Cadbury, UBA, PZ lead other large capitalised stocks in returns

In terms of price appreciation, the shares of Cadbury Nigeria plc, United Bank for Africa plc, and PZ Cussons plc outperformed other largely capitalised stocks at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, BusinessDay trend watch has found.

The largely capitalised stocks at the Nigerian bourse make up the NSE-30 index, a basket which tracks the top 30 companies in terms of market capitalisation and liquidity.

Share price appreciation of these companies over a five-month period (January to May) showed that Cadbury Nigeria plc has gained 91.34 percent or N26.49 from N29 as at January 3, 2013 to N55.49kobo at the close of trade on May 31, 2013. In this period, the yield-to-date of the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index stood at 34.60 percent.

Also in terms of returns to equity holders, United Bank for Africa plc came second among companies in the NSE-30 basket after its share price rose by 86.62 percent or N3.95kobo from N4.56kobo to N8.51kobo.

On the other hand, the share price of PZ Cussons plc appreciated by 85.05 percent or N23.44kobo from a year open level of N23.44kobo to N51, placing it on the league of top three in terms of returns,

According to analysts at Meristem Securities, “Across emerging, frontier and developed markets around the globe, Nigeria remains an investment hub for investors desiring good returns. Analysing data across markets show the much of potential returns across instruments that Nigerian markets (fixed income and equities)  present.”

Cadbury Nigeria plc, United Bank for Africa plc, and PZ Cussons plc outperformed large cap stocks like UACN plc, Unilever Nigeria plc, Access Bank plc, Diamond Bank plc, FCMB plc, Fidelity Bank plc, Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Julius Berger Nigeria plc, Skye Bank plc, Union Bank of Nigeria plc, Zenith Bank plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated plc, and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria plc.

Other companies that make up this Index are Dangote Flour plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery plc, Flourmill Nigeria plc, Nestle Nigeria plc, Ashaka Cement plc, Dangote Cement plc, Guinness Nigeria plc, International Breweries plc, Mobil Oil Nigeria plc, Nigerian Breweries plc, Total Nigeria plc, Lafarge Cement WAPCO plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings plc, and FBN Holdings plc.

Following the top three performers in the review period are stocks like Lafarge Cement WAPCO plc; Julius Berger Nigeria plc, and International Breweries plc. The share price of Lafarge Cement WAPCO plc also appreciated by 78.25 percent or N43.04kobo from N55 to N98.04kobo; Julius Berger Nigeria plc gained 62.34 percent or N21.6kobo from N34.65kobo to N56.25kobo; while International Breweries plc garnered 62.22 percent or N10.08kobo from N16.2kobo to N26.28kobo.

“The Nigerian bourse remains relatively attractive on a comparative basis with other emerging and African markets. The equities market remains largely positive relative to the general mood of 2012. We expect the continuous flow of foreign funds which will possibly be buoyed by expectations of impressive second-quarter (Q2) results to keep the market upbeat; comparable macros seem to align with this assertion. A comparative analysis of emerging markets, developed markets and frontier markets reveals that the NSE All Share Index (ASI) has a lower Price-Earnings (PE) ratio, suggesting that the market is fairly undervalued when compared to these markets. Though some stocks have significantly gained in the year, some others remain fundamentally underpriced,” Meristem analysts added.

Our trend watch on other large cap stocks showed that UACN plc gained 38.10 percent, or N16 from N42 to N58; Unilever Nigeria plc rose by 44.22 percent or N20.85kobo from N47.15kobo to N68. Access Bank plc rose by 18.77 percent or N1.77kobo from N9.43kobo to N11.20kobo. Union Bank of Nigeria plc rose by 51.07 percent or N3.83kobo from N7.5kobo to N11.33kobo. Dangote Cement plc gained N66 or 52.8 percent from N125 to N191.

Also, Stanbic IBTC Holdings plc rose from N11 to N16.01kobo, adding N5.01kobo or 45.55 percent. Dangote Sugar Refinery plc garnered N2.8kobo or 41.79 percent from N6.70kobo to N9.50kobo. Ashaka Cement plc rose from N18.40 kobo to N27, after adding N8.6kobo or 46.74 percent. Nestle Nigeria plc appreciated from N700 to N1001.01kobo after its share price gained N301.01kobo or 43 percent.

Diamond Bank plc gained 35.29 percent or N1.8kobo from N5.10kobo to N6.90kobo. FCMB plc gained 11.11 percent or N0.5kobo from N4.50kobo to N5. Fidelity Bank plc garnered 24.19 percent or N0.6kobo from N2.48kobo to N3.08kobo. Guaranty Trust Bank plc rose from N25.05kobo to N28.50kobo, representing N3.45 gain or 13.77 percent.

The share price of Zenith Bank plc appreciated by N2.4kobo or 12.12 percent from N19.80kobo to N22.20kobo; Ecobank Transnational Incorporated plc rallied by 36.55 percent or N4.09kobo from N11.19kobo to N15.28kobo; and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria plc gained 28.60 percent or N12.9kobo from N45.10kobo to N58.

Also, Dangote Flour Mills plc gained 12.20 percent or N1 from N8.20kobo to N9.20kobo; Flour Mills of Nigeria plc gained 36 percent or N23.4 percent from N65 to N88.40kobo. Nigerian Breweries plc gained 18.44 percent or N27.7kobo from N150.21kobo to N177.90kobo; Total Nigeria plc gained 36.02 percent or N43.43kobo from N120.57kobo to N164; FBN Holdings plc rose by 10.50 percent or N1.72kobo from N16.38kobo to N18.10kobo; while Mobil Oil Nigeria plc gained 8 percent or N8.75kobo from N109.25kobo to N118.

Equity holders of Skye Bank plc and Guinness Nigeria plc were not favoured in the period under watch following the decline in both companies’ share price. Skye Bank plc lost 5 percent or N0.25kobo in the five-month period from N5 to N4.75; while Guinness Nigeria plc declined by 0.27 percent or N0.75kobo from N276.75kobo to N276