Central Bank of India

Financial Services — Banks - Regional · NSE

₹30.99+₹0.21 (+0.68%)

DalalBaazaar Score

78 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

ATTRACTIVE

Risk

Low

No individual risk factor stands out on this snapshot.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, with both sales and profits growing well. Nothing obvious stands out as stretched — the usual checks on business quality and management still apply.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:03 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Central Bank of India — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Central Bank of India operates as a commercial bank in India.

IndustryBanks - Regional

SectorFinancial Services

Employees33,997

Annual revenue₹20,661 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹20,661 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹22 reaches shareholders as profit. Each of its 33,997 employees supports ₹60.8 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹60.8 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are HDFC BANK LTD, ICICI BANK LTD., KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK LTD, AXIS BANK LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Not assessable from these ratios

For a lender, returns on capital are shaped by leverage and funding cost rather than by pricing power, so the usual financial signature of an advantage does not apply. Judge this one on deposit franchise, cost of funds and asset quality — none of which are in this data.

Peer median ROE13.8%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +30% while net margin moved +107% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+30%

Margin effect+107%

DalalBaazaar Score

78/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• Shareholders fund 7.1% of the balance sheet, which is within the normal range for a bank
• Capital adequacy, gross NPAs and provision coverage decide a lender's financial health, and none are available here — check the bank's own quarterly disclosure

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

77/ 100

Good

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

87/ 100

Cheap

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework is built to look for.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

6.1x

3Y Median

13.9x

40 monthly readings · mean 16.2x · range 6.0x–34.8x

Sector Median

17.0x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 56% below its 3y median of 13.9x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

🟢Against its sector it trades 64% below the peer median of 17.0x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

13.9x median over 40 months · -56%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

17.0x median of 4 peers · -64%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

—

PEG

0.16

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 5.7% to 11.6%.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

Red Flags

No automated checks triggered

None of the automated financial checks below were triggered on the years of data available. That is not the same as a clean bill of health — see what could not be checked.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 56% below its own median multiple. If the business performs as it has and simply re-rates back to normal, that gap is return on its own.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 64% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
Earnings have proved durable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years. Consistency lowers the risk that any single bad year is structural rather than cyclical.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

No clear risk case emerges from the available numbers — which is not the same as there being none.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1Return on equity stays above 10%✓ 12.0%
For a lender this is the cleanest single read on whether the book is being grown profitably.
2Revenue growth stays above 7% a year✓ 9.3% CAGR
Latest reported year was 11.0%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Valuation vs its own median of 13.9x✓ 6.1x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

7 / 9 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✓ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✓ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✓ Profit growing year-over-year
✓ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

8 good · 3 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹28,050 Cr

Mid Cap

Mid-sized — more growth headroom, but sharper swings than large caps

P/E (Trailing)

6.1x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.69x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹5.04

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

12.0%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

Not meaningful

N/A for lenders

Banks and NBFCs don't report capital employed the way other businesses do

Debt/Equity

0.48x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

11.0%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

20.6%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

3.23%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

₹2,346 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

ROA

0.9%

Weak

Assets generate little profit

Operating Margin

34.4%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

28.5%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.39

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

14%

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

30.7 / 30.8

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

46.9

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹15,838 Cr	₹17,694 Cr	₹19,650 Cr	₹20,661 Cr	+9.3%
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1,679 Cr	₹2,668 Cr	₹3,934 Cr	₹4,524 Cr	+39.2%
EPS	₹1.93	₹3.07	₹4.53	₹5	+37.3%
ROE	5.7%	8.2%	10.7%	11.6%	—
Total Debt	₹6,570 Cr	₹9,003 Cr	₹12,929 Cr	₹18,654 Cr	+41.6%
Free Cash Flow	-₹8,999 Cr	-₹6,497 Cr	-₹2,915 Cr	₹2,346 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 9.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 39.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 37.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 5.7% to 11.6% over 3 years (+5.9 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 41.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹8,999 Cr to ₹2,346 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹5.51 L Cr

Total Liabilities

₹5.12 L Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹37,835 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹2,804 Cr

Capex

-₹458 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

9.8%

Insider Holding

81.2%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1

Ex-Dividend Date

08 May 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
HDFC BANK LTD	15.9x	13.8%
ICICI BANK LTD.	18.1x	16.5%
KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK LTD	21.9x	11.2%
AXIS BANK LIMITED	14.5x	13.4%

Recent News

3 positive2 mixed1 general

Central Bank of India’s Q2 profit jumps 21% YoY to Rs 1,469 crore

The Economic Times, 18 OctResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Central Bank of India Q3 Results 2026 - Find Central Bank of India Q3 Earnings Result | CENTRALBK Q3 results

Livemint, 16 OctResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

Central Bank of India Q2 Results: 26% NII growth drives earnings; NPAs improve sequentially

CNBC TV18, 17 OctResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

Central Bank of India Q2 net profit rises 21% to Rs 1,469 crore, NII up 26%

Moneycontrol.com, 17 OctResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Central Bank of India: Best Stock in Its Sector? Key Metrics

Univest, 15 Sept

Central Bank of India Q2FY27 Results: Net profit up 21% YoY to ₹1,469 crore

scanx.trade, 17 OctResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Watch Items

This is a financial-sector business: borrowing is its raw material, not leverage in the usual sense. Debt/Equity and ROCE here aren't comparable to a manufacturer's — read them alongside NIM, GNPA and capital adequacy from the company's own disclosures.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Growth · Profitability · Valuation · Risk

MiddlingFinancial Health

Points for each in the Score ↑

Attractive on both counts

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework exists to look for. The work left is qualitative: whether the advantage the numbers imply is one you can identify and expect to last.

All 3 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