Punjab National Bank Share Price Today (1 December 2025): Mega PSB Merger Blueprint, Rate Pause and Analyst Targets Explained

Mumbai / New Delhi, December 1, 2025 — Punjab National Bank (PNB) shares were trading around ₹125–126 on Monday afternoon, hovering just below their fresh 52‑week high of about ₹126.4 hit last week. The stock is up over 21% year‑to‑date in 2025, with renewed investor interest driven by a proposed mega public-sector bank (PSB) merger plan, stable lending rates and improving asset quality. ^[1]

At the same time, regulators’ new Expected Credit Loss (ECL) rules and the possibility of large-scale PSB consolidation are reshaping how investors look at PNB’s long‑term earnings and risk profile. ^[2]

Below is a detailed look at today’s PNB share price, the latest news as of December 1, 2025, and what brokerages and data platforms are forecasting for the stock.

PNB share price today: near record highs, solid 2025 gains

According to live market data published by Mint, Punjab National Bank shares were quoted at ₹125.45 on 1 December 2025 at 12:41 PM IST, up 0.76% from the previous close. The stock traded in a day range of ₹124.85–₹126.20, with a 52‑week range of roughly ₹85.5–₹126.4. ^[3]

Key snapshot from the same dashboard: ^[4]

Price: ~₹125–126
52‑week low / high: ~₹85.5 / ₹126.4
2025 year‑to‑date return: ~21.1%
5‑day return: ~1.7%
Market cap: about ₹1.4 trillion
Volume: ~9.8 million shares (vs 20‑day average ~15.5 million)

Valuation and risk metrics (Mint’s latest update): ^[5]

Trailing P/E: ~8.4×
Price‑to‑book (P/B): ~1.08×
Dividend yield: ~2.3%
PEG ratio: ~0.13 (suggesting earnings growth faster than implied by P/E)
Beta: ~1.38 (higher volatility than the market)

Data from MarketsMojo earlier this year showed PNB trading at P/E ~8.6× and P/B ~0.98×, with ROE ~11.4% and ROA ~0.82%, and characterised the valuation as still “attractive” relative to peers. ^[6]

In November, the stock repeatedly hit new 52‑week highs — including ₹124.95, ₹126.25 and ₹126.4 — signalling sustained buying interest in PSU banks. ^[7]

December 1, 2025: key news triggers for PNB stock

1. Govt’s mega PSB merger blueprint puts PNB at the centre

The single most important news item today is a Moneycontrol exclusive: the government is working on a large PSB consolidation plan that could reduce the number of state‑owned banks from 12 to just 4 by FY27. ^[8]

According to the report:

The four likely surviving entities would be:
- State Bank of India (SBI)
- Punjab National Bank (PNB)
- Bank of Baroda (BoB)
- A merged Canara–Union Bank structure
Other mid‑sized PSBs — such as Indian Overseas Bank, Central Bank of India, Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra — are expected to be absorbed by SBI, PNB or BoB over time. ^[9]
The objective is to strengthen balance sheets, boost credit capacity, rationalise overlapping branch networks and create a few globally competitive state‑owned banks.

For PNB shareholders, this blueprint has several implications (still subject to policy decisions and regulatory approvals):

Potential upside:
- A larger merged entity could enjoy greater scale, better operating leverage and stronger pricing power, especially in corporate and infrastructure lending.
- PSB consolidation historically tends to trigger re‑rating phases when investors anticipate stronger profitability and efficiency.
Potential risks:
- Integration of multiple weaker banks could temporarily pressure capital ratios, asset quality and IT systems.
- Mergers can be politically and operationally complex, which typically means headline risk and volatility in the short-to-medium term.

This is still a blueprint rather than an approved scheme, but it is likely to be a major driver of sentiment in PNB and other PSBs through FY26–27. ^[10]

2. PNB keeps lending rates unchanged from December 1

In a regulatory update flagged by TipRanks and exchange filings, PNB has kept its Marginal Cost of Funds Based Lending Rates (MCLR) and Repo Linked Lending Rate (RLLR) unchanged, effective 1 December 2025. ^[11]

The move means no immediate increase in loan EMIs for customers whose loans are linked to MCLR or RLLR.
It also signals stability in the bank’s lending rate strategy, even as markets debate the timing of possible RBI rate cuts.

For investors, stable rates suggest that PNB is trying to balance margin protection with competitive positioning. Margins across banks have already been under pressure as deposit rates rose faster than lending yields in 2024–25.

