MTN blows past Dangote Cement as number 1 in August 2019

MTN Nigeria blew past Dangote Cement as number 1 stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange by Market Capitalization at the end of trading August 2019. The telecom giant ended the month of August with a market capitalization of N2.86 trillion compared to Dangote Cement’s N2.76 trillion, a whopping N100 billion difference in valuation.

Tight game: MTN first surpassed Dangote Cement earlier in the month before Dangote Cement share price rallied back to reclaim the number 1 spot. However, investors’ confidence in MTN shares saw its share price rise from N127 at the start of August and closed at N141 per share representing an 11% gain in market capitalization. Dangote Cement, on the other hand, opened the month at N170 but fell 4.7% to close at N162. MTN is now the largest stock in Nigeria by market capitalization.

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Why this matter: It was only a matter of time before MTN blows past Dangote Cement. The telco giant listed at a valuation of just N1.83 trillion and has now added a whopping N1 trillion to its market cap since it listed back in May 2019. This is unprecedented in the history of the stock market that has largely been dominated by the cement giant.

Being the largest listed company by Market Capitalization exposes MTN to foreign investors and pension funds meaning that its share price could keep rising.
MTN also reported impressive half-year earnings keeping its fundamentals in line with its valuations.
Dangote Cement is also not far behind and could rally back in the coming days. Dangote Share price is also far from its year to date high of N205 and one year high of N230 per share.
MTN, on the other hand, is also down from its share price high of N159.3 per share.

Upshots: As far as market capitalization goes, it’s basically a reflection of what investors think about the stock and may not necessarily represent its intrinsic value. This battle for the top will likely continue and we cannot say for sure who will be the most capitalized Nigerian Stock by the end of the year.

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