This railway stock surges over 50% in five sessions; did you miss the rally?

Despite consolidation in broader markets, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), the construction arm of the Ministry of Railways, extended its rally for the fifth straight session to touch a new all-time high of ₹114.62 per share in intraday trade on Wednesday. The midcap stock has gained as much as 54% in the past five trading days as compared to a 1.2% gain in the BSE Sensex and a 0.3% rise in the S&P BSE Midcap index during the same period.

Continuing its gaining momentum, RVNL shares opened 3% higher at ₹108 against the previous closing price of ₹104.79 on the BSE. During the session, the PSU stock rose 9.4% to hit an intraday high of ₹114.62, while the market capitalisation increased to ₹22,937 crore.

The railway-related stock has turned multibagger in the last one year by delivering nearly 300% returns to its shareholders in just ten months, rebounding from its 52-week low of ₹29 touched on June 21, 2022. The company, which made its market debut in April 2019, has surged 460% since its listing on the domestic bourses.

In the last one year, the RVNL share zoomed 222%, whereas it jumped 171% in a six-month period. In the calendar year 2023, the counter climbed 63%, while it added 67% in a month.

The rally in RVNL shares can be attributed to multiple orders bagged by the company. Earlier this month, the company secured an order worth ₹63.08 crore from North Western Railway for “Provision of Automatic Block Signalling on Madar-Sakhun Section (51.13 Kms) of Jaipur Division over North Western”. Besides, it has emerged as the lowest bidder for “design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 2 nos. 110 kV receiving substation for main line & depot of Mumbai Metro line 2B of MMRDA. Adding to it, the company also won a contract worth ₹121.05 crore for automatic signaling with continuous track circuiting and other associated works including suitable Indoor alteration in Electronic Interlocking/RRI/PI stations enroute in Jhansi-Gwalior section of Jhansi Division of North Central Railway.

Last month, RVNL bagged multiple orders from National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and Ministry of Railways. The company received a letter of award worth ₹720.67 crore from NHAI for “Construction of Six Lane Elevated Kona Expressway from km 0.145 to km 7.337 of NH-117 in the state of West Bengal on EPC mode. The company secured a letter of award from Ministry of Railways for “Manufacturing cum Maintenance of Vande Bharat Trainsets including Up-gradation of the Government Manufacturing Units & Trainset Depots”. The total quantity is 120 trainsets and the cost per set is ₹120 crore. Besides, the consortium (RVNL and Tracks & Towers Infratech) received a contract worth ₹1,272 crore from NHAI for the “construction of 6-lane Greenfield Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata highway from Sonepurbigha village junction with NH-22 near Chatra from km 184.7 to km 222 under Bharatmala Pariyojana in the state of Jharkhand on Hybrid Annuity Model”.

Rail Vikas Nigam was incorporated as Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) on January 24, 2003, with the vision of the then Prime Minister, the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to bridge the infrastructure deficit of Indian Railways. The company was granted Miniratna status in September 2013 and has also been recommended for Navaratna status by MoR. The company made its stock market debut in April 2019 after the disinvestment of a 12.16% stake of the government of India through an initial public offering (IPO).