3. PSU bank rally and thematic “buy” lists

PNB continues to ride the broader PSU bank rally:

The Nifty PSU Bank index has gained sharply in 2025, hitting record levels in late November, as investors rotate into public‑sector lenders with cleaner balance sheets and improving profitability. ^[12]
Motilal Oswal’s latest quant multi‑factor ‘Buy’ list for December 2025 includes PNB among the top 5 ideas, alongside names like HPCL and LTI Mindtree, citing a blend of attractive valuation, quality and momentum factors. ^[13]
A recent Business Standard summary of Motilal Oswal’s PSU bank strategy highlighted SBI and PNB as top PSB bets, arguing that despite a ~5x jump in aggregate PSB market cap since FY20, many still trade near 0.8–1× forward book value and 5–7× FY27E earnings, leaving room for further re‑rating. ^[14]

The combination of index-level flows, quant screens and improving fundamentals has kept PNB on the radar of both retail and institutional investors.

Fundamentals: earnings, asset quality and growth plans

Latest quarterly results (Q2 FY26)

For the quarter ended September 2025 (Q2 FY26), PNB reported: ^[15]

Net profit: around ₹5,000 crore, up roughly 14% year‑on‑year, driven by lower credit costs and higher other income.
Total income: about ₹36,000+ crore, up ~5% YoY.
Net interest income (NII): slightly softer YoY as funding costs remained elevated, but still robust in absolute terms.

The more notable story is asset quality:

Gross NPA ratio: improved to about 3.45% (vs ~4.5% a year earlier).
Net NPA ratio: fell to roughly 0.36%.
Provision coverage ratio (PCR): close to 97%, reflecting heavy provisioning buffers. ^[16]

RoA (return on assets) has moved towards the 1% mark, and management has repeatedly indicated a goal of sub‑3% gross NPAs by FY26, which would be the lowest bad‑loan ratio in the bank’s history. ^[17]

Q1 FY26: profit blip, but operating trend intact

In Q1 FY26 (June 2025 quarter), PNB’s net profit fell about 48% year‑on‑year to ₹1,675 crore, largely due to a one‑time tax charge after moving to a new tax regime. Profit before tax actually rose around 28% YoY, indicating that core operations continued to strengthen despite the headline profit drop. ^[18]

During the same quarter:

Gross NPA fell to 3.78% from 3.95% in the previous quarter. ^[19]
Management reiterated its loan growth target of 11–12% for FY26, with a focus on project finance (infrastructure, smart metering, renewable energy), real estate, rental discounting and data centres to revive business loan growth. ^[20]

Strategic ambitions: growth, digital and recoveries

Recent interviews and coverage around PNB’s MD & CEO Ashok Chandra outline an ambitious roadmap: ^[21]

Total business target:
- Aim to reach ₹30 trillion in total business (deposits + advances) by end‑FY26, from about ₹27.2 trillion at the end of Q1 FY26.
Corporate loan book:
- Targeting a ₹4 trillion corporate loan book in FY26, with renewed emphasis on project financing and select sectors such as real estate and data centres.
Recoveries and NPA sales:
- Plan to sell ₹4,000–5,000 crore of non‑performing assets to ARCs, with an expected 40–50% average recovery, to accelerate bad‑loan clean‑up. ^[22]
- Recovery targets of ₹160–170 billion in bad loans in FY25–26, building on strong recoveries in FY24. ^[23]
Technology & digital:
- Around 20% of FY26 spending earmarked for IT and digital infrastructure, including cyber‑security and customer‑facing platforms. ^[24]
- Plans to re‑enter West Asia by reopening the Dubai office, signaling a modest international push. ^[25]

This combination of credit growth, digital investment and aggressive recoveries is central to the medium‑term investment case for PNB.

New ECL rules: a ₹9,000–10,000 crore overhang, but spread over years

Perhaps the most important structural risk factor now is the RBI’s Expected Credit Loss (ECL) framework.

In October 2025, PNB estimated an additional provisioning requirement of about ₹9,000–10,000 crore (₹90 billion) under the forthcoming ECL rules, which will replace the traditional “incurred loss” model with a forward‑looking provisioning approach. ^[26]
Management expects the impact to translate into around 75–85 basis points of capital consumption (CRAR) but emphasised that it will be spread over roughly five years, starting from the implementation date (currently envisaged from FY27). ^[27]
PNB’s capital position appears comfortable, with a CRAR of around 17–17.5%, giving it some buffer to absorb these provisions through internal accruals and retained profits. ^[28]

In simple terms, ECL will raise upfront provisioning, slightly pressure reported profits in the transition phase, but should reduce earnings volatility in future downturns.

