Economy
Zenith Bank Emerges Best Performing Stock In July as Unity Bank Turns Worst
By Leadership Newspaper
The best performing stocks in the banking sector in the month of July were led by Zenith Bank Plc, Ecobank Transactional Incorporated Plc, and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank).
According to Leadership Newspaper, as at the close of trading on Monday, July 31, the stock price of ETI added 18.1 percent or N2.25k per share to close at N16.50k from opening figure of N13.97k.
Similarly, prices of Zenith Bank and GTBank shares appreciated by 17.8 percent and 12.1 percent in July respectively.
Price appreciation in banks leveraged Nigerian Stock Exchange Banking Index growth of about percent from 397 basis points to 445.33 basis points in July, an increase of 12.2 percent or 48.33 basis points.
It implies that the NSE banking Index has appreciated by 63.3 percent and 171.01 basis points in seven months from 274.32 basis points it opened for trading in 2017.
Data collected by LEADERSHIP revealed that Zenith Bank’s stock opened the month under review at N20.89k and closed at N24.61k while GTBank, the third highest price gainer in the banking sector, closed July at N39.05k from N34.82k it opened for trading.
For the month under review, GTBank recorded the highest market capitalisation of about N1.15 trillion, behind Dangote Cement Plc that has N3.8 trillion in market last month.
Zenith Bank, on the other hand, has a market capitalisation of N772.8 billion while ETI has N302.8 billion in market capitalisation in July 2017.
Ironically, investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) continued to buy stock prices of these financial institutions over speculation of proposed interim dividend, Zenith Bank and GTBank specifically.
The above banks are yet to announce their earnings to the Exchange, LEADERSHIP can exclusively report.
A stockbroker who spoke with LEADERSHIP that does want his name in print said, “Zenith Bank and GTBank have a model that is working and delivering returns shareholders.
“If you look at their books, you will realize that they have delivered value over the years, and with them, it’s a steady growth, that’s what the investors are looking at,” he noted.
Other financial institution with stock price appreciation includes Skye bank Plc, United Bank For Africa Plc, Access Bank Plc and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc.
The stock price of Skye Bank added 13 percent or N0.08k to close at N0.68k while United Bank for Africa rose by 10.7 percent or N0.94k to close in July at N9.70k from N8.76k it opened.
Access Bank stock’s price added 8.1 percent or N0.75k to close at N10.05k per share.
Furthermore, the stock price of Stanbic IBTC Holdings increased by 8.8 percent or N2.90k to close July at N35.90k.
Despite impressive profitability in the half year ended June 2017, the stock price of Diamond Bank inched up by 4 percent or N0.05k to close at N1.29k.
The interim report and accounts of Diamond Bank showed significant growth in all key financial parameters as profit before tax surged year-on-year by 2.8 percent to N10.8 billion, this followed the leapfrogging of gross income over total expenses during the period under review.
Commenting on the bank’s stock performance, chief executive officer, Diamond Bank, Uzoma Dozie stated that despite the economic headwind, the Bank would remain resilient and sustain the positive growth throughout the two remaining business quarters.
Further investigations by LEADERSHIP revealed that Unity Bank Plc and Union Bank of Nigeria recorded the highest decline in July, followed by Fidelity Bank Plc.
The stock of Unity Bank fell by 8.9 percent or N0.06 to close at N0.61k from N0.67 in June. The stock price of Union Bank of Nigeria shed 14.4 percent to N5.24k from N6.12k it opened in July while Fidelity Bank dropped by 4.6 percent to close July at N1.25k.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn