United Spirits

Chandan Taparia has recommended two stocks to buy today, April 1, and one stock to sell. Taparia recommends buying National Aluminium Company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) shares, and recommends selling United Spirits stock futures.

A premium exit from a low-contribution asset strengthens return ratios, but with gains largely priced in, future upside hinges on premiumisation and regulatory tailwinds.

United Spirits’s shares trade at about 48x FY27 estimated earnings, suggesting a large part of the optimism may have been priced in, for now.

Liquor stocks surged up to 8% after Karnataka's government announced a shift to global taxation and deregulation of alcohol pricing in its state budget. The new excise structure, effective April 2026, will modernize the framework and enhance transparency, targeting alcohol content for taxation.

The company’s premium and luxury brands such as Signature, Johnnie Walker, Godawan and Don Julio have continued to grow faster than the category, compensating for weakness at the lower end.

Dividend Stocks: Persistent Systems, United Spirits, Wipro, Wendt India, IIFL Finance, Jindal Stainless, Coforge and CAMS, are among others which will trade ex-dividend in the upcoming week, starting from Monday, 26 January 2026.

Street expectations continue to favour Radico, with analysts pencilling in further outperformance. However, United Spirits remains a stock to watch, with shifting consumer demographics and a clear tilt towards Prestige & Above brands setting the stage for a potential upside for the stock.

Much like its domestic and international rivals, including Radico Khaitan and United Spirits, Allied Blenders is investing in a portfolio of premium and luxury tequilas, whiskeys, and gins, while attempting to upgrade the consumers of its biggest brand, the mass-priced whiskey Officers’ Choice.