Piotroski 8/9: ITC, NTPC, Kotak Bank

Piotroski screen flags three Indian large caps FairStock's Piotroski screen has flagged three NSE large caps with an 8/9 score on the nine-point fundamental health check. NSE: ITC, NSE: NTPC and NSE: KOTAKBANK now combine accounting strength with valuations that don't demand much from investors. That combination has been rare in the Indian market over the past 12 months, where mid-cap and small-cap indices have carried a valuation premium. ITC trades at 17.57 times trailing earnings. The company's return on equity is 49.8% and return on capital employed is 36.8%. Those are not typographical errors. A P/E below 18 against a 49.8% ROE means the market is paying a low price for a high-return business. NTPC sits at 10.39 times earnings. Kotak Mahindra Bank trades at 19.16 times earnings. Each stock scores 8 out of 9 on Piotroski criteria that track profitability, debt levels, liquidity and operating efficiency. The screen focuses on balance sheet and income statement trends, not price momentum. An 8/9 reading says the underlying accounting is improving or already strong. It does not say the stock will re-rate next week. But when the same screen flags three liquid Nifty names with valuations below their five-year averages, the risk-reward setup deserves attention. What the numbers say across sectors For [ITC](/stock/ITC), the 49.8% ROE is partly a function of the company's capital structure and cash-generative cigarettes business. The FMCG and hotels divisions add less to ROE, but the consolidated return remains high because the core business prints cash. A P/E of 17.57 compares with Nifty FMCG peers that often trade above 40 times. The gap reflects regulatory risk and a slow-growing cigarettes volume base. The Piotroski score doesn't dismiss those concerns. It simply shows that earnings quality, margin trends and balance-sheet health are intact. [NTPC](/stock/NTPC) at 10.39 times earnings trades like a regulated utility, which it largely is. The market has assigne...