Stock market analysts have maintained 'buy' rating on Canara Bank Ltd with an intraday target of Rs 420.

According to them, interested traders can purchase the stock around Rs 408 with a strict stop loss of Rs 402.

If the bourses remain on the positive track, then the stock price will hit a target above Rs 422.

Shares of the company, on Friday (Dec 04), closed at Rs 408.15 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 437.45 and a low of Rs 144.25 on BSE.

Current EPS & P/E ratio of the stock stood at 70.39 & 5.85 respectively.

Canara Bank announced that it is eyeing acquisitions in the areas where it has less presence.

The banking institution is short of the western region mainly in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

On the capital front, the bank has enough resources to meet up the overall growth.

But, if Canara Bank goes in for purchase then extra capital will be needed.

Canara Bank has recorded a growth of 71.98 percent in the net profit, which stood at Rs 9,105.20 million for the three month period ended Sept 30, as against Rs 5,294.30 million for the three month period ended Sep 2008.

Bank's total income surged 25.95% to Rs 56,021 million for the quarter ended Sep. 30.

It reported an EPS of Rs 22.21 during the period under review.

Canara Bank has more than 2,500 divisions spread over 25 states/4 union territories and two abroad branches in London and in Hong Kong.

Moreover, it owns an offshore banking division in Noida, Delhi.