Best Metal Stocks in India to Buy 2024

India’s metal segment is a crucial part of the economy, providing crucial materials for construction and infrastructure building. Infrastructure is a key focus area in India with potential for quick expansion and it provides investors with a variety of possibilities. This investment panorama includes metal stocks, such as steel, copper, aluminium, etc. In this article, we will have a closer look at the best metal stocks to buy in India and the Indian metal industry. Keep reading to find out more!

Metal Industry Overview

Metal companies in India include companies that are involved in the mining, processing, and sale of various metals. The India Steel Market Report categorizes steel into two types: basic form (crude steel) and completed form. It also separates production technologies into Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF), Electric Arc Furnace, and others. 

The metal industry also serves a variety of industries, including automotive, construction, tools, energy, consumer products, and others (oil and gas, furniture, pipelines, packaging, semiconductors) making it one of their lifelines. 

The steel market in India is expected to reach 209.93 million tons in 2029 from 135.81 million tons in 2024, giving an annual growth rate of 9.18%. Initially, COVID-19 posed hurdles to India’s steel market, particularly in the automotive and construction sectors. However, it has recovered and is exhibiting substantial growth.

Factors driving market expansion include strong government support, increased investment, urbanization, and infrastructure initiatives. Despite challenges such as low per capita steel consumption and high production costs, the market is likely to grow. Innovations such as hydrogen-based steel fabrication and future trade prospects are also expected to help drive this expansion.

List of Best Metal Stocks in India

Best Metal Stocks in India 2024

The demand for metal at the global level has increased, and it has also improved the returns of companies that are involved in the production, mining, and distribution of different metals. These reasons have attracted investors to choose metal sector stocks as attractive investment options. Let’s take a look at the list of the top metal stocks to invest in India here. 

1. Coal India Ltd

Coal India is a PSU that came into being in 1975. It is headquartered in Kolkata. CIL is the single largest coal producer in the world and employs more than 2,70,000 people. CIL functions through its subsidiaries in 84 mining areas spread over 8 states of India. Coal India Limited has 352 mines.

CIL is a Maharatna company and produces around 83% of India’s overall coal production. CIL alone meets about 40% of the country’s primary commercial energy requirement.

Coal India’s major consumers are the power sector (over 80% of the total output), steel sectors and others including cement, fertilizer, brick, kilns etc.

Coal India supplies coal at prices discounted to international prices and insulates Indian coal consumers against price volatility. This makes the end-user industry globally competitive and plays a key role in “Make in India”

• Market Cap: Rs. 2,97,380 Cr

• Compounded Sales Growth (10 years): 7%

• Compounded Profit Growth (10 years): 16%

• Stock Price CAGR (10 years): 14%

• Stock P/E: 7.96

• FY ‘24 Sales: Rs 1,42,324 Cr  Net Profit: Rs 37,369 Cr

• Dividend Yield: 5.03%

2. Hindustan Zinc 

Hindustan Zinc is India’s largest and world’s second-largest integrated zinc producer with more than 50 years of operational experience. The company currently hold around 75% market share in India’s primary zinc industry. They are the 3rd  largest silver producers globally with an annual capacity of 800 MT.

Hindustan Zinc is a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited which owns a 64.9% stake in the company while the Government of India retains a 29.5% stake. They have mining, smelting and power operations in multiple locations throughout India. 

Zinc and lead metal produced at their Chanderiya Smelting complex are registered brands on the London Metal Exchange (LME) signifying the highest product quality.

Zinc is the 4th most widely used metal in the world and due to its strong anticorrosive properties. In a growing economy and amidst huge demand for infrastructure, the demand for Hindustan Zinc’s products is likely to go up. Key indicators of the stock:

• Market Cap: Rs. 2,81,637 Cr

• Compounded Sales Growth (5 years): 7%

• Compounded Profit Growth (5 years): 0%

• Stock Price CAGR (5 years): 22%

• FY ‘24 Revenue: Rs 28,934 Cr  Profit: Rs 7,787 Cr

• Dividend Yield: 1.95%

3. Tata Steel 

Tata Steel is one of the top metal stocks in India. Founded in 1907, Tata Steel is the first integrated private steel firm in Asia. It is among the largest steel-producing companies in the world, with an annual crude steel capacity of 35 million tonnes. We are one of the few steel operations that are fully integrated – from mining to the manufacturing and marketing of finished products. 

