bears dominated the proceedings last quarter. The benchmark indices have bounced back and are just 5% short of the all-time high.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), or foreign institutional investors (FIIs), have become more cautious about investing in India but quarterly shareholding data shows they pushed up their holding in over 200 listed companies.

They became more bullish on the large caps and the mid-caps compared to the previous quarter, but small caps remain the big playground with offshore investors raising stake in over 100 small-caps with current market valuation of under Rs 5,000 crore.

Top small-caps

If we consider the larger firms within the small cap space where FIIs increased their stake last quarter, at the top of the heap is Maharashtra Seamless.

In the segment with a market valuation of $500 million or more are companies like JBM Auto, Jaiprakash Power, Esab India, Jamna Auto Industries, Jindal Poly Films, Apar Industries, Karur Vysya Bank, Heidelberg Cement and Johnson Controls.

Lower down the order companies like Chennai Petroleum, Godawari Power, Engineers India, Indiabulls Real Estate, Elecon Engineering, Greaves Cotton, Astec Lifesciences, Indoco Remedies, Dhanuka Agritech, Bannari Amman Sugars and Hathway Cable & Datacom also attracted FIIs.

Still lower down, there are other names such as Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Automotive Axles, Jindal Saw, Apcotex Industries, Dalmia Bharat Sugar, LT Foods, Kaveri Seed Company, DCB Bank, J Kumar Infraprojects, Astra Microwave, Jain Irrigation Systems, Ashoka Buildcon, Electrosteel Casting, Bombay Dyeing, Kewal Kiran Clothing and Insecticides (India).

Significant picks by FIIs in small-cap pool

If we track stocks where FIIs or FPIs were particularly stoked and bought 2% or more additional stake last quarter we get four names.

These stocks are Indiabulls Real Estate, DCB Bank, Kalyani Steels and J Kumar Infraprojects.