Eating His Own Cooking

Chairman Saroj Poddar has been busy consolidating his holding in Zuari Global. In a flurry of transactions starting from the 2^nd week of February till now, the astute businessman has purchased 53,202 shares for a consideration of ₹48 lakh. Poddar has consolidated his holding to 3.32% from 3.14% as the stock is trying to find a firm footing after taking a sharp tumble on the bourse recently. After hitting a 52-week high of ₹136 in the beginning of CY16, the stock has since fallen 27% to as low as Rs.88. It now trades at Rs.100.

Historical trading activity points to Poddar buying into Zuari Global when its down trend is about to bottom out. For instance, in the March quarter of FY13, Poddar bought 298,000 shares of the company when the stock went into a kind of freefall before bouncing back at just over Rs.40 in the September quarter. In another instance, in March quarter of FY14, 348,000 shares were purchased when the stock bottomed around Rs.60.

Zuari Global is the promoter entity for several Zuari Group companies. The entity has exposure to sugar, furniture, real estate and EPC business with focus on hydrocarbon, chemical and fertiliser sector. Going forward, Poddar and other shareholders of the company would be hoping that the external environment for their businesses turn favourable and that in turn shores up the valuation of their holding.