Wema, Unity, Skye banks’ shares may stabilize at par value

Stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market have expressed concern on the low pricing of Wema and Skye banks shares in the equities market, even as they maintained that the shares may remain at such low pricing for a long period.

Cross section of market stakeholders who spoke to Daily Times Nigeria on the performance of some bank stocks and low pricing of most bank equities said that unless banks with low equity pricing come out with good performances that reinstate hope in the mind of investors, such banks will continually be shunned by profit minded investors.

“Gone are the days when people take chances and buy on hope or speculations that things with get better or prices will begin to move up soon, but now that the economy is verity tight and people are finding it difficult to mobilize cash, buying stocks that with no recent history of growth and dividend payment is not feasible’ a stock broker told Daily Times on condition of anonymity.

Commenting on the state of some banks still trading at par value of N0.50 in the equities market, Mr. Solomon Kugbe of Marriot Securities told Daily Times that most of the banks trading at par still have legacy issues and heavily exposed.

According to him, investors take into account the performance of listed companies before investing, and when banks or other listed firms post remarkable results,

investors would expect future better results and this will encourage them to invest in the firms, but when the companies or banks have legacy issues or loans to clean off their books, it will affect their earnings and retard profit or dividend payment.

‘I think Wema, Skye and have legacy issues or loans and they need to clean them off their books. People no longer buy stocks because they are cheap, but because there is the history of growth and dividend payment,” he said.

Daily Times Nigeria recalls that Skye bank closed trade Friday 22nd September, 2017, at 55kobo per share, Unity Bank closed at 52 kobo per share, while Wema bank closed at 50 kobo per share.

Bonny Amadi