Should you buy, sell or hold Nestle India shares after Q4 results?

Nestle India share price NSE, Nestle India share price target 2024, Nestle India quarterly results: Nestle India shares on Thursday, February 8, dipped after the company—whose popular products include Maggi instant noodles and KitKat—fell short of analysts' expectations, especially net income for Q4 FY24. The financial result for the quarter under review was declared yesterday.

Nestle shares declined as much as 3.62 per cent to hit the day's low of Rs 2,409.1 on the NSE. The counter settled at Rs 2,425, down 2.98 per cent on the NSE, extending gains for the second trading day.

Nestle India Q4 results

On Wednesday during market hours, Nestle India reported a net profit of Rs 655.61 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, up 4.38 per cent against Rs 628.06 crore logged in the year-ago period.

FMCG major's revenue from operations came in at Rs 4,600.42 crore, up 8.07 per cent against Rs 4,256.79 crore registered in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Zee Business Research had estimated the company to post 10 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in consolidated revenue at Rs 4,700 crore. Net profit, or profit after tax (PAT), was expected to surge by 19 per cent YoY to Rs 749 crore.

Nestle India results: Management Commentary

Commenting on the quarterly results, Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director of Nestlé India, said, “I am pleased to share that, despite external challenges, we have once again delivered a strong performance this quarter. Domestic sales grew by 8.9 per cent on the back of pricing and mix growth, with strong growth momentum in e-commerce and out-of-home channels. The quarter was marked by an increase in brand investments across all product groups. I am also pleased to note that during the year 2023, our total sales grew by over 13.3% and we crossed the Rs19,000 crore mark." Read more on Nestle India Q4 results

Nestle India share price target 2024: Right time to add Kitkat, Maggi maker shares to your portfolio?

Post-quarterly earnings announcement, CLSA has maintained a 'reduce' rating on the Nestle India stock. The brokerage has reduced the target to Rs 2,634 from Rs 2,689 on the FMCG stock.

According to CLSA, the results are in line with strong growth in Nescafe. CLSA has trimmed 24–25CL earnings per share (EPS) estimates by 2 per cent following the results. The analysts believe the 12-month forward PE of 70x adequately reflects Nestle's strong performance.

Macquarie has kept a 'neutral' rating on Nestle India shares with a target of Rs 2,500. Macquarie said, "4Q EBITDA was broadly in line as the gross margin beat was offset by higher other expenses." It has also raised CY24/25 EPS by 1 per cent. The brokerage sees limited room for upside at the current valuation (63x CY25E EPS). 

On the other hand, Citi has a 'buy' call on the stock with a target of Rs 2,900. "We need to monitor potential payments to the parent company for support services," the brokerage said. The brokerage believes that price increases in parts of the portfolio and soft commodity prices will continue to drive profitability and earnings growth in the near term.

Nestle India's 700% dividend announcement

Nestle India also announced an interim dividend of Rs 7 per equity share of the face value of Re 1 each for the financial year 2023–24.

Nestle India dividend record date 2024

Nestle India, one of the leading packaged food and beverage companies, has set February 15 as the record date for the third interim dividend of the year, as intimated earlier.

Nestle India dividend payment date 2024

The interim dividend will be paid on and from March 5, 2024, for the financial year 2023–24, according to the company.

Catch the latest stock market updates here. For all other news related to business, politics, tech and auto, visit Zeebiz.com.