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Here are best performing Nigerian stocks in first quarter 2021

Stock market decreases by 2.06% in week ended April 14

The Nigerian stock market plunged in the first three months of 2021 as investor appetite for equities continued to fall, as yields are rising.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which soared by over 50 percent last year, finished the year as one of the best performers in the world.

However, over the last three months, the benchmark index plunged 3.04 percent as it could not sustain the trend.

Yinka Ademuwagun, a research analyst at United Capital, explains that the decline occurred because investors who initially trooped into the stock market as a result of the low yield environment experienced last year are moving out as interest rate continues to rise this year.

With inflation at 17.3 percent, investors are seeking investments that can give better returns to close the gap in negative real interest rate.

Despite the weak performance in Q1 2021, there are some shares climbing in the market with particularly strong gains.

Here are the best performers on the NSE during the first quarter:

LASACO Assurance

LASACO’s share price is the best performer on the NSE during the quarter as it stormed 269 percent higher during the first quarter of 2020. The Insurance and Financial service company opened the year with a share price of N0.35 and rose to N1.29 as of March 31, 2021.

Read Also: Global markets update: Oil steadies at $64:30 and US stocks rise

Champion Breweries

Champion Breweries share price was also on fire during the quarter with 162 percent gain. The beer maker’s share opened the year at N0.86 and jumped to N2.25 as of March 31, 2021.

The surge came on the back of Heineken’s indirect acquisition of additional shares in Champion Breweries through Raysun Nigeria Limited on January 8, 2021. Heineken’s purchased about 1.9 billion shares at a price of N2.6 per share, raising the ownership of Raysun to 84.7 percent. Since then, buying interests by investors continue to prop the shares of the company.

Guinness Nigeria

Guinness Nigeria’s share price also gained 78 percent in the first quarter 2020. The brewer’s share price opened the year at N19, surging to N33.9 as of March 31, 2021. The key driver of this gain was an increase in investors buying interest in the shares of the brewer.

Morison Industries

Morison’s share price was not too far behind also with a gain of 76 percent during the first three months of 2021.

Morison began the year with a share price of N0.49 per share and closed its last trading day in March at N0.86 per share, ranking it fourth on the NSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

Morison Industries specialises in manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical, hygiene and care products.

Mutual Benefits Assurance

MBenefit ranked the fifth on the NSE in the first quarter of the year with 70 percent gain. The insurance company began the year with a share price of N0.27 and surged to N0.46 per share on the last trading day in March 2021.

The company offers motor, marine, travel, fire, aviation, group life, and mutual term insurance as well as investment-linked schemes, endowment plans, and protection policies.

McNichols

McNichols, a fast-moving consumer brand food and beverage, saw its shares surge 57 percent to N0.8 per share from its opening price of N0.51 per share at the beginning of the year.

NCR Nigeria

NCR’s share price may have crashed 9.7 percent lower in March but that could not stop it from recording a 42 percent gain over the first three months of the year. The company’s share price opened the year at N1.96 per share, rising to N2.79 as of March 31, 2021.

The NCR engages in the sales and servicing of Passenger Cars, Commercial Vehicles, motorcycles, Agricultural and Construction Equipment and Industrial Machinery.

BOC GAS

BOC GAS began the year with a share price of N9.57 and has also gained 42 percent on that price valuation, ranking it eighth on the NSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

BOC is the market leader in West Africa for the production and distribution of industrial gases, including argon, nitrogen carbon dioxide, and oxygen, as well as welding products.

Livestock Feeds

Livestock gained 38 percent in the first three months of the year. The manufacturing and marketer of animal feeds opened the year with a share price of N1.39 and stood at N1.92 as of March 31, 2021.

Seplat

Although Seplat lost 5.6 percent of its value in the month of March but gained 37 percent in the first three months of 2021.

As oil prices continue to rebound, investor’s buying interest resumed and this pushed Seplat’s shares up to N550 per share as of March 31, 2021, from an opening price of N402 per share.