Cornerstone Insurance, Vitafoam, Fidelity Bank top stocks to watch this week

Nigerian stocks are regaining momentum, fueled by strong demand-side activity, which boosted market activity by 257.9 percent after four consecutive weeks of year-to-date stock returns of 2 percent. declines

A number of companies reported their first quarter results last week, some of which came out remarkably strong, apparently fueled by the boom in trading volume reported during the week.

Today, at 0.2 percent, the stock’s year-to-date return is one of its lowest since the start of the year, reaching 8.9 percent in the week of March 10, before returns began to narrow.

This week, the focus of interest for big players such as portfolio managers and institutional investors will likely be the financials of large-cap companies as they come to market and their potential for investment. Companies that have announced strong dividends with yet-to-expire qualifying dates can also make some investors judgmental.

PREMIUM TIMES has collected various stocks with fundamentals and other potentials and taken key analytical approaches to save you the trouble of randomly selecting stocks for investment.

READ ALSO: The Nigerian bourse shed N15bn on falling industrial goods stocks

Selection, a product of analytical market surveillance, provides a guide to entering the market and taking strategic positions in the hope that stocks will gain value over time, especially in the short term.

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

CORNERSTONE INSURANCE

Cornerstone Insurance is this week’s top pick to declare net profit eight times the first quarter of the year it reported a year ago. The insurer announced a profit of N778.5 billion for the period, compared to N78 billion reported for the same period in 2022.

Its price earnings (PE) the ratio was 4.6x at the end of the last trading session, and its earnings per share (EPS) It is N0.14.

VITAFOAM

Vitafoam has the dual strength of this week’s stock pick trading near its 52-week low and trading below intrinsic value, both of which increase the potential for price appreciation in the near term.

The company’s current PE ratio in the last trading session was 4.9x, and EPS is N3.46.

FIDELITY BANK

Fidelity Bank features in this week’s pick to record a 64.1 percent jump in earnings, bringing net profit to N15.6 billion at the end of Q1 2023.

The lender’s PE ratio at market close on Friday was 3.7x, and EPS is N1.52.

DANGOTE SUGAR

Dangote Sugar was singled out this week for posting a 44.3 percent jump in profit after tax to N8.9 billion in the first quarter. The company’s PE ratio on Friday was 4.3x, while EPS is N4.51

WEMA BANK

Wema Bank makes this week’s pick to post an 88.4 percent rise in first-quarter profit after tax.

The company’s PE ratio in the last trading session was 4.3x, and its EPS is N0.90.

JAIZ BANK

Jaiz Bank drops due to declaring first quarter profit of N1.6 billion, 44.6 percent higher than a year ago.

The bank’s PE ratio at the end of the last trading session was 4.8x, and its EPS is N0.20.

BANK BAY

Union Bank appears this week to have more than doubled its profit for Q1 to N12.4 billion. The PE ratio on Friday was 7x, and the EPS is N1.