In 2007 Tata Steel acquired Corus to become Europe’s largest steel producer. In 2015, it acquired Thailand-based Millennium Steel and strengthened its operations in SE Asia. Tata Steel is also one of the lowest-cost producers of steel in the world. It operates in 26 countries with key operations in India, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and employs around 77,000 people. 

It caters to varied industry segments like Agriculture, Automotive, Construction, Industrial and General Engineering. Let’s look at key indicators of the stock.

• Market Cap: Rs. 2,05,036 Cr

• Compounded Sales Growth (5 years): 8%

• Compounded Profit Growth (5 years): N.A.

• Stock Price CAGR (5 years): 27%

• FY ‘24 Revenue: Rs 229,171 Cr Profit: Rs -4910 Cr

• Dividend Yield: 2.19%

4. JSW Steel 

JSW Steel is India’s premier integrated stainless steel company with a capacity of 28.5 MTPA in India and the USA. Located in Vijayanagar, Karnataka, JSW Steel’s manufacturing unit is the largest single-location steel-producing facility in India, with a capacity of 12 MTPA.

Their products are extensively utilized across diverse industries and applications, including construction, infrastructure, automobiles, electrical applications, and appliances. Let’s have a look at the key metrics of these metal stocks:

• Market Cap: Rs. 2,15,949 Cr

• Compounded Sales Growth (5 years): 16%

• Compounded Profit Growth (5 years): 2%

• Stock Price CAGR (5 years): 27%

• Stock P/E: 25.6

• FY ‘24 Revenue: Rs 175,006 Cr  Profit: Rs 8,973 Cr

• Dividend Yield: 0.38%

5. Vedanta Ltd

Vedanta Ltd (then called Sterlite Industries) started in 1980. It is an Indian multinational mining company operating across India, South Africa, Liberia and Namibia. It is diversified across the natural resources spectrum in Oil & Gas, Zinc-Lead-Silver, Aluminium, Iron Ore, Steel, Copper, Ferro Alloys, Power, Nickel, Semiconductor and Glass.

Vedanta Limited operates the largest copper smelter In India, in Tuticorin. This contributes to nearly 50% of Vedanta Limited’s profits.  Vedanta owns 64.9% of the share capital in Hindustan Zinc Limited and it owns 53.9% of Sterlite. Key Metrics:

• Market Cap: Rs. 164635 Cr

• Compounded Sales Growth (5 years): 9%

• Compounded Profit Growth (5 years): -12%

• Stock Price CAGR (5 years): 22%

• Stock P/E: 45

• FY ‘24 Revenue: Rs 143727 Cr  Profit: Rs 7539 Cr

• Dividend Yield: 6.69%

6. HINDALCO

An industry leader in aluminium and copper, Hindalco Industries Limited, IS the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, It is the world’s largest aluminium rolling company and one of the biggest producers of primary aluminium in Asia. Its copper smelter is one of the world’s largest custom smelters at a single location.

Hindalco ranks among the global top five aluminium producers and is an integrated producer with a low-cost base. Hindalco’s copper division operates one of the largest single-location customs copper smelters in the world

It caters to sectors like automotive, construction, electricals & electronics, pharma & packaging, white goods and industrial uses, agrochem, railways etc. The Key Metrics are: 

• Market Cap (Cr): Rs. 156204

• Compounded Sales Growth (5 years): 11%

• Compounded Profit Growth (5 years): 14%

• Stock Price CAGR (5 years): 29%

• Stock P/E: 15.4

• FY ‘24 Revenue: Rs 215962 Cr  Profit: Rs 10155 Cr

• Dividend Yield: 0.43%

7. Jindal Steel & Power Ltd

Jindal Steel and Power (JSP) is one of India’s leading business houses, with a significant presence in steel, mining, power and infrastructure. With business operations spanning across India, Africa, and Australia, JSP has firmly established itself as a global player.

