Among the 30 highly capitalised stocks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), three banking stocks – Skye Bank plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated plc, and Fidelity Bank plc – were most negatively impacted in a recent value loss which took about N309 billion off Nigerian equities.
The sensitivity of the All Share Index (ASI) as benchmark indicator that tracks performance of the entire Nigerian equity market is largely driven by highly capitalised stocks.
BusinessDay tracking of the performance of large cap stocks at the Nigerian bourse (from January 7 to February 7, 2014) shows that Skye Bank plc lost most in the NSE-30 basket after its share price declined by 46.12 percent or N1.96kobo from a high of N4.25kobo to N2.29kobo.
Another big loser in the four-week period to February 7 is Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), which has declined by 12.82 percent or N2.18kobo from a high of N17 to N14.82kobo.
Similarly, Fidelity Bank plc has lost 11.24 percent or N0.3kobo from the value of its shares, which was N2.67kobo as at January 7 but declined to N2.37kobo as at February 7.
Also, at a low of N6.85kobo from N7.70kobo, Diamond Bank plc lost 11.04 percent or N0.85kobo of the value of its share in the review four-week period.
The value loss recorded in large cap stocks contributed immensely in redirecting the market trajectory to the negative zone of about 1.34 percent at the close of deals last week.
As banks recover from the 2013 regulatory pressures, with appreciable earnings growth expectation, market participants expect a positive correction in the prices of the value names in the sector.
For instance, Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, noted that “bargain hunters may consider banks with solid fundamentals in this temporary downturn”.
Rewane, who spoke at the Lagos Business School (LBS) executive breakfast meeting, added that “banking stocks on the NSE are trading on average at 8.5x earnings compared with the market P.E. at 14.5x”.
Ashaka Cement plc, United Bank for Africa plc and Access Bank plc also followed the trio earlier mentioned in value loss.
In the four-week period to February 7, Ashaka Cement plc declined by 9.73 percent or N2.06kobo from a high of N21.17kobo to N19.11kobo; United Bank for Africa plc lost 9.72 percent or N0.86kobo from the value of its share from N8.85kobo to N7.99kobo; while Access Bank plc, which traded at a low of N8.79 kobo from N9.7kobo, lost 9.38 percent or N0.91.
As the banking counters occupy top position in this value shed, with associated positives on full-year 2013 earnings releases now in the air, market analysts see recent value shed as an opportunity for bargain hunters to buy into some of these banks, particularly those with strong fundamentals and dividend payment history.
The value of equities traded daily dropped by 49.85 percent or N3.163 billion from N6.344 billion to N3.181 billion; while the volume of equities declined by 34.58 percent or 144.361 million from 417.498 million to 273.137 million.
In addition to the aforementioned equities, Union Bank of Nigeria plc lost 9.09 percent or N0.95kobo from N10.45 to N9.50kobo; FBN Holdings plc declined by 8.69 percent or N1.4kobo from a high of N16.10kobo on January 7 to N14.70kobo as at February 7, 2014; while Nigerian Breweries plc, which opened the review period at N167.5kobo, dropped by 8.06 percent or N13.5kobo to N154.
Guinness Nigeria plc lost 7.91 percent or N18.83 percent from N238.08kobo to N219.25kobo; Lafarge Cement Wapco plc dropped by 6.09 percent or N7 from N115 to N108; while Zenith International Bank plc lost 4.92 percent or N1.15 from N23.38 to N22.23.
Looking further into the performance of stocks in NSE-30 basket, it shows that UACN plc, which stood at N70.35 on January 7, declined to N69 as at February 7, indicating a decline of 1.91 percent or N1.35; while GlaxoSmithKline Nigeria plc gained N1 or 1.47 percent from a low of N68 to N69.
International Breweries plc recorded a decline of 1.36 percent or N0.4kobo from N29.4 to N29; Oando plc lost N0.1kobo or 0.46 percent from N21.73kobo to N21.83kobo; FCMB Group plc declined by N0.11kobo or 2.87 percent from a high of N3.83kobo to N3.72kobo; Transnational Incorporated plc, which stood at N4.05kobo, rose to N4.11kobo, indicating a rise of 1.48 percent or N0.06kobo; while Nestle Nigeria plc declined by N30 or 2.56 percent from N1,170 on January 7 to N1,140 as at February 7.
Unilever Nigeria plc was in the gainers league in our four-week trend watch after rising by 1.44 percent or N0.77kobo from N53.24kobo to N54.01kobo; Stanbic IBTC Holdings plc lost 6.98 or N1.5kobo from a high of N21.50kobo to N20; Flour Mills of Nigeria plc also dropped by 0.07 percent or N0.06kobo from N87.06kobo to N87; GTBank plc dipped by N0.92kobo or 3.31 percent from N28.4kobo to N27.48kobo; while Total Nigeria plc lost 0.26 percent or N0.45kobo from N175.46kobo to N175.01kobo.
Forte Oil plc recorded a value rise of 14.84 percent or N13.21 from N89 to N102.21; Dangote Cement plc gained N5 or 2.13 percent from N235 to N240; Dangote Sugar Refinery declined by 1.36 percent or N0.16 from N11.8 to N11.64; Julius Berger was down by 1.78 percent or N1.29 from N72.29 to N71; while PZ Cussons Nigeria plc gained N0.1 or 0.26 percent from N37.90 to N38.
By: Iheanyi Nwachukwu
