India's Mutual Funds doubled down on this auto ancillary stock in October

Shares of SKF India Ltd., the auto ancillary company, gained as much as 5% on Monday, November 17, snapping a 10-day losing streak in the process.

The stock had not seen extreme moves in these 10 sessions, but declined 5% during this period, consistently ending below the flat line.

At the end of the September quarter, India's Mutual Funds had increased their stake for two quarters in a row. According to Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research's latest note, Mutual Funds had increased their exposure to SKF India in October as well.

SKF India features as a buy for HDFC Mutual Fund and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund in October, according to Nuvama Alternative. HDFC MF bought SKF India shares worth ₹1,300 crore in October, while ICICI Prudential bought shares worth ₹260 crore, according to Nuvama Alternative.

Mirae MF also increased its stake in SKF India, by purchasing shares worth ₹805 crore in October, while SBI Mutual Fund made a complete exit from the stock last month. SBI MF had a 2.37% stake as of September 30.

At the end of the September quarter, India's mutual funds had a 23.83% stake in SKF India. HDFC MF is among the largest public shareholders in SKF India with a 9.78% stake as of September 30, while Mirae MF (5.99%), ICICI Prudential Smallcap Fund (2.01%), Sundaram MF (1.03%), feature among the other prominent public shareholders.

SKF India provides automotive and industrial engineered solutions through its five technology-centric platforms: bearings and units, seals, lubrication, condition monitoring, and maintenance services.

Nine analysts have coverage on SKF India, of which five of them have a "buy" rating, three say "hold", while one has a "sell" recommendation.

Shares of SKF India are trading 4% higher at ₹2,127. The stock is flat on a year-to-date basis, and recently began trading adjusted for the demerger of its industrials business into a new company, SKF Industrial. The stock has had single digit returns for the last three years, a 2.5% fall in 2024, following a 2.2% gain in 2023.