Established in 1952, JSP is a leading player in the steel industry It serves domestic and international customers in sectors like infrastructure, construction and automotive, across 36+ countries.

It has a robust mining capacity of 33 MTPA dedicated to coal and iron ore extraction. They have captive power plants across its Raigarh and Angul facilities.

• Market Cap: Rs. 1,05,166 Cr

• Compounded Sales Growth (5 years): 1%

• Compounded Profit Growth (5 years): 62%

• Stock Price CAGR (5 years): 45%

• Stock P/E: 17.7

• FY ‘24 Revenue: Rs 50,027 Cr  Profit: Rs 5,943 Cr

• Dividend Yield: 0.19%

8. NMDC

Incorporated in 1958 as a Government of India public enterprise, NMDC is India’s largest producer of iron ore. It is the sixth-largest iron ore producer in the world and a low-cost producer as well. It is involved in the exploration of a wide range of minerals including copper, rock phosphate, limestone, magnesite, diamond, tungsten and beach sands amongst others in some of the most remote corners of the country.

NMDC supplies to large steel producers like Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, KIOCL Ltd, Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel (India) Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd, Dolvi etc.

• Market Cap: Rs. 73,118 Cr

• Compounded Sales Growth (5 years): 12%

• Compounded Profit Growth (5 years): 5%

• Stock Price CAGR (5 years): 26%

• Stock P/E: 12.7

• FY ‘24 Revenue: Rs 21,308 Cr  Profit: Rs 5,571 Cr

• Dividend Yield: 2.65%

9. Steel Authority of India Ltd

SAIL is a Maharatna PSU, one of the largest steel producers in India. It owns 5 integrated steel plants and three special steel plants. It manufactures 50 products in 500 grades and 5000 dimensions. With its origin back in 1957, SAIL was established in 1973. It has 57,139 employees with an annual production of 18.29 million metric tons. 

SAIL is one of India’s fastest-growing PSUs with 692 patents globally. SAIL operates and owns five integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Rourkela, Durgapur, Bokaro and Asansol and three special steel plants at Salem, Durgapur and Bhadravathi. It also owns a Ferro Alloy plant at Chandrapur. 

• Market Cap: Rs. 65,345 Cr

• Compounded Sales Growth (5 years): 9%

• Compounded Profit Growth (5 years): 7%

• Stock Price CAGR (5 years): 26%

• Stock P/E: 17.7

• FY ‘24 Revenue: Rs 1,05,378 Cr  Profit: Rs 3,067 Cr

• Dividend Yield: 0.93%

10. NALCO

NALCO, or the National Aluminium Company Limited was established in 1981. It is a Navratna PSU with a registered office in Bhubaneshwar. NALCO is one of the largest integrated Bauxite-Alumina-Aluminium- Power complex in the country. 

From its first commercial operation in 1987, the Company has continuously earned profits for the last 36 years. NALCO is one of the leading foreign exchange earning PSUs of the country and the lowest cost producer in Bauxite and Alumina production in the world.

NALCO is the first public sector company in the country to venture into the international market in a big way with London Metal Exchange (LME) registration in May 1989.

• Market Cap: Rs. 34,804 cr

• Compounded Sales Growth (5 years): 3%

• Compounded Profit Growth (5 years): 0%

• Stock Price CAGR (5 years): 30%

• Stock P/E: 19.8

• FY ‘24 Revenue: Rs 3,579 Cr  Profit: Rs 1,016 Cr

• Dividend Yield: 2.37%

Conclusion

Investing in metal stocks, in particular, can offer great growth potential and also a good measure of portfolio diversification. The metal industry stands out due to its long-term value proposition. You can find all of these stocks on the Rupeezy app and also stay ahead of the markets as it offers you comprehensive market analysis and real-time market data. Happy Investing!