Ace investor Ashish Dhawan has made a fresh entry into this mutual funds and foreign investors' favourite stock – Equitas Small Finance Bank, according to the company’s latest shareholding pattern on BSE.

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Ashish Dhawan – a stock market celebrity investor – has bought about 4,03,70,000 equity shares or 3.64 per cent stakes in Equitas SFB during the January-March period of 2023, the shareholding pattern of the bank reveals.

Dhawan’s name was missing in the December 2022 quarter shareholding pattern of the Equitas Small Finance Bank. This means the ace investor has taken a fresh position in the small finance bank most likely in March 2023 quarter.

It is uncertain to determine whether Ashish Dhawan bought all these shares during the fourth quarter or whether he already held some shares of the bank in the previous quarter of the current fiscal.

The renowned investor Ashish Dhawan publicly holds 13 stocks with a net worth of over Rs 2,187 crore as of March 18, 2023, as per the stock analysis website Trendlyne.

MFs and FPIs' Favourite

Equitas SFB stock is among mutual funds and foreign investors' favourite as dozens of MFs and FPIs have stakes in the bank. To name some SBI Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, DSP Mutual Fund, and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund among others have up to 7 per cent holding in Equitas SFB.

Also Read: Mutual funds' favourite stock now available at 30% discount from life high: Should investors buy or wait? Analysts answer

Besides, foreign investors such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Societe Generale, and Government of Singapore are also investors in Equitas SFB, according to the latest shareholding pattern of the bank available on the exchanges.

Equitas SFB share price history

Equitas SFB shares on Friday closed at Rs 68.17 per share, up nearly 6 per cent from Thursday’s closing price of Rs 64.4 apiece. The stock has nearly doubled investors' money as it gained around 84 per cent from its 52-week low level touched on June 17, 2022.

Also Read: RCB ropes in Equitas Small Finance Bank as banking partner for 2023 season of T20

In the last one year, the stock made a decent growth of around 29 per cent as compared to over a one per cent rise in the BSE Sensex during the same period.

HSBC bullish on Equitas SFB

According to HSBC, the liability position of Equitas SFB has improved substantially as compared to pre-covid levels, making the bank more competitive than several peers.

It added that the stock should re-rate from present levels amid consistent delivery in earnings and stable asset quality, hence it gives a ‘buy’ rating on the stock with a target of Rs 93 per share, which implies around 34 per cent upside from the current market price.