Stock Market
Why these two stocks posted their best gains this year
The week ended March 4th 2016 marked the beginning of the earnings season as results of companies started to trickle in. Nigerian stocks have experienced volatility in the past few weeks with very little available to improve investors appetite.
However, as results begun to trickle in investors appetite increased and the bulls soon found their way to stocks with sound fundamentals and good prospects to pay dividends. Two of the 7 stocks that recorded double digit growths are Africa Prudential and United Capital Plc.
Africa Prudentials Plc a company into registrar’s business saw released its full year results reporting profitability increase of 18% year on year. The company also declared a dividend per share of 43 kobo per share. The dividend declared represented a dividend yield of about 16.7% at the time the result was released sending investors in a frenzy that popped the share price by 28% by the end of the week. The share price is obviously on the rise and still has room for an upside.
United Capital also gained a massive 29.5% by the end of the week as investors sensed another bumper result could be released by the company in the coming days. Africa Prudential like United Capital have common majority shareholders and have a robust dividend history. Dividend yield for these companies typically fall within the double digit range. This compared favourably to treasury bills which are now sub 7% per annum. United capital is yet to release its 2015 FY results however indications suggest that it will report healthy profitability growth for the year.
For investors looking to ride the bull, there might still be an upside provided they enter on Monday as both stocks are more likely to become expensive from now till they pay dividends. Some analysts believe Africa Prudentials may rise to as high as N4 whilst United Capital could rise to N2.5 if they also declare impressive dividends.
Stock Market
CitiTrust Financial Services Limited invests N395.9 million in additional LivingTrust Mortgage shares
CitiTrust has invested an additional N395.9 million for the purchase of an additional 659.8 million units of Living Trust Mortgage Bank.
Stock Market
UBA, WAPCO, NEM drop amid profit-taking
Market sentiment, as measured by the market breadth, closed negative as 33 stocks lost, relative to 21 gainers.
Nigerian stocks ended the week on a bearish note as the All Share Index declined further by -0.24% today to close at 41,001.99 from 41,099.15 index points.
- Year-to-date and market capitalization similarly fell by -0.24% to settle at 1.82%, and N21.44 trillion respectively.
- A total volume of 591.4 million units of shares, valued at N5.07 billion exchanged hands in 5,767 deals. TRANSCORP (-1.72%) was the most traded shares by volume at 169.2 million units, while ZENITHBANK topped by value at N681 million.
- Market sentiment, as measured by the market breadth, closed negative as 33 stocks lost, relative to 21 gainers. LIVESTOCK (-10.00%) led the laggards today, while NCR (+9.86%) topped the gainers’ list.
- With losses recorded in all sectors, except for the consumer goods sector which advanced by +0.06%, the NSE banking, oil & gas, industrials, and insurance sectors fell by 0.17%, 0.29%, 0.50%, and 7.93%, respectively.
READ: Bargain hunters propel Nigerian stocks up, investors gain N50 billion
Top gainers
- NCR up 9.86% to close at N3.12
- CUTIX up 9.71% to close at N2.26
- CHAMPION up 9.55% to close at N1.95
- REDSTAREX up 3.03% to close at N3.4
- FLOURMILL up 1.27% to close at N32
READ: Race to recapitalization catapult Insurance stocks to best performing asset class in Nigeria
Top losers
- LIVESTOCK down 10.00% to close at N2.52
- MRS down 9.68% to close at N11.2
- NEM down 9.67% to close at N2.43
- WAPCO down 6.98% to close at N26
- UBA down 2.79% to close at N8.7
READ: Unilever Overseas Holdings acquires N352 million worth of shares of Nigerian subsidiary
Outlook
Nigerian stocks ended the last trading session on a bearish note amid profit-taking across the market spectrum.
- Downtrend was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalized stocks amongst which are; MRS Oil Nigeria, WAPCO, Lafarge, NEM, and UBA.
- That said, Nairametrics envisages cautious buying on the account that certain market indicators reveal investors are taking some of their gains across the market spectrum
Stock Market
Unilever Overseas Holdings acquires N352 million worth of shares of Nigerian subsidiary
Over 27 million shares of Unilever Nigeria Plc has been acquired by Unilever Overseas Holdings.
Unilever Overseas Holdings, the parent company of Unilever Nigeria Plc, has acquired over 27 million shares of its Nigerian Subsidiary, worth N352,036,698.
This is according to a “Notification of Share Dealing by an Insider” signed by the Company Secretary, Abidemi Ademola, and published on the NSE website.
It is important to note that the notification is compliant with The Exchange’s policy on insider dealing.
The statement revealed that the parent company increased stakes in its Nigerian subsidiary with the acquisition of 27,079,746 additional units of the company’s shares, in a single transaction, at an average share price of N13 per share.
This puts the total consideration for the shares purchased by Unilever Overseas Holdings on the 11th of January 2021 at N352,036,698.
Why this matters
- Dealings by insiders of listed companies are corporate actions to be disclosed by the management of the company, this is in compliance with NSE’s policy on insider dealing, as the disclosure is key in the effort to ensure transparency and reinforce the trust of the investing public.
- The purchase of the shares of Unilever Nigeria Plc further cements Unilever Overseas Holdings’ position as a substantial shareholder of the company.
What you should know
- It is important to note that as of 30th September 2020, Unilever Overseas directly owned 74.03% of the 5,745,005,417 issued and fully paid shares of Unilever Nigeria Plc.
- However, with the recent purchase, Uniliver Nigeria Plc is still compliant with the Free float requirement for the Main Board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
