Why are Tata Steel shares trading higher despite fall in Sensex?

Shares of Tata Steel gained 3% in early deals on Monday, in an otherwise weak broader market. The BSE benchmark Sensex was down 1,270 points, or 2.2%, to 57,066, with 25 out of 30 top shares flashing in red.

Tata Steel shares surged after the company unveiled a plan to sub-divide its equity shares at its board meeting on May 3, 2022. The face value of equity shares will be ₹10 apiece, but it did not specify the ratio of a stock split.

The Tata group company in an exchange filing said, “A meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on May 3, 2022, to consider a proposal for sub-division of the equity shares of the company having a face value of ₹10 each, in such manner as may be determined by the Board of Directors, subject to regulatory/statutory approvals as may be required and the approval of the shareholders of the company.”

Tata Steel’s board will consider and approve financial earnings report on May 3 and will also declare dividend, if any, during the meeting.

Boosted by the stock-split plan, Tata Steel shares opened higher at 1,335 against the previous closing price of 1,319.25 on the BSE. The stock rose as much as 3% to hit a high of 1,358.45 during the session so far. At 10:45 AM, Tata Steel share price was quoting at 1,348.85, up 2.24% on the BSE. The stock hit a 52-week of 1,534.60 on August 16, 2021, while it touched a 52-week low of 854.90 on April 19, 2021.

The index heavyweight has risen 52% in the past one year, while it climbed 22% since the beginning of the calendar year 2022. The stock grew by 4% in the past month, while it dropped 0.5% during the past one week.

Last week, Tata Steel received the approval of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Kolkata Bench, for the acquisition of Rohit Ferro Tech (RFT). Tata Steel Mining (TSML), an unlisted wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, will acquire RFT under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.

In a separate development, the steel major also completed the acquisition of the entire stake held by state-owned SAIL in S&T Mining Co Ltd. The company has purchased SAIL’s entire 50% stake in S&T Mining as part of its portfolio restructuring and simplification strategy.