Ruth Ibikunle
The Nigerian stock market on Tuesday closed on a bullish note with 0.51% growth. Year to date, the market has returned 29.73% with the All Share Index and Market Capitalisation at 66,490.34 points and N36.391 trillion respectively.
In a stock market review with the MD/CEO of Global View Capital Limited, Aruna Kebira, the following were discussed:
Excerpts:
The market on Tuesday grew by 0.51%. What could be driving this current vibration?
The market has after the incumbent government introduced a lot of reforms into the economy, being forward looking.
The removal of fuel subsidies, the unification of the exchange rate, the suspension and the eventual arrest of the erstwhile CBN Governor, and the suspension and arrest of the erstwhile EFCC boss are part of the hardline economic reforms brought by the BAT government.
The ASI closed a shade in the highest region on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, at 66,490.30 points surpassing the feat of the market of 66,371.20 points set on March 5, 2008, roughly 15 years ago.
Supporting and consolidating the tempo in the market are the various corporate actions from the listed companies.
The set proposal of the business combination of NASCON, Dangote Sugar, and Dangote Rice, the delisting of Glaxo from the market, Transcorp’s stake acquisition in the Abuja disco, expected Q2 earnings releases from the tier-1 banks, and the attendant interim dividends are the current vibrations at the market arena.
From the look of things and from the excitement in the market, the vibration is not going to be short-lived and there is the likelihood of the continuation of it to close the month.
How attractive is Flour Mills at the current price? Is the declared N2.25 dividend fair enough?
Comparatively, one might think that the N2.25 dividend declared by FMN is not fair enough, but at a point where the market is scarce of such declarations, the current ones would be seen as being sufficient.
It is often said that when the desirables are not available, every available becomes desirable.
Also, note that FMN declared a dividend of N2.15 in the previous financial year and the market would look at this current declaration as an improvement over and above the former.
Though the relative yield might be small, investors would focus on the absolute figure and perhaps on the attendant capital gains.
At N33.00 the dividend yield of the FMN dividend declaration is 6.81%, the attractiveness of the stock at that level may be low.
But it now depends on the investors’ preferences and investment objectives.
Stanbic IBTC published its Q2 2023 result with growth in topline and bottom-line figures. It also declared N1.50 as an interim dividend. Why is the price going down despite the good result?
Investors as well as the market operators have found out that the price direction of Stanbic is not expediently dependent on its corporate actions.
The stock moves when it wants and is ready to move, unlike most banking stocks.
The market also understands that their interim dividend may come as mouth-watering but the final may not come as juicy as the interim.
If you cannot beat them, you leave them as they say, since it is almost difficult for the frenzy in the market to chart a way for the direction of the price of the stock, because of the shareholding structure, the market will take it as it comes.
At N62.80, the yield of the stock’s dividend is 2.4%, which might not excite the investors.
How far can the price of NASCON and Dangote Sugar get?
The prices of NASCON and Dangote Sugar have been on the rise since the announcement of the proposed business combination of both companies and Dangote Rice to form Dangote Foods.
The price of the listing of the new entity has not been known and the share exchange of the current stocks for the shares of the new entity is also not yet known.
But taking precedence from such corporate actions earlier in the market, the investors believe that it is going to toe the line of the combination of CCNN and BUA Cement and the listing price of N80 and the current price that the combined stock is trading.
The market also believed that there is a lot of potential and possibilities in this amalgamation but remember that some investors took their positions at a much lower price. But what I see there is most investors want to maintain their current positions and watch to see the eventual outcome of the process.
The extent of the height of the prices of both stocks is market-dependent. There might be profit talking at some points but if the market’s demand is strong enough to match the sales pressure, the price may continue to soar.
Is Transcorp a good buy at N7.01?
Transcorp’s IPO was done in the neighborhood of N7.80 and it came down to N0.50 at some point.
The entrance of Tony and his holdings and the announcement of the company going into the production of Citrus concentrate took the price to N7.08.
Now the price closed yesterday at N7.01, this is the test of might for the stock, whether it would be able to break through this resistance price of N7.00
The market and the investors believed that the price might actually rally to achieve that feat, but what would happen at the close of today’s trading and a the end of the month would confirm that expectation.
What is driving the growth in Champion Breweries?
The market frenzy yesterday moved to impact most stocks, especially the stocks that have been battered by the market lately.
Champion rose to its 52-week high of N5.77 and fell to as low as N2.90. The market perceived that the price of the stock was cheap enough at that price and therefore the vibration in the market also moved to touch it.
What are the possibilities in Zenith, Access, UBA, FBNH and GTCO?
These are the tier-1 banks that the market is expecting their Q2 2023 and the declaration of interim dividends.
What would determine the extent to which the stock prices would go will be a function of the growth in their numbers.
Access is expected to grow exponentially as it has been noticed in recent years and GTCO and Zenith have already been known for steady growth in their reports from quarter to quarter.
FBNH has declined in its price and the market may be eyeing it as being cheap at the current price.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s GDP grew to 2.51% in Q2 2023 from 2.31% in Q1 2023. How is this figure in consonance with the current reality?
GDP is an all-encompassing figure whose growth also depends on the performance of the country’s citizens in the Diaspora.
Whether we like it or not, the Nigerians in the Diaspora are doing a lot and are involved in the repatriation of their earnings back into the country.
Since the output is also measured in prices, the effect of the current inflation on the growth of the GDP cannot be ruled out.
I have always had a difference in the criticism and doubt we always put the figures from the NBS through.
The moment they announce a figure contrary to our expectations, we move to doubt them.
The question I normally ask is that those figures they have reeled out that we believed in, were they cooked on a different burner.
The downtrodden might actually be suffering and the GDP has been growing as most of their activities are not part of the constituent of the GDP.
So, I believe in whatever figure emanated from the NBS
What are the stocks to watch?
WAPCO, FCMB, Fidelity, Fidson FBNH and NAHCO