Economy
Top Five Highest Dividend-Paying Stocks on NGX
By Dipo Olowookere
Investing in stocks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in 2021 has made some investors richer in the midst of the harsh economic environment in the country.
Data from the exchange has shown that in this year alone, investors have earned over N700 billion from dividend payout by companies trading their shares on the Lagos-based bourse.
Business Post gathered that five of the 58 firms, which have declared various cash rewards to shareholders in the past nine months, are the highest dividend-paying stocks, accounting for N561.5 billion.
These organisations are Dangote Cement (N272.7 billion), MTN Nigeria (N92.6 billion), GTCO (N79.5 billion), BUA Cement (N70.0 billion) and Stanbic IBTC (N46.7 billion).
The 58 companies are spread across 10 sectors of the exchange, with financial services contributing 21, consumer goods accounting for seven, industrial goods having six, oil & gas with five, healthcare with four, services also with four, ICT with three, natural resources, construction/real estate, agriculture and conglomerates with two each.
The financial sector has the highest number of companies paying dividends and value of dividends, with GTCO leading the pack at a payout valued at N79.5 billion.
In the consumer goods sector, Nestle leads amongst the seven companies with a payout of N28.1 billion. Fidson leads the healthcare sector with a payout of N521.6 million. Total Nigeria takes the lead in oil & gas at N2.1 billion; UACN leads the conglomerates with N3.5 billion.
In the industrial goods sector, Dangote Cement Plc is the leader with N272.7 billion. MTN Nigeria takes the stage in ICT with N92.6 billion; Caverton takes the lead in services with N335.1 million; while Okomu leads in the agriculture sector with N6.7 billion.
As part of its efforts to spur activity in the market, the NGX continues to innovate and leverage technology to improve investors’ experience. Recently, NGX announced the release of its enhanced X-Mobile – a trading app that provides market participants, especially retail investors, with convenient, faster and real-time access to information about NGX, its listed securities and Trading License Holders.
Speaking on the development, the Chief Executive Officer of NGX, Mr Temi Popoola, stated, “The delivery of X-Mobile is in line with NGX’s strategic intent to provide an exchange that is easily accessible to stakeholders leveraging digital technology.
“X-Mobile, therefore, provides a platform to engage with existing and potential investors who now have an increased appetite for data and detailed disclosure information to aid sound investment decisions.
“We are confident that the app will complement the NGX website and other NGX portals currently being used to provide information to market stakeholders.”
On his part, the Divisional Head, Trading Business, NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, stated that, “X-Mobile affirms our commitment to make financial services more inclusive and provide a superior customer experience in the access and use of capital.
“The app has, therefore, been enhanced to ensure that capital market players and potential investors have the requisite resources to make the most out of their engagement with the market. We believe that X-Mobile is on course to become the primary interface for local and international investors to stay abreast of market trends and domestic economic performance.”
As a multi-asset securities exchange offering equities, fixed income and exchange traded funds, NGX continues to make concerted efforts to attract investors to the market through its innovative products and services, engagement sessions, and investment education initiatives.
It would be recalled that it recently held a retail investors webinar with the theme Green and Sukuk Bonds: More Than Just Investing, which provided investors with an in-depth view of the sustainable finance space and how to leverage same for returns.
With these positive actions, investors can look forward to a thriving capital market with diverse solutions to meet their investment needs.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Okitipupa Plc was the sole price gainer at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, August 7, lifting the trading platform by 0.44 per cent at the close of transactions.
The share price of the palm oil producer appreciated during the trading session by N25.00 or 9.0 per cent to N277.00 per unit compared with the previous day’s N252.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation gained N12.29 billion to close at N2,807 trillion, in contrast to the previous session’s N2.795 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 93.63 points to finish at 4,678.08 points compared with Thursday’s 4,657.59 points.
The bourse recorded a price loser yesterday, and this was Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc, which crashed by 3 Kobo or 9.4 per cent to settle at 32 Kobo per share versus the previous day’s 35 Kobo per share.
The volume of securities traded by investors plunged by 81.5 per cent to 535,7560 units from 2.9 million units, the value of securities slumped by 93.9 per cent to N6.0 million from N99.2 million, and the number of deals decreased by 41.9 per cent to 36 deals from 62 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.15 per cent growth was achieved by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, driven by continued buying interest in banking stocks such as First Holdco and others.
The banking index was up by 1.53 per cent during the session, offsetting the losses recorded by the others. The industrial goods segment fell by 0.37 per cent, the insurance counter shrank by 0.21 per cent, and the energy sector contracted by 0.04 per cent, while the consumer goods space closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 364.26 points to 245,573.60 points from 245,209.34 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N235 billion to N158.513 trillion from N158.278 trillion.
Despite the gains printed by Customs Street during the trading day, investor sentiment was weak, as there were 22 price gainers and 24 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UPDC surged by 9.23 per cent to N3.55, CWG soared by 6.56 per cent to N19.50, AXA Mansard appreciated by 4.80 per cent to N13.10, Neimeth advanced by 4.24 per cent to N8.60, and Cutix improved by 4.00 per cent to N2.60.
Conversely, Red Star Express lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N18.00, CAP declined by 9.98 per cent to N115.45, John Holt shrank by 9.82 per cent to N10.10, ABC Transport depreciated by 9.57 per cent to N5.20, and Legend Internet crashed by 8.70 per cent to N4.20.
A total of 1.5 billion equities worth N26.7 billion exchanged hands in 42,580 deals on Friday versus the 531.8 million equities valued at N20.5 billion traded in 44,826 deals on Thursday, representing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 182.06 per cent, 30.24 per cent, and 5.01 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock during the session was Fortis Global Insurance, with a turnover of 824.5 million units valued at N2.1 billion, FCMB traded 217.9 million units worth N2.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 176.2 million units for N4.7 billion, Chams sold 32.5 million units worth N132.1 million, and First Holdco transacted 25.0 million units valued at N3.7 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further closed south against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, August 7, by 81 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to N1,365.69/$1 from N1,364.88/$1.
It was a similar situation for the Nigerian Naira in the official market during the session as against the Pound Sterling; it lost N1.08 to quote at N1,839.17 versus the previous day’s N1,838.09/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N1.23 to close at N1,575.73/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,574.80/€1.
Further, at the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N2 to settle at N1,371/$1 compared with Thursday’s N1,369/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,400/$1.
The country’s legal tender came under FX demand pressure on Friday, with turnover rising by 304.3 per cent to $399.5 million from $98.8 million the previous day, with the number of deals slightly up to 107 from 106.
Next week, traders expect the Naira to hold steady, buoyed by dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), whose presence in the market could help ease demand pressure.
As for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) neared the $65,000-mark after it gained 0.8 per cent to trade at $64,968.05, as investors took advantage of recent drops to shore up their holdings.
Previously, the decision by the US Senate to delay a vote on the Crypto Clarity Act until at least September weakened the outlook. The bill, which would set out which US regulator oversees which digital assets, needs 60 votes to pass and it is unclear whether it currently has 50.
Solana (SOL) grew by 2.5 per cent to $74.81, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.3 per cent to $0.0702, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 1.1 per cent to $593.80, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 0.5 per cent to $1,916.08, Ripple (XRP) also soared by 0.5 per cent to $1.03, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3275.
However, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.1997, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
