HOW AND WHERE TO INVEST FOR MULTIBAGGER RETURNS?

First, we need to measure a company for its strengths before selecting it for multibagger returns. The following are the golden rules for identifying a strong company:

1) The Earning Yield ( EY ) must be as high as possible.

What is Earning Yield?

Earning Yield = EPS/CMP

( EPS = Earning for a share, CMP = the current market price of the stock )

If a stock is trading at Rs 10 and its EPS is Rs 2, then its EY is :

EY = EPS/CMP×100

= 2/10×100

= 20%

( The EY is a better measure than PE, It must be as high as possible )

2) The Return on Capital Employed ( RoCE ) and the Return on Assets ( RoA ) should be high

RoCE and RoA should always higher than 20%. It indicates efficient use of capital.

3) The Debt Equity Ratio must always be less than 1. It should always be minimal. The ratio indicates how much debt a company has relating to its equity.

4) Interest Coverage Ratio should always be higher than 1.5

Interest Coverage Ratio measures how many times a company could pay its current interest payment with its available earnings. In other words, it measures the margin of safety a company has for paying interest during a given period, which a company needs in order to survive future financial hardships that may arise.

Interest Coverage Ratio = EBIT/Interest Amount

5) The PE ratio of the company should always be less than industry PE. It indicates relative rebate at which the company is trading compared to its peers.

6) It is better to have P/BV which is less than 1.

7) EPS must be as high as possible. ( Two digits or more )

8) Dividend paying companies are, most of the time, excellent ones.

9) The company must have expansion plans.

10) You must wait at least four years after buying a stock.

If a company possesses all the above qualities, it can be called a strong company. All strong companies usually trade at higher prices. But occasionally, the markets throw us opportunities to buy these strong companies at discount prices. We should have no qualms in grabbing those opportunities. But, the above ten rules do not apply for the loss-making companies that are going to be revived by the promoters. If you trust the promoters, you can buy those companies at discount prices.

The time tested rule for surviving in any business is making profit. Investment is also a business which follows profit-making motto. But, what is profit? Profit is nothing but the difference between buying price and selling price. Every investor must keep this important point in her mind while buying a stock. My suggestion is 'Always buy a stock when the trend is bearish and sell it during bullish momentum'.

All the great investors accumulate their stocks in bear markets, but keep quiet during bull runs. Anyway, holding the quality stocks long term while grabbing them in their lows will give you compounding returns. You will survive long in the market if you don't forget the golden rule 'Buy Low - Sell High'.

Moreover, investing is a long format like test cricket. We should always play a defensive game to have a long inning. Staying long by consistently beating the index (even moderately) will make all the difference in the end. We need to be Rahul Dravids than his aggressive contemporaries.

Happy Investing!

Stocks that may give multi-bagger returns in long run (based on our portfolio) :

TVS Motor
BSE Ltd
Gabriel India
TATA Power
TATA Consumer
Sealmatic India
Cholamandalam Investments
Astral Ltd
Axis Bank
Mishtaan Foods
Piramal Enterprises
Vikas Lifecare
Havells India
Triveni Engineering
Sanofi India
Titan Company
Coramandal International
Titan Intech
Goodyear India
Exide Industries
Caplin Point
Carborundum Universal
ICICI Lombard General
TATA Steel
CAMS
HUDCO
CDSL
Balaji Amines
Astrazenca Pharma
TATA Motors
Dr Lal Path Labs
Solar Industries
Rites Ltd
Triveni Turbine
Deepak Nitrite
APL Apollo Tubes
Affle India
Sundaram Finance
Timken India
SBI Life
Bombay Burmah
Tech Mahindra
Mahindra Mahindra
Thirumalai Chemicals
TCS
Yes Bank
TV Today
GVK Power
Vodafone Idea
Bharthi Airtel
Osia Hyperretail
Bajaj Consumer
CIE Auto
Coforge Ltd
Dixon Tech
EID Parry
ITC Ltd
RVNL
Titan Intech
Ganesh Benzo
Gujarat Poly
Redington
Tejas Networks
Nelco
Refex Industries
SBI
Paradeep Phosphate
Maan Aluminium
Sonata Software
NMDC
AB Fashions
Vindhya Telelinks
HCL Tech
HDFC Life
HUL
ICICI Pru
Infosys
Mahindra Lifespace
Mahindra Logistics
M&M Financial
Marico
Max Financial
Reliance Industries
Jindal Steel
Schaffler
TATA Chemicals
Marine Electr
TCIL
Voltas
Aanchal Ispat
Varun Beverages
Fineotex
Steel Exchange
Chamanlal Setia
Coral India
Cupid
DHP India
IVP
Pasupati Acrylon
Rajoo Engineers
Samrat Pharma
SMC Global
Waterdrop Inc
Gen Restaurant
Gigacloud Tech
DHT Holdings
Lexinfintech
First Bancshares
Livent Corp
Arcturus Therapeutics
Solaris Oilfield
Rexford Ind
Catalyst Pharma
Harmony Biosciences
Coastal Financial
H&E Equipment
Allgaint Travel
Enviri Corp
ACM Research
Aakash Exploration
BKV Industries
Bhansali Engineering
Captain Polyplast
Care Ratings
Greenply Industries
Gujarat Mineral
Jai Corp
Jindal Polyfilms
Kiri Ind
Madhav Infra
Mas Financial
Minda Corp
Mittal Lifestyle
Modern Steels
Mold Tek
NRB Bearing
Pil Italica
Prerna Infra
PTC India
Pudumjee Paper
Rattanindia Power
Satia Ind
SPL Ind
Supriya Life
Surya Roshni
Ultracab
Vinny Overseas
VRL Logistics
West Coast Paper
Piccadily Agro
Shree Ganesh
Indian Oil
JB Chemicals
Kothari Petro
Sigachi
Sika
IRCON
Welspun India
Essar Shipping
Gokul Agro
Garden Reach
Electrosteel
Indoco
Lemon Tree
Nava
HCC
Geekay Wires
Delton
Ganga Forgings
Aakash Explora
Nitta Gelatin
Heritage Foods

