AIICO, NEM Insurance and three others have gained a total of N2.29 billion in value on Thursday 11th March 2021, despite an overall bearish return in the NSE Market.
Inference from the data sourced from the Nigerian Stock Exchange market, indicates that the gains are due to appreciation in the share prices of the five insurance firms, part of which acted as a catalyst to lift the NSE Insurance Index by 0.69% as at close of business on 11th of March, 2021.
The five insurance companies which coincidentally are the only insurance companies that recorded positive growth are AIICO, NEM, Consolidated Hallmark, LASACO and Regency Assurance.
A snapshot of how much they gained and the appreciation in their share prices are succinctly captured below;
READ: Consolidated Hallmark Insurance declares N711.5 million profit, up 33%
AIICO
AIICO Insurance which is the second most capitalized insurance company on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange printed one of the highest gains today, as its share price appreciated by 4.27% to close at N1.22.
The increase in the share price acted as a catalyst in the appreciation of the firm’s market capitalization by about N1.033 billion, from N24.19 billion recorded as at close of business on Wednesday to N25.22 billion.
It is also pertinent to note that a total of 19.67 million units of the firm’s shares were traded on Thursday (the highest recorded by the firm since January 4, 2021), indicating a surge of about 179.4% when compared to the units traded a day earlier.
READ: Finance and Insurance Sector contributes 3.36% to GDP in 2020
NEM Insurance
NEM Insurance Plc share price appreciated by 5.11% to close at N1.85 per share. This resulted in an increase in the firm’s market capitalization, from N17.66 billion as at the close of business on Wednesday to N18.56 billion, implying an increase of about N902.97 million for the aforementioned period.
Investors traded about 2.95 million units of the firm’s shares, indicating a surge of about 422.7% when compared to the units traded in the previous day.
READ: NEM Insurance Plc projects N1.71 billion PAT in Q1 2021
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance posted the highest increase by any insurance stock on Thursday. It recorded a 7.41% increase in its share price which closed at N0.29. The increase trickled down to the market capitalization which added N214.09 million, from N2.89 billion posted a day earlier.
It is worthy to note that a total of 978,670 units of the firm’s shares were traded on Thursday, indicating a decline of 73.95% when compared to the units traded previously.
Recall that Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc had earlier posted a Profit After Tax of N647 million for FY 2020.
READ: Insurance companies to report over N100 billion in claims in 2020
LASACO
LASACO Assurance Plc posted a 3.28% increase in its share price which closed at N1.26. The increase played a pivotal role in the advancement of its market capitalization, from N2.24 billion as at the close of business on Wednesday to N2.31 billion, implying an increase of about N73.35 million.
In lieu of this, a total of about 1.16 million units of shares were traded in the bourse, indicating a decline of about 29.8% when compared to the units traded a day earlier.
LASACO Assurance Plc had earlier reported the completion of its share reconstruction exercise, involving about 7.3 million ordinary shares. This exercise subsequently raised the initial share price of the firm to about N1.68.
READ: Dangote’s net worth declines by $1.2 billion in February
Regency Assurance
Regency Assurance Plc gained about N66.69 million in market capitalization, after its share price appreciated by 3.45% to close at N0.30. The firm’s market capitalization as at close of business on Thursday stood at N2 billion.
A total of about 240,667 units of the firm’s shares were traded.
What you should know
- Investors at the Nigerian Stock Exchange market lost a total of N122.47 billion, as the ASI plunged about 0.60% to close at 38,697.17 index points.
- Despite the general bearish outlook, the NSE Insurance index appreciated by 0.69% to close at 194.88 index points.
- The aforementioned five insurance stocks also double as the top five gainers in the NSE Insurance index.
- On the other hand, the top losers in the insurance index are; African Alliance Insurance Plc (-8.33%), Mutual Benefits Assurance (-7.14%), Sovereign Trust Insurance (-7.14%), AXA Mansard (-1.00%).
