Narayana Hrudayalaya Limited

Healthcare — Medical Care Facilities · NSE

₹1,718.00−₹7.40 (−0.43%)

DalalBaazaar Score

58 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Low

Driven by moderate debt load.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with modest growth. Valuation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:58 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Narayana Hrudayalaya Limited provides medical and healthcare services in India, the United Kingdom, and the Cayman Islands. It operates through the Medical and Healthcare Related Services; and Others segments.

IndustryMedical Care Facilities

SectorHealthcare

Employees11,234

Annual revenue₹7,858 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹7,858 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹10 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹22 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 11,234 employees supports ₹70.0 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹70.0 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. L, SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L, CIPLA LTD. 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 11.4% 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 ROE14.5%

What is the outlook?

13 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 10.4% and earnings to grow about 28.5% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+10.4%

Est. earnings growth+28.5%

Analysts13

What has been driving growth?

Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 3 years revenue moved +75% while net margin moved -24% 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+75%

Margin effect-24%

DalalBaazaar Score

58/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 42.5x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
• P/E is close to its own historical median of 43.5x
✗ P/B of 7.69x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

61/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

34/ 100

Expensive

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

42.5x

3Y Median

43.5x

40 monthly readings · mean 42.6x · range 32.2x–55.9x

Sector Median

34.9x

median of 3 sector peers

🟡Currently trading close to its 3y median of 43.5x — the market is paying about what it usually pays for this company.

⚠️Against its sector it trades 22% above the peer median of 34.9x.

vs. its own history

Fair

43.5x median over 40 months · -2%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

34.9x median of 3 peers · +22%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

23.5x

PEG

4.27

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 33% over 3 years.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 28.4% to 17.8% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 25.8% to 11.4% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 1 high · 2 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 562% over 3 years, from ₹884 Cr to ₹5,857 Cr.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 7.4x to 5.0x.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 116% against revenue up 75% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

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?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 3.4x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 22% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 28.4% to 17.8%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.

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

1Revenue growth stays above 15% a year✓ 20.5% CAGR
Latest reported year was 78.0%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 20%✓ 21.7%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 3.4x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
4Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹746 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5ROCE stays above 8%✓ 11.4%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

7 / 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

4 good · 5 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹34,893 Cr

Mid Cap

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

P/E (Trailing)

42.5x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

7.69x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹40.43

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

17.8%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

11.4%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

1.29x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

78.0%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

5.4%

Modest

Slow profit growth

Dividend Yield

0.26%

Modest

Small cash return — most of the return has to come from the price

Free Cash Flow

₹746 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

24.5x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

11.7%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

9.0%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2.15

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.13

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

26%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

1780.4 / 1833.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

23.9

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹4,491 Cr	₹4,876 Cr	₹5,464 Cr	₹7,858 Cr	+20.5%
EBITDA	₹1,037 Cr	₹1,221 Cr	₹1,356 Cr	₹1,702 Cr	+18.0%
EBITDA Margin	23.1%	25.1%	24.8%	21.7%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹606 Cr	₹789 Cr	₹790 Cr	₹806 Cr	+9.9%
EPS	₹29.85	₹38.86	₹38.9	₹39.67	+9.9%
ROE	28.4%	27.4%	21.8%	17.8%	—
ROCE	25.8%	21.7%	17.8%	11.4%	—
Total Debt	₹884 Cr	₹1,627 Cr	₹2,428 Cr	₹5,857 Cr	+87.8%
Free Cash Flow	₹563 Cr	₹96 Cr	-₹96 Cr	₹746 Cr	+9.9%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 20.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 18.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 23.1% to 21.7% over 3 years (-1.4 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 9.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 9.9% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 28.4% to 17.8% over 3 years (-10.7 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 25.8% to 11.4% over 3 years (-14.5 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 87.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 9.9% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹12,474 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹7,935 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹770 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1,621 Cr

Capex

-₹875 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

12.9%

Insider Holding

67.2%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹4.5

Ex-Dividend Date

17 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

11 Buy · 2 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹2,216

+29.0% vs CMP

Target Range

₹1,817 – ₹2,559

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. L	54.3x	22.0%
SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L	34.9x	14.5%
CIPLA LTD	31.8x	9.8%

Recent News

2 positive3 mixed1 general

Stock Radar: Narayana Hrudayalaya stock showing signs of bottoming out; time to buy?

The Economic Times, 27 Aug

Narayana Hrudayalaya Share Price Jumps 3% As Kotak Securities Upgrades To 'Buy': Check Target Price

NDTV Profit, 24 AugAnalyst view

🟢Potentially positiveAn analyst opinion changing, which moves the price without changing the business.

Narayana Hrudayalaya Limited Just Missed Earnings - But Analysts Have Updated Their Models

Simply Wall Street, 05 AugAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

NH Forecast — Price Target — Prediction for 2027

TradingView, 25 JunAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

Narayana Hrudayalaya Share Price Rise: Key Metrics Today

Univest, 23 SeptPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Narayana Hrudayalaya Q1 Consolidated Revenue Rises To 26.84b Rupees Versus 15.07b YoY

Sahi, 03 AugResults

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

Watch Items

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

StrongRisk

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability

WeakValuation

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 — Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x · see Key things to watch ↑