Shares of cigarette-to-hotels conglomerate ITC Ltd. made another record high, continuing its dream run from 2022, during which it had emerged as the top performer on the Nifty 50 index. The stock made an intraday high of Rs 442.85 on Thursday, extending its gains for the fifth day in a row.

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The stock has gained 33 percent so far this year after gaining nearly 60 percent in 2022. Shares have risen 71 percent from its 52-week low of Rs 258.55. This is in comparison to the Nifty 50 index, which is currently flat on a year-to-date basis.

Shares have risen over the last five days after the company reported results for the March quarter, which met street expectations on most fronts. The company's revenue from operations increased by 5.6 percent during the March quarter to Rs 16,398 crore, higher than estimates of Rs 16,152 crore.

ITC also announced a final dividend of Rs 6.75 per share and special dividend of Rs 2.75 per equity share for the March quarter.

Analysts expect ITC to post a 14 percent growth over FY23-25 period with consistent growth in the cigarette business, high teens expansion in non-cigarette FMCG business, and strong growth in hotel business.

“ITC is an earnings compounding kind of a business. It has several businesses which generate profit and they continue to grow. So with ITC we have a longer term point of view as long as valuations remain comfortable,” Raunak Onkar of PPFAS Mutual Fund told CNBC-TV18 on May 11.

"So we don’t need a rerating further and even if that doesn’t happen my sense is that the earnings growth will propel the stock. Of course hotel value unlocking whenever that happens, that will lead to further rerating in terms of multiples,” Abneesh Roy of Nuvama Institutional Equities said.

Shares of ITC are trading 1.7 percent higher at Rs 440.85.

(Edited by : Rukmani Krishna)

First Published:May 25, 2023 11:27 AM IST