185,200% Returns, 3 Bonus, 1:10 Split, 50 Dividends: Buy Defence PSU BEL Stock That Made Investors Crorepati?

Defence giant, Bharat Electronics (BEL) is among the crorepati-making stocks, with all-time gains stretching more than 180,000% to investors. However, on July 16, BEL stock corrected mildly but held above the Rs 400 mark on both BSE and NSE. BEL is expected to report double-digit growth across verticals in Q1FY26 on a year-on-year basis. The majority of experts have given a buy rating on BEL.

BEL Share Price:

At the time of writing, BEL stock price traded at Rs 407.05 apiece, down by 0.5% on NSE, with a market cap of Rs 184,990.91 crore. The stock is still less than Rs 30 away from crossing its 52-week high of Rs 436 apiece. While BEL traded higher by over 69% from its 52-week low of Rs 240.25 apiece.

2025 so far has been bullish for BEL. YTD, the stock zoomed by nearly 39% on NSE. In the long run, BEL becomes a multibagger with gains of 1,147% in a 5-year span. But BEL's all-time returns is a whopping 185,127.27% on NSE. Once upon a time, BEL stock was at Rs 0.22 on January 1, 1999.

For an investor who bought BEL stock in January 1999, it is likely to sit on crores of wealth. For example, a Rs 10,000 investment in BEL on January 1, 1999, would result in a corpus of Rs 1,85,22,727 or Rs 1.85 crore at 185,127.27% gains. A Rs 1 lakh investment would make a corpus of Rs 18.52 crore as of now. This is excluding bonus, splits and dividend benefits.

It also needs to be noted that the BEL stock price has been adjusted significantly due to its bonus issues, stock splits and dividends over the years. The gains for investors will vary and depend on their investment value.

BEL Stock Corporate Actions:

BEL has a strong record of delivering bonus issues and dividends, while it has turned ex-split only once so far.

Bonus Issues: BEL has rewarded investors with 3 bonuses so far. The first bonus issue was of 2:1 in September 2015, followed by a 1:10 bonus issue in September 2017. The latest bonus issue was of 2:1, and its ex-date was in September 2022.

Stock Split: BEL shares have split in the ratio of 1:10 during March 2017. The face value of Rs 10 each was trimmed to Re 1 each.

Dividends: Since August 2003, BEL has given 50 dividends so far, as per Trendlyne data. In the past 12 months, the company paid about Rs 2.30 dividend per share. Its current dividend yield is around 0.6%.

BUY BEL Stock?

As per MarketsMojo, Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has shown notable trading activity, with over 3 million shares exchanged and a market capitalization of approximately Rs 2.97 lakh crores. Despite recent declines, the stock remains above key moving averages, indicating ongoing investor interest amid fluctuating market conditions.

Motilal Oswal is the latest to recommend BUY on Bharat Electronics (BEL) for a target price of Rs 410 per share. As per the brokerage, the defence player has witnessed strong earnings in FY25, despite the order flow mildly lower in that fiscal. For the next two years, BEL's order pipeline is seen to be strong.

BEL is also a top pick of JM Financial. It said, " We expect BEL to report revenue growth of 16.1%
YoY, (opening order book of INR 716bn); EBITDA margin is expected to be healthy at 22.5%, (up 20bps YoY). BEL reported order inflows of INR 73bn in 1QFY26 (FY26 order inflow guidance stands at INR 270bn, excluding QRSAM order)."

Also, Geojit analysts in a report said, "We maintain a positive outlook on Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), supported by the government's strong emphasis on domestic manufacturing, the growing contribution of electronics in defense applications, BEL's established market leadership, a robust order backlog, and a consistently healthy margin profile. Considering the upgrade in our earnings estimates and potential large order inflow in FY26, we value BEL at a P/E of 42x FY27E EPS and maintain a BUY rating, with a target price of Rs.441."

However, CHOICE Broking predicts the highest target of Rs 500 on BEL. It said, "We remain optimistic on BHE, given its robust order book stands at INR 716.5Bn (3.0x FY25 Revenue). We believe the companies order inflow will gain traction due to emergency procurement and speeding up the existing projects. supported by marquee upcoming projects such as the INR 300+Bn QRSAM order and the INR 400Bn Project Kusha. The company's diversified pipeline, including NGC subsystems, additional LCA orders, and critical defense systems like LRSAM & radar solutions, positions it well for sustained revenue growth and market leadership."

Also, analysts at CHOICE said, "We have introduced FY28E estimates and, based on the average FY27/28E EPS, revised our target price to INR 500 (earlier INR 420), valuing the stock at 40x, while maintaining our 'BUY' rating. The revision reflects our continued confidence in BHE's long-term growth visibility and strong execution capabilities."

Disclaimer: The recommendations made above are by market analysts and are not advised by either the author, nor Greynium Information Technologies. The author, nor the brokerage firm nor Greynium would be liable for any losses caused as a result of decisions based on this write-up. Goodreturns.in advises users to consult with certified experts before making any investment decision.