The stocks of leading credit rating agencies CRISIL, Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) and ICRA have outperformed the S&P BSE Sensex over the past one year, partly near their all-time or one-year highs. Expectation of a pick-up in the bond market and the economy are key reasons. A host of positives in the recently announced Union Budget, such as a high thrust on infrastructure projects and bonds, continuous fund raising by banks (via bonds) to meet Basel-III capitalisation requirements, along with falling interest rates, are others. Given these triggers, more companies are likely to access bond markets, increasing the demand for ratings. This will rub off favourably on all rating agencies, which are expected to see good growth in their business. From an investor's perspective, the upside for CARE is the highest, followed by CRISIL. ICRA's stock appears to be richly valued and, hence, analysts advise that investors could consider it on dips.