Jagran Prakashan Limited

Communication Services — Publishing · NSE

₹60.65−₹0.58 (−0.95%)

DalalBaazaar Score

56 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, falling profits.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:49 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Jagran Prakashan Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Jagran Prakashan Limited prints and publishes newspapers and magazines in India. It operates through three segments: Printing, Publishing and Digital; FM Radio; and Others.

IndustryPublishing

SectorCommunication Services

Employees4,868

Annual revenue₹1,842 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,842 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹11 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹20 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 4,868 employees supports ₹37.8 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹37.8 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED, VODAFONE IDEA 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?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 12.6% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.

Peer median ROE20.2%

What is the outlook?

1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 8.9% and earnings to grow about 7.8% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+8.9%

Est. earnings growth+7.8%

Analysts1

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +1% while net margin moved -3% 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+1%

Margin effect-3%

DalalBaazaar Score

56/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 0.4% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit has declined at 0.5% a year
✗ Profit fell 12.6% in the latest year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

52/ 100

Average

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 reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

7.0x

3Y Median

11.1x

40 monthly readings · mean 10.9x · range 6.7x–15.5x

Sector Median

21.7x

median of 2 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 37% below its 3y median of 11.1x. 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 68% below the peer median of 21.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

11.1x median over 40 months · -37%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

21.7x median of 2 peers · -68%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

3.7x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 75% over 3 years.
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

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 5.16x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 2.0 points over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 75% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 37% 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 68% 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?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 22.3% to 20.3%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 5.16x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 0.4% a year is close to the rate prices rise, so the business is gaining little ground in real terms. That leaves the share price dependent on a re-rating rather than on earnings growth.
Size brings its own risk
Micro Cap businesses are thinly traded, so exits are harder in a falling market and single events move the price more than they would for a larger company.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 18%✓ 20.3%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 0.4% CAGR
Latest reported year was 8.5%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹224 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.3x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 10%✓ 12.6%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

6 / 12 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✗ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✗ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✗ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 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
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

5 good · 4 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹1,320 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

7.0x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.66x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹8.66

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

9.8%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

12.6%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

5.16x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

8.5%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-12.6%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

11.54%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

₹224 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

6.0x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

10.5%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

9.8%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

3.56

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.40

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

62.0 / 62.0

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

29.8

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹1,822 Cr	₹1,898 Cr	₹1,855 Cr	₹1,842 Cr	+0.4%
EBITDA	₹407 Cr	₹421 Cr	₹357 Cr	₹374 Cr	-2.8%
EBITDA Margin	22.3%	22.2%	19.2%	20.3%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹200 Cr	₹184 Cr	₹131 Cr	₹197 Cr	-0.5%
EPS	₹7.61	₹8.44	₹6.02	₹9.05	+5.9%
ROE	11.4%	9.5%	6.7%	9.8%	—
ROCE	12.8%	10.7%	7.1%	12.6%	—
Total Debt	₹443 Cr	₹155 Cr	₹86 Cr	₹110 Cr	-37.2%
Free Cash Flow	₹238 Cr	₹256 Cr	₹169 Cr	₹224 Cr	-2.0%

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (0.4% a year).

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 2.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 22.3% to 20.3% over 3 years (-2.0 pts).

🟡 PAT (Net Profit) has been broadly flat over 3 years (-0.5% a year).

🟢 EPS has grown at 5.9% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 11.4% to 9.8% over 3 years (-1.7 pts).

🟡 ROCE has held roughly flat at 12.6% over 3 years.

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 37.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 2.0% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹2,709 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹578 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹50 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹269 Cr

Capex

-₹45 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

3.9%

Insider Holding

69.0%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹7

Ex-Dividend Date

05 Jun 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

0 Buy · 1 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹73

+20.4% vs CMP

Target Range

₹73 – ₹73

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED	39.8x	20.2%
VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED	3.6x	—

Recent News

4 positive2 general

Jagran Prakashan Dividend: 14% Yield Beats FD and PPF

Univest, 13 OctCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

Jagran Prakashan (JAGRAN) Share/Stock Price Live, NSE

TechGraph, 08 Oct

Interested In Jagran Prakashan's (NSE:JAGRAN) Upcoming ₹10.00 Dividend? You Have Two Days Left

Simply Wall Street, 02 JunCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

Jagran Prakashan Declares ₹10 Interim Dividend per Share Signalling Strong Cash Payouts

Sahi, 29 MayCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

Five undervalued dividend stocks

Livemint, 30 JulCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

Jagran Prakashan files FY26 sustainability report with stock exchanges

scanx.trade, 21 Aug

Watch Items

Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
RSI is in oversold territory — could mean either a bargain or a stock still falling for good reason. Check the 'why' before assuming reversal.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Valuation

WeakGrowth · Profitability · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Unremarkable in both directions

A reasonable business at a reasonable price. Nothing here is alarming and nothing is compelling, which usually means the decision rests on things this data cannot see — the industry's direction, management's intent, and what else is available to you. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — Revenue growth stays above 4% a year · see Key things to watch ↑