Access Bank, Nigeria’s fourth- biggest bank by market value, fell to the lowest in more than three months after it was downgraded by FBN Capital Ltd.
The lender retreated 7.5 percent to N9.17 by the close in Lagos on Tuesday, the lowest since December. 31.
FBN Capital lowered Access Bank to underperform from neutral and the 12-month target price was reduced to N8.30 per share.
First-quarter results were below expectations and have weakened chances of the bank meeting return-on-equity forecasts for this year, Bunmi Asaolu, an analyst at Lagos-based FBN Capital, said in e-mailed report today.
Access Bank’s profit in the three months through March declined 27 percent to N9.21 billion, the lender said Monday. Revenue dropped to N52.7 billion from N53.1 billion.
The stock has gained by 1.3 percent this year, compared with the 19 percent advance by the 10-member Bloomberg Nigerian Stock Exchange Banking Index (NGSEB10) and 22 percent rise in the Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index. (NGSEINDX)
