Piotroski 8/9: ITC, SBI Lead Quality Screen

A Piotroski 8/9 screen across eight NSE names is worth slowing down. The F-Score is a nine-point accounting check. It looks at whether return on assets is improving and whether operating cash flow covers net income. It also checks if a company is using less debt. Most companies sit in the middle of the range. A score of 8 or 9 is unusual. Think of the F-Score as a bouncer at a club. It checks the company's books before letting it into your portfolio. A high score doesn't mean the stock will rise next week. It means the financials are getting stronger, not weaker. Now pair that with price. Several of these names trade at P/E ratios mostly between 10 and 17 times. The Nifty 50, by comparison, has traded above 20 times trailing earnings for much of the past year. That gap is the story. You're not just buying a good business. You're buying it at a price that still leaves room for error. The eight names are [ITC](/stock/ITC) (NSE: ITC), [TCS](/stock/TCS) (NSE: TCS), [State Bank of India](/stock/SBIN) (NSE: SBIN), [Infosys](/stock/INFY) (NSE: INFY), [HDFC Bank](/stock/HDFCBANK) (NSE: HDFCBANK), [Kotak Mahindra Bank](/stock/KOTAKBANK) (NSE: KOTAKBANK), [Axis Bank](/stock/AXISBANK) (NSE: AXISBANK) and [NTPC](/stock/NTPC) (NSE: NTPC). The first four show strong return on equity and return on capital employed, which is what the F-Score tries to verify. India's rate cycle has turned, with the RBI pausing in recent quarters. That helps banks with deposit repricing and takes some steam out of high-valuation growth stocks. A screen like this picks up cash-generative names that can hold up when liquidity gets less generous. ITC and SBI offer domestic-facing cash flows, while TCS and Infosys bring dollar-linked earnings. Why ITC and SBI lead the screen [ITC](/stock/ITC) (NSE: ITC) scores well because its core business throws off cash. The FMCG arm is no longer dragging the return profile the way it did five years ago. [State Bank of India](/stock/SBIN) (NSE: SBIN) is the valu...