Special Reports

Zenith Bank, MTN Nigeria, AXA Mansard top stock pick this week

This is not a buy, sell or hold recommendation but a stock investment guide. You may need to involve your financial advisor before taking investment decisions.

After two successive weeks of loss, Nigerian stocks found resilience last week amid stronger buy pressure, helping market capitalisation appreciate by 0.8 per cent.

In a way, it is a reassurance that investors’ interest in energy stocks is building up in view of the vibrant outlook on the sector that spikes in the price of crude holds for producers as the US-Israel war against Iran continues.

The upbeat market mood owes its debt to the profound revenue growth and, in some cases, a surge in profit that oil companies recorded at half-year locally and globally.

Looking forward, hopes are high this week that two key positives – Nigeria’s reclassification as a frontier market by FTSE Russell and its upgrade from stable to positive by Moody’s last week – could drive stocks further upwards.

PREMIUM TIMES has assembled some stocks with sound fundamentals, adopting rigorous approaches to save you the risk of picking equities at random for investment.

The pick, a product of an analytical market watch, offers a guide to entering the market and taking strategic positions, with the expectation that selected stocks will record reasonable price appreciation with the passage of time.

This is not a buy, sell or hold recommendation but a stock investment guide. You may need to involve your financial advisor before taking investment decisions.

Zenith Bank tops this week’s pick on the basis of its sound fundamentals and for trading below its intrinsic value. The lender’s net profit ratio (NPR) is 21.8 per cent, while the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is 4.8x. Its 14-day relative strength index (RSI) is 55.2.

MTN Nigeria makes the selection due to its robust fundamentals. The telecom operator’s NPR is 21.9 per cent, while the PE ratio is 11.6x. Its 14-day RSI is 28.8.

AXA Mansard Insurance makes the cut by virtue of its strong fundamentals and for trading below its intrinsic value. The NPR of the insurer is 3.4 per cent, while the PE ratio is 29.8x. Its 14-day RSI is 49.6.

Unilever makes the list on account of its sound fundamentals. The company’s NPR is 14.1 per cent, while the PE ratio is 19.6x. Its 14-day RSI is 30.5.

Jaiz Bank appears on the pick based on its attractive fundamentals. The NPR of the bank is 28.5, while the PE Ratio is 11.6. The 14-day RSI is 39.2.