Which company has the highest debt?
As per Equitymaster's Stock Screener, these listed companies have the highest debt in India right now...
The below list is filtered by taking into account the company's latest debt to equity ratio and total debt.
High debt companies come under huge trouble in a rising interest rate scenario and during uncertainty. In such environment, your job is to sit on stocks which have a decent track record, pay regular dividends, and have low or zero debt.
Dividend paying stocks because your portfolio will have some cushion from the yields they provide.
And debt free because higher interest rates can just as easily bring down the high debt companies.
What is considered a high level of debt?
Analysts use the debt to equity ratio to measure how much debt a firm uses relative to its equity.
A high debt to equity ratio is risky. Ideally, a ratio less than 1 is considered good, while anything above 2 is highly risky.
We highly recommend you check out Equitymaster's Indian Stock Screener and its segments. Here are some of the screens related to debt.
Could higher interest rates bring down high debt companies?
Higher interest rates need not spell doom for companies. In fact, in the case of some companies such as banks and NBFCs, a higher interest rate environment could propel growth.
Moreover, debt can help companies grow and expand. It's only when the debt is unserviceable that the company will find itself in trouble.
Which companies have no debt?
As per Equitymaster's Stock Screener, these are some of the companies which have no debt on their books.
- #1 BHARAT ELECTRONICS
- #2 BAJAJ HOLDINGS & INVESTMENT
- #3 DIVIS LABORATORIES
- #4 AVENUE SUPERMARTS
- #5 ABB INDIA
Investors have a liking for debt free stocks as they have the ability to tide over higher interest rate environments.
Should you totally avoid interest rate sensitive stocks?
It depends upon an individual's risk appetite. In a rising interest rate scenario, high debt stocks are the ones you should definitely avoid.
As central banks increase interest rates to curb inflation, it puts a lot of pressure on stock prices. Resultantly, interest rate sensitive stocks like high debt companies bear the brunt.