Stocks to watch comprises companies that have corporate actions this week, as well as the best and worst performing stocks from the previous week.
Stocks to watch is not a Buy/Sell/Hold recommendation.
GAZ banks
The three banks comprising Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank and Zenith Bank all have a joint first spot this week, having forwarded their half year results to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for approval.
From precedence, some of the banks in question have released their half year results in the second week of August.
Zenith Bank released its H1 2018 results on August 6, 2018. Its H1 2017 results were released on August 10, 2017.
Guaranty Trust Bank released its H1 2018 results on August 8, 2018. Its H1 2017 results were released on August 15, 2017.
Investors would have these stocks on their radar due to a tradition of paying interim dividends.
MTN Nigeria
MTN Nigeria takes a spot this week as the qualification date for the company’s interim dividend will take place on August 8, 2019. The company’s shareholders register will be closed from August 9 to August 13, 2019
MRS Oil and Red Star Express Plc
The two firms have a joint place in this week’s watchlist, as they will be holding their Annual General Meetings on the 7th and 8th of August respectively.
AGMs are opportunities for shareholders to query poor company performance (in the case of MRS), and for management teams to roll out their plans for the rest of the year.
Unity Bank Plc and Eterna Plc
Unity Bank Plc and Eterna Plc take the last spot on this week’s watchlist, as they were the best and worst performing stocks for last week.
Unity Bank was the best performing stock last week. The stock gained 27.59% to close at N0.74. Speculators could decide to take profit this week, depending on sentiments in the larger market.
Eterna was the worst performing stock last week, declining by 19.40% to close at N2.70. Investors may continue to offload the stock, due to its poor H1 2019 results which saw profit after tax decline by 88% to N112 million.
