Shares of opened sharply higher on Friday, touching an intraday high of ₹487.35 on the before paring gains to trade around ₹474.05, up 0.86 per cent from the previous close of ₹470, as investors reacted to the company’s Q4 FY26 results reported on Thursday after market hours.
The stock’s early spike reflects positive market sentiment around earnings that beat on profitability, though sell-side opinion remains divided.
By 10.08 am, sell orders outweighed buy orders — 56.86 per cent versus 43.14 per cent — with traded volume already crossing 41 lakh shares worth ₹196 crore, signalling active two-way interest.
Jefferies, the most bullish among brokerages, maintained a Buy with a ₹610 target, calling Dabur a “dark horse” and pointing to 17 per cent year-on-year domestic HPC growth as addressing a key investor concern about portfolio relevance.
The brokerage sees earnings growth acceleration ahead driven by both revenue and margin expansion. Investec held its Hold rating but trimmed its target to ₹514 from ₹525, acknowledging that pricing will drive near-term momentum while flagging limited room for meaningful margin expansion in the medium term.
Morgan Stanley, maintaining Underweight with a ₹412 target — well below current market price — flagged what it called a weaker portfolio construct despite acknowledging the stock may react positively to earnings given its weak trailing performance. Citi echoed caution with a Sell and ₹490 target, questioning the sustainability of recovery given underlying challenges in certain categories.
On the results, Dabur reported consolidated revenue of ₹3,038 crore for Q4 FY26, up 7.3 per cent year-on-year. Operating profit rose 8.2 per cent to ₹462 crore, with margins expanding 12 basis points to 15.2 per cent.
Net profit grew 15.1 per cent to ₹368.6 crore, aided partly by a one-time gain on asset sale. India FMCG grew 9.5 per cent, while international business grew 2.5 per cent in rupee terms, weighed down by geopolitical pressure in the Middle East.
The stock, trading at a P/E of 44.57, remains down 5.18 per cent year-to-date and 11.33 per cent over five years, significantly underperforming the Nifty Midcap 50.