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GAIL Cheapest Bet Among Peers 

GAIL - dark horse among gs distributors.



Gas pipeline. (Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg)
Gas pipeline. (Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg)
GAIL Cheapest Bet Among Peers 

Shares of gas companies have been gaining for a year now as the government pushes cleaner fuels and looks to cut dependence on oil. State-run GAIL Ltd. stands out.

India’s largest gas distributor has beaten its 12-month target price to outperform analyst estimates. That’s despite being the second least preferred stock among peers.

Fifty percent of the analysts tracked by Bloomberg recommend a ‘Buy’ for GAIL, only ahead of Gujarat State Petronet Ltd.’s 30 percent.

Not only that. It’s the cheapest bet among gas distributors. While investors have to pay 17-27 times the forward 12-month earnings for its peers, GAIL is trading at 14 times.

Shares of the company are trading at the highest in over three months at Rs 410 apiece.

Rating Upgrade

Morgan Stanley upgraded GAIL from ‘Underweight’ to ‘Overweight’ on expectations of higher gas volumes and upside from tariffs.