Kec International Ltd.
NSE: KECKec International Ltd.: A 30-second snapshot
KEC International is an infrastructure EPC company trading at ₹558.70, down 19.73% over 12 months and 40.6% below its 52-week high, with both SMA-50 (₹560.39) and SMA-200 (₹713.65) above the current price. The company has grown revenues at 12.2% per year over five years but earnings have declined at -1.6% annually over the same period, compressing net margins to 2.84%. Debt-to-equity stands at 94.07 with a rising trend, and the quality score of 32 is the fourth-lowest among its six-peer Infrastructure sector group.
P/E
21.5
Forward P/E
14.3
ROE
—
Debt / Equity
94.07
Profit Margin
+2.8%
Div. Yield
+0.9%
5Y ROE > 15%
0/5
5Y FCF > 0
3/5
Quality
43/100
Recent context
- ·No news articles were retrieved for KEC in this analysis run; recent corporate actions, order wins, or regulatory developments are not reflected in the sentiment data.
- ·The forward PE of 14.28 versus the trailing 21.52 represents a 34% implied earnings recovery; whether this is supported by recent quarterly results or order-book disclosures is not verifiable from the current dataset.
- ·KEC ranks 1st on PE valuation and 4th on quality score among the six Infrastructure peers in the sector model, placing it as the lowest-multiple but lower-quality name in the group.
Strengths
- +Lowest trailing PE (21.52) among the six Infrastructure peers benchmarked — peers range from L&T at 33.3 to CGPOWER at 109.3 and ABB at 85.0 — indicating KEC trades at a significant valuation discount to the sector.
- +Forward PE of 14.28 versus trailing PE of 21.52 implies analyst models are pricing in an earnings step-up; mean analyst rating of 1.60 across 20 analysts on a 1–5 scale (lower = more constructive).
- +5-year revenue CAGR of 12.2% demonstrates consistent top-line growth, reflecting order-book execution in T&D, civil, and railways EPC segments across domestic and international geographies.
- +FCF was positive in 3 of the available persistence years, suggesting some capacity for self-funding despite the high leverage profile.
Weaknesses
- −Debt-to-equity of 94.07 with a rising trend is materially above typical EPC norms; at profit margins of 2.84%, even moderate interest cost increases could disproportionately affect net earnings.
- −5-year earnings CAGR of -1.6% despite 12.2% revenue growth signals persistent margin compression; consistency score of 50 and quality score of 32 are below-median across the peer group.
- −Stock has declined 19.73% over the past year and sits 40.6% below its 52-week high, below SMA-200 (₹713.65) and SMA-50 (₹560.39); RSI at 45.64 is neutral, providing no near-term momentum signal.
- −ROE has been below 15% in every year of the persistence window (roeYearsAbove15 = 0), trailing peers L&T (15.54%) and CGPOWER (19.56%), suggesting capital is not generating above-cost returns.
Open questions
- ?Does the rising debt-to-equity trend reflect working-capital intensity typical of EPC order execution, or does it indicate structural funding gaps that revenue growth cannot close?
- ?What proportion of the 5-year revenue CAGR of 12.2% is attributable to international geographies, and how does currency and counterparty risk in those markets affect margin predictability?
- ?Has the 40.6% drawdown from the 52-week high been accompanied by any change in order-book guidance, management commentary on margins, or sector-level re-rating in Infrastructure EPC?
- ?Is the forward PE compression to 14.28 driven by a single large expected earnings event (e.g., project completion, debt reduction) or by a more gradual multi-year recovery assumption embedded in analyst models?
Peer comparison: Infrastructure
Ranks 4 of 6 on quality| Symbol | Name | P/E | ROE | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KEC | Kec International Ltd.You're viewing | 21.5 | — | 32 |
| Industry avg | across 5 peers | 68.8 | +17.5% | 40 |
| BEL | Bharat Electronics Ltd. | 51.8 | — | 57 |
| ABB | ABB India Ltd. | 85.0 | — | 47 |
| CGPOWER | CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd. | 109.3 | +19.6% | 45 |
| LT | Larsen & Toubro Ltd. | 33.3 | +15.5% | 26 |
| CUMMINSIND | Cummins India Ltd. | 64.5 | — | 24 |
Technical state
Current price
₹558.70
SMA 50
₹560.39
SMA 200
₹713.65
RSI (14)
45.6 (neutral)
From 52w high
-40.6%
1Y return
-19.7%
3M return
-9.2%
50-DMA
Below
200-DMA
Below
Algorithmic support levels
Algorithmic resistance levels
Risk flags
- highDebt-to-equity ratio of 94.07 is extremely elevated for an infrastructure EPC company; debt trend is reported as rising, compounding solvency concerns.
- high5-year earnings growth of -1.6% alongside a profit margin of 2.84% indicates core operations are not translating revenue growth (12.2% over 5 years) into bottom-line expansion; quality score of 32 out of 100 is in the lowest tier.
- highStock is 40.6% below its 52-week high and 21.5% below the 200-DMA (₹713.65 vs current ₹558.70), with a 19.73% decline over the past 12 months; price has been below both SMA-50 and SMA-200 for an extended period.
- mediumROE is not calculable from available data; roeYearsAbove15 = 0 across the persistence window, indicating no year of above-15% return on equity recorded — the lowest quality marker in the sector context where peer L&T shows 15.54% and CGPOWER shows 19.56%.
- lowZero news articles retrieved for this run; news sentiment analysis is unavailable, leaving recent catalyst and risk newsflow unassessed.
Cross-section contradictions
- Revenue has grown at 12.2% CAGR over 5 years, yet earnings growth over the same period is -1.6%, suggesting significant margin deterioration or cost escalation that revenue expansion has not overcome.
- Forward PE of 14.28 implies analyst expectation of meaningful earnings recovery, yet 5-year earnings CAGR is negative and debt is rising — the valuation discount may reflect either a genuine recovery thesis or persistent fundamental stress.
For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. VivaTrades is not a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser or Research Analyst. Market data sourced from public feeds; consult a registered adviser before any investment decision.
Fundamentals & technicals: refreshed 25 Jun 2026 · refreshed daily at 01:00 IST
AI synthesis (narrative, snapshot, strengths/weaknesses, peer ranking): generated 12 May 2026 · rotates through NIFTY 500 every ~5 days