7 Companies With Highest Beta With Respect To The Sensex

According to Investopedia, the beta is defined as a measure of the volatility, or systematic risk, of a security or a portfolio in comparison with the market as a whole. Read on to know more on companies currently having the highest beta.

Unitech: Established in 1972, Unitech is one of the leading real estate developers in India. Its product portfolio consists of residential projects, commercial/IT parks, retail, hotels, amusement parks and SEZs. The clientele of the company includes names like Fidelity, McKinsey, Bank of America, Ford Motors, Nike, EDS, Hewitt, Amdocs, Ernst & Young, Reebok, Keane, Seagrams, Perfetti, Exxon Mobil and AT Kearney. Unitech was the first real estate company to be part of the National Stock Exchange's NIFTY 50 Index.

The company has a beta of 2.83 and has secured the top slot in our list. It has a market capitalisation of Rs 9601.82 crore. The scrip has yielded a return of 35.93% in the last one year.

Union Bank of India: Union Bank of India was established in November 1919 with its headquarters in Mumbai. At present, the bank operates with over 2800 branches across the country. On the technology front, it has taken early initiatives and all its branches are computerised. The bank has also introduced Core Banking Solution, with connectivity between branches.

With a beta of 2.72, the company has yielded a return of 8.95% in the last one year. Its market capitalisation stands at Rs 14044.50 crore.

Reliance Capital: Reliance Capital, a part of the Reliance ADA Group, is a constituent of CNX Nifty Junior and MSCI India. This is one of India's leading financial services companies in the private sector. It has interests in asset management and mutual funds, life and general insurance, commercial finance, equities and commodities broking, to name a few. Reliance Mutual Fund, a part of the company, is one of the top two mutual funds in India with over 6 million investor folios.

The company has a beta of 2.66 and the market capitalisation stands at Rs 11680 crore. In the last one year, it has garnered a return of 29.06%.

Anant Raj: Based in New Delhi, Anant Raj Ltd. was founded in 1969 and operates as a construction and infrastructure developer in northern India. The company constructs and develops SEZs, IT parks, hotels, commercial complexes, malls, residential/service apartments and other infrastructure projects. It also leases commercial properties, which include a portfolio of two IT parks, IT SEZ, three commercial complexes, two shopping malls and five hotels. It has a land bank of approximately 1150 acres located in Delhi and NCR.

The company has a beta of 2.56 with respect to the Sensex and has garnered a return of 32.28% in the last one year. Its market capitalisation stands at Rs 2412.41 crore.

Jaiprakash Associates: Jaiprakash Associates is an infrastructural industrial conglomerate. It engages in the engineering and construction, power, cement, hospitality, real estate, expressways, sports and agri businesses in India. The company also has interests in wind and thermal power generation and sale, and operates transmission lines for distribution and consumption of power. It also produces and sells cement, clinker and cement products under the brand name Jaypee Cement. Apart from these, the company owns and operates 5 five-star hotel properties located in New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and a resort and spa in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

With a beta of 2.52, the company has yielded a return of 19.27% in the last one year and has secured the fifth position in our list. Its market capitalisation stands at Rs 18489.48 crore.

IFCI: Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) was established in July 1948 as the first development financial institution in the country to cater to the long-term finance needs of the industrial sector. The newly-established institution was provided access to low-cost funds through the RBI’s Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), which in turn enabled it to provide loans and advances to corporate borrowers at concessional rates. Post the 1990s, it was also felt that IFCI should access the capital markets directly for its funds needs. With this objective, the constitution of IFCI was changed in 1993 from being a statutory corporation to a company under the Indian Companies Act, 1956.

Its beta stands at 2.52, and the scrip has yielded a return of 13.67% in the last one year. The market capitalisation of the company stands at Rs 2608 crore.

Hindustan Construction Company: Hindustan Construction Company was founded in 1926 and is based in Mumbai. It engages in the construction, real estate development and infrastructure businesses primarily in India. It provides EPC services for hydro power, nuclear power, thermal power, transportation, water supply and irrigation, industrial and marine projects. The company is also involved in the development of commercial properties as well as in slum rehabilitation programs. Additionally, it provides information technology solutions to the infrastructure industry.

It is interesting to note that this is the only company in our list that has yielded a negative return of 28.51% in spite of having a beta of 2.49. The market capitalisation of the company stands at Rs 1079.93 crore.