You've probably noticed it. The Punjab National Bank (PNB) stock ticker has been flashing a whole lot of green lately. Honestly, for a long time, talking about the share price of PNB bank felt like discussing a slow-moving giant stuck in the mud. But as of January 2026, the vibe has shifted.
The stock recently hit a 52-week high of ₹132.79 on January 16, 2026. If you’d looked at this bank a year ago, it was hovering around the ₹85 mark. That is a massive jump for a state-run lender. It’s not just a random spike, though. There is a real story here about cleaning up bad loans and actually making money.
What is driving the share price of PNB bank right now?
Basically, the bank stopped being its own worst enemy. For years, PNB was synonymous with "Gross NPAs" (bad loans). But the latest numbers for Q3 FY26 show a domestic business growth of over 9% year-on-year. That brings their total business to a staggering ₹27.65 lakh crore.
When a bank this big starts moving, the market notices.
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The asset quality turnaround
The most important thing for any bank stock isn't just how many loans they give, but how many people actually pay them back.
- Gross NPA: Down to around 3.45% from over 4.4% just a year ago.
- Net NPA: This is the kicker. It's sitting at 0.36%.
- The Fraud Factor: They did report a ₹2,434 crore borrowal fraud related to the SREI Group recently, which caused a temporary dip, but the market seemingly ate that news and moved on.
Investors are looking at the Net Interest Margin (NIM) too. Management is aiming for a 15 basis point rise by March 2026. In banking speak, that means they are getting better at charging more for loans than they pay for deposits.
The Numbers Game: P/E and Valuation
Is it still cheap? Kinda.
Even with the recent rally, PNB’s Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio is sitting around 8.9. Compare that to the broader Indian market or even private peers, and it still looks like a value play to some. However, you've got to be careful. Some analysts, like those at Simply Wall St, suggest the stock might be slightly overvalued after this 24% run-up over the last few weeks.
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The bank is eyeing a ₹30 lakh crore total business milestone by March 2026. CEO Ashok Chandra has been pretty vocal about "profit-led growth." They aren't just chasing size anymore; they’re chasing quality.
Market sentiment and expert takes
- The Bulls: They see the 11-12% credit growth target as conservative and expect a dividend yield of around 2.19% to keep income seekers happy.
- The Skeptics: They point to the contingent liabilities (which are huge, over ₹6 lakh crore) and the fact that public sector banks can be volatile based on government policy.
- The Middle Ground: Many brokerage houses have a "Hold" or "Neutral" rating with price targets averaging around ₹123, which the stock has already surpassed.
Why the "Common Man" is watching PNB
It’s the second-largest PSU bank in India. When the share price of PNB bank moves, it’s often a proxy for how the rural and MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) sectors are doing. The bank has designated 1,000 branches specifically for agriculture. If the monsoon is good and rural incomes rise, PNB usually wins.
Also, they’ve been aggressive with digital banking. No one wants to stand in a queue for three hours anymore. The shift to mobile-first banking has reduced their cost of operations, which directly helps the bottom line.
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What you should actually watch for
Don't just look at the daily fluctuations. If you are tracking this stock, keep an eye on these three specific triggers over the next few months:
- CASA Ratio: They want this above 38%. High Current Account Savings Account (CASA) means they get cheap money from us to lend to others at a profit.
- Recovery Targets: The bank is aiming for ₹16,000 crore in recoveries from bad debts this fiscal year. Every rupee they get back from an old bad loan is pure profit.
- Interest Rate Cycles: If the RBI changes rates, PNB’s margins will react faster than your morning coffee cools down.
PNB has evolved from a "problem child" of the banking sector into a serious contender for value investors. The path to ₹150 or even ₹170 isn't guaranteed—nothing in the stock market is—but the foundation looks a lot steadier than it did in 2023 or 2024.
Actionable insights for your portfolio
If you’re looking to get in or are already holding, it pays to be tactical.
- Check the Q3 FY26 full earnings report (expected late January 2026) to see if the NIM expansion is actually happening.
- Watch the ₹120-₹122 support level. If the price stays above this, the upward trend is likely intact.
- Diversify. Even if you love PNB, public sector banks are notoriously "clumpy"—they all move together. Don't put your entire banking allocation into just one PSU.
- Monitor the FII (Foreign Institutional Investor) holding. It’s currently around 5.67%. If big foreign funds start buying more, that's usually a signal of long-term confidence.