Analyst ratings and price targets for PNB stock

Aggregated data from global platforms

There is a wide spread in analyst views, but most data point to modest upside or a near‑fair valuation at current levels:

Investing.com consensus:
- Rating: Neutral
- Analysts covered: 19
- Break‑up: 10 Buy, 3 Hold, 5 Sell
- Average 12‑month target:₹120.95
- Target range:₹90–₹136
- Implied downside vs current price: about 3–4%, suggesting the stock is around fair value after the recent rally. ^[29]
TradingView forecast page:
- Analysts covered: 23 (last 3 months)
- Overall rating: Buy (with many classed as “strong buy”)
- Average 1‑year price target:₹125.39 — almost exactly where the stock trades now.
- Target range:₹90 (low) to ₹166 (high). ^[30]
Mint analyst snapshot:
- Tracks 17 analysts, with 3 “strong buy”, 5 “buy”, and 3 “sell” ratings, the rest implied to be neutral/hold. ^[31]

Net‑net, aggregated data suggest divided opinions: some see PNB as a cheap PSU bank with improving metrics and re‑rating potential, while others believe much of the good news is already in the price.

Domestic brokerage views

JM Financial: recently upgraded PNB to “Add” with a target price of ₹125, implying about 6% upside from the then‑prevailing price at the time of the note in October. That target is effectively in line with today’s market price, suggesting the call has largely played out. ^[32]
Motilal Oswal: besides including PNB in its December 2025 quant multi‑factor ‘Buy’ list, earlier commentary from the firm highlighted PSU banks (especially SBI and PNB) as key beneficiaries of improving asset quality and loan growth, while still trading at reasonable forward valuations. ^[33]
Short‑term technical idea (MNCL Group): a swing‑trading note from October suggested accumulating PNB between ₹110–118 with targets of ₹130–145 over 6–8 weeks and a stop‑loss at ₹99, based on bullish momentum indicators and a breakout setup. With the stock now closer to ₹125, it is approaching the lower end of that target band. ^[34]

These views reinforce the idea that, in the eyes of many domestic analysts, most of the easy valuation upside may already have been captured, but earnings upgrades or merger clarity could provide the next leg of re‑rating.

Valuation context: still a “value PSU bank”, but less obviously cheap

Compared with its own history and with peers:

PNB trades at about 8–9× trailing earnings and roughly 1.0–1.1× book value — higher than during the post‑COVID clean‑up phase, but still generally below private sector peers like HDFC Bank or ICICI Bank. ^[35]
A dividend yield of ~2–2.5% and a very low PEG ratio (~0.13) indicate that earnings growth expectations are reasonably strong relative to the current price, assuming asset quality continues to improve. ^[36]

However:

The entire PSU bank pack has re‑rated sharply over the last two years, and aggregate PSB market cap has increased several‑fold since FY20, meaning PNB is no longer in the deeply distressed valuation zone that it once occupied. ^[37]
With beta >1.3, PNB is more volatile than the broader market, and swings in risk sentiment, policy headlines or merger chatter can move the stock quickly either way. ^[38]

Key risks to watch

Merger execution and political risk
- The PSB merger blueprint could change dramatically as it works its way from the Finance Ministry to the Cabinet and regulators.
- If PNB is asked to absorb relatively weaker banks, there is a risk of short‑term pressure on capital, NPAs and integration costs. ^[39]
ECL transition drag on profits
- The ₹9,000–10,000 crore additional provisioning under ECL, even spread over five years, still represents a material cumulative hit to earnings.
- If credit costs elsewhere spike at the same time, the bank’s ability to absorb ECL through profits could be tested. ^[40]
Margin pressure and funding costs
- Competition for deposits, especially from high‑yield products and small‑finance banks, may keep funding costs elevated, limiting margin expansion despite stable MCLR today. ^[41]
Macro and policy environment
- As a large PSU bank, PNB is exposed to policy‑driven lending mandates, shifts in government spending priorities, and overall economic growth.
- Any slowdown in capex, infrastructure projects or SME activity would affect its loan growth strategy.

Bottom line: how PNB looks heading into 2026

As of 1 December 2025, Punjab National Bank sits at an interesting crossroads:

Fundamentals have clearly improved — profits are much higher than in the post‑COVID clean‑up years, asset quality is the best it has been in over a decade, and management is targeting record‑low NPA ratios and double‑digit credit growth. ^[42]
The stock now trades near 52‑week highs and close to or slightly above many broker targets, suggesting that a lot of the recovery story is reflected in the price. ^[43]
The proposed PSB mega‑merger plan and the ECL transition are the two big overhangs that could reshape PNB’s balance sheet, earnings path and valuation over the next 3–5 years — in ways that could be very positive if executed well, but not without risk. ^[44]

For investors, PNB is no longer a pure “deep value turnaround” but rather a large, systemically important PSU bank with:

Reasonable valuations
Improving metrics and strong provisioning buffers
Policy‑linked optionality (mergers, infrastructure lending, recoveries)
Non‑trivial execution and regulatory risk

References