Adani companies: Retail investors hike stakes in all listed Adani companies after correction
Group’s flagship company Adani Enterprises saw an addition of 493,000 new retail shareholders in the March quarter. Retail shareholding increased from 2.09% to 3.61% during this period, and the number of investors increased to 747,000.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones and Adani Green Energy witnessed an increase of 366,000 and 353,000 new shareholders, respectively, in the March quarter. Retail shareholdings in these two companies increased 1.29% and 1.34%, respectively.
Similarly, Adani Power and Ambuja Cements’ retail shareholders have increased by 302,000 and 236,000, respectively. The number of shareholders in Adani Transmission, Adani Total Gas, and Adani Wilmar increased by up to 174,000.
Buying beaten-down stocks is normal retail investor behaviour. The driver may have been the recent steep declines in the Adani stocks from their peaks, said analysts.
“Investment of ₹15,446 crore by GQG in the Adani stocks has encouraged retail investors to buy into the beaten-down Adani stocks,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services. “Valuations aside, it is a fact that Adani has competence in executing large infra projects, and retail investors might be banking on this.”
On March 2, 2023, US-based investment firm GQG Partners acquired shares worth ₹15,446 crore from the Adani Group in four stocks – Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission, and Adani Enterprises. “Going by conservative valuation parameters, most Adani stocks are overvalued,” VK Vijayakumar added.However, domestic mutual funds and FPIs have reduced their stake in five stocks of the infrastructure conglomerate. While mutual funds have reduced ownership in Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, and Ambuja Cements, among others, foreign portfolio investors reduced their stakes in Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, ACC, and NDTV.
Shares of Adani Enterprises, Adani Green, Adani Transmission, and Adani Total Gas have declined between 50% and 75% since January 24, when the Hindenburg report became public.
Most others, barring Adani Ports, have corrected between 22% and 32%. Adani Ports shares have fallen 14% since January 24.
The Adani group has lost a total of more than Rs 9.64 lakh crore in market capitalization since the release of the Hindenburg report.
In a note dated January 24, Hindenburg Research accused the Group of engaging in ‘brazen stock manipulation’ and ‘accounting fraud scheme’ that has subsequently resulted in their share prices slumping. The Adani Group slammed the report, terming it as a ‘malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations.’