(I have come across the following wonderful article written by Salonee Desai on Live Mint. Please, read it carefully!)

A winning stock can save your entire portfolio

As investors, we have all had our fair share of bad experiences with the stock markets. From alleged management frauds to the global financial crisis, the recent covid pandemic and sometimes simply it’s our stock picks that don’t work out the way we had thought they would! We will let you in on a little secret. Investment professionals too have these experiences, but they have gotten really good at concealing these facts.

Fun fact, top investor Warren Buffett has a success rate of only 58% when it comes to picking the right stocks. In fact, in fund management, this ‘hit rate’ is absolutely enviable! Buffett once mentioned that even if an investor merely hits 50% of right stocks in his entire portfolio, implying the other half would be rotten picks, he would still be able to earn super-normal returns!

Imagine you have selected 10 stocks for your portfolio through your own rigorous due diligence and research and held on to it patiently for a long period, say the next 40 years. Now, equate the first case to a scenario wherein five of the 10 stocks in your portfolio performed exceptionally well, generating 15-30% CAGR. While the other half of the portfolio eroded shareholder wealth completely. An interesting observation is that the compounding returns of the right stocks more than makes up for the losses of the other ones and if held for a long time progressively and significantly grows the investor’s capital over time. Yes, that’s right, the winning stocks proved to be more than capable of overpowering even the negative 100% returns of the losing ones, earning an overall positive return on the entire portfolio in the long run. In fact, the returns keep magnifying as he/she keeps extending his/her investment time frame, thanks to the power of compounding!

Now, consider a second scenario wherein even after thorough research and conviction, the investor’s picks went completely wrong in all but one stock. You may think, there goes all my money down the drain! But the results would stun you! Turns out, if your conviction on even one of the stocks turns right and you stick to it, you are still bound to earn lofty returns in the long run! Meaning, even if a single stock yields a 30% CAGR with the others losing 100% completely, your entire portfolio is still bound to earn a healthy 22.73% return if held on for the next 40 years. The compounded returns of the one right stock has the power to not just exceed the other loss-making bets but also turn around your portfolio’s entire investment performance in the long term.

What’s all the more fascinating is the fact that in just a few years, the entire portfolio starts exactly mirroring the performance of the winning stock! Why does this happen? The answer is simple, limited downside risk and unlimited upside potential! Sure, the losing nine stocks may vanish your investment capital completely from those respective stocks. Worst-case scenario, they can reduce down to zero, but that’s about it; your downside risk is capped at zero. The investment definitely cannot fall beyond zero, right? However, for the winnings of our right pick, the sky is the limit! Year after year, money from your investment in the winning stock would keep growing, intensifying your returns from the stock, all thanks to the magic of compounding!

The takeaway is clear: don’t be afraid if you have fallen prey to choosing some wrong stocks. Choosing a winning stock is a difficult task, given the uncertainty about how companies compete, expand and adapt, potential technological disruptions, the impact of regulations, an out-of-the-blue pandemic—the list is endless. So, don’t worry about choosing a losing stock. We may never have the upper hand when it comes to foreseeing the future! Accuracy in stock selection may not be in our control. But due diligence and thorough research definitely is.

So, it’s best that we devote our time and attention to studying the stock, gaining a complete understanding of the business, its risks and opportunities, and the financial position. The rest is a game of patience! Our patience will bear fruit only in the long run.

(Salonee Desai is senior equity research analyst, Moat Financial Services Pvt. Ltd.)