By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the National Association of Securities Dealer (NASD) Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange is getting closer to the N1 trillion valuation and this is being driven by the sustained rush for the stocks of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc on the platform.
Many investors want to be part of the cash reward proposed to shareholders by the board of directors of the leading dairy company in Nigeria.
The firm is planning to pay N4.23 as a dividend for the financial year ending December 31, 2021, and this has triggered a high demand for the shares, causing it to gain N50.34 so far this month.
On Tuesday, it rose by N10.34 or 5.9 per cent to sell at N175.34 per unit compared with the N165.00 per unit it was sold in the preceding trading session.
This buoyed a 1.02 per cent or N10.08 billion increase in the market capitalisation of the bourse as it closed at N994.80 billion in contrast to Monday’s value of N984.72 billion.
Equally, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) went up by 7.67 points during the session to close at 756.57 points as against the previous day’s 748.90 points.
However, the unlisted securities market recorded a price loser on Tuesday and this was Afriland Properties Plc, which fell by one kobo or 0.9 per cent to sell at N1.08 per share versus N1.09 per share of the earlier day.
Yesterday, investors traded 561,173 stocks compared to the previous trading day’s 2.5 million units, indicating a decline of 77.8 per cent, while the shares worth N73.6 million exchanged hands, 152.4 per cent higher than Monday’s N29.2 million.
These transactions were carried out in 48 deals, higher than the 37 deals executed a day earlier by 29.7 per cent.
AG Mortgage Bank Plc ended as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 2.3 billion units worth N1.2 billion, followed by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 660.6 million units valued at N13.9 billion, and NASD Plc with 43.3 million units valued at N466.6 million.
Closing as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was CSCS Plc with 660.6 million worth N13.9 billion, followed by AG Mortgage Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N1.2 billion, and FrieslandCampina WAMCO Plc with 4.4 million units worth N578.9 million.
