Identifying Homogeneity of Small-Cap Stocks in Indian Market:A Data Mining Approach

Investors in equity shares look for two basic aspects while investing i.e. consistently rising returns with a decreasing or at least stabilized level of risk involved. Amidst the numerous stocks available in the market which differ widely on the basis of different aspects i.e. segment, sector, industry, market capitalization etc. it becomes a challenge for the investor to form a diversified portfolio where heterogeneity of the constituent stocks is the main criterion. Thus it is imperative that the basis be finalized on which the heterogeneity of the stocks shall be determined. Traditionally portfolios have been constituted on the basis of low coefficient of correlation of returns from the constituent stocks. The dissimilarity of co-movement of returns from stocks has traditionally been attempted to be maximized in portfolios. Another method of grouping similar stocks by using data mining approach is fast gaining popularity. This approach uses clustering technique to group homogeneous stocks on the basis of a set of selected criteria. These criteria can be financial ratios, indices or any other related matrices. Advanced versions of this technique can group homogeneous time series data as well. This paper attempts to identify homogeneous clusters of companies in the Indian small-cap segment based on valuation ratios. Valuation ratios have been selected to be the grouping criteria as these were not been used in earlier studies by researchers and scholars. The small cap companies in India have been chosen for this study for its better resilience and recovering potential compared to mid cap and large cap companies. The companies constituting the CNX NIFTY Small Cap 50 Index have been considered in the study.