A Comparative Analysis of Risk - Return Performance of Banking Companies Listed on the National Stock Exchange: A Study for the Period of April 2023 to March 2026
Abstract
This study examines the risk - returns performance of five banking sector companies listed on the NSE (National Stock Exchange of India): HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., and Axis bank limited. The study was conducted for the period of April 2023 to march 2026 and employs monthly adjusted closing prices collected from published sources. The analysis applied average return, normalised price trend, range, Standard deviation, coefficient of variation, correlation and beta, along with the Sharp ratio for risk adjusted performance evaluation of securities. The findings show considerable differences in return and risk across the selected securities. State Bank of India (SBIN) recorded the highest share price growth (79.07%) and the highest annual return (23.304%), while HDFC Bank Ltd. recorded a negative normalised share price growth of 9.9% and an annual return -1.488 percent. State Bank of India Ltd. also recorded the highest Sharp ratio (0.1893), whereas HDFC bank Ltd. (- 0.1159) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (-0.1067) recorded negative Sharp ratios. Beta values ranged from 0.82 for ICICI bank to 1.09 4 SBIN, indicating the differences in systematic risk. The results exhibits that Investors in banking sector stocks should consider price trend, return, volatility and Sharp ratio together, rather than relying on share price growth alone.