Banking Stocks Come Crashing Down; Few Stocks That You Could Still Bet On

Shares of Federal Bank have shed almost 18 per cent since declaring results earlier this month. Axis Bank lost 8 per cent in a single trading day on Wednesday and PSU banking stocks are seeing a gradual fall, as worries over Essar Steel debt surface.

ICICI Bank has fallen from recent levels of Rs 290 to Rs 270 and DCB has crashed a huge 25 per cent since revealing an expansion plan. Bank of Baroda has lost ground on the forex scam that linked certain bank officials and a branch of the bank. If you are looking at banking stocks, there are very few places to hide.

HDFC Bank

While banking stocks have crashed all around, shares in HDFC Bank are very close to hitting a 52-week high. Investors are busy churning their portfolio within the banking sector and are increasingly buying HDFC Bank.

This is one bank that has never belied investor expectation, performing well, quarter on quarter - every quarter. For the period ending Sept 20, 2015, the bank saw profit rising 20.5 percent to Rs 2,869.5 crore compared to year-ago period.

Asset quality at the bank improved during the quarter with gross non-performing assets (NPA) down 4 basis points and 11 bps year-on-year to 0.91 percent. Net NPA also declined to 0.25 per cent of gross loans. At a time when the banking sector is reeling under huge non performing assets, this is one bank that is showing consistent growth.

The share is a favourite of mutual funds and foreign portfolio investors alike. It is difficult to see even one single bad quarter for the bank. The stock is a great pick at the current levels of Rs 1112.

Syndicate Bank

This is one bank along with Canara Bank, from the public sector banking space, that has got its non performing assets under control as compared to its other PSU peers.

Syndicate Bank recently reported a steady set of quarterly numbers. The net profits grew by 5 per cent to Rs 332 crores, as compared to Rs 301.98 crores.

The gross non performing assets were absolutely flat at 3.72, while net non performing assets increased marginally to 2.37 per cent of gross loans as compared to 2.36 per cent.

If we look at the fundamentals, the bank's is likely to report an EPS of as much as Rs 20 this year. The stock is thus trading at a p/e multiple of just 4.5 times. The stock gives a dividend yield of as much as 5 per cent at the current levels. A good pick at the present price.

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