Fidson, UACN, Ikeja Hotel top stock pick this week

The market saw limited trading sessions last week on account of public holidays on Monday and Tuesday, with the main equity index declining by 0.1 per cent.

Stocks have returned 2.5 per cent year to date, driven by bank stocks, while the insurance index remains the worst performer of the five sector indexes, having depreciated by 6.7 per cent.

“The equities market is expected to improve as investors position themselves for the FY-2024 earnings season and possible corporate action declarations,” analysts at United Capital Plc had said in their outlook note ahead of the week.

“Nevertheless, given the elevated interest rate environment in the fixed-income market, we still expect bearish sentiments to linger in the background,” they added.

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 in hopes 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.

Fidson Healthcare

Fidson tops this week’s list for declaring a dividend per share of N1 for the financial year 2024, which compares to the N0.60 it declared for the preceding year. The price-to-book (PB) ratio of the drug maker is 1.9x, while the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is 8.7x. Its relative strength index (RSI) is 59.8.

UACN

UACN makes the cut for currently trading well below its underlying value. The conglomerate’s PB ratio is 1.3x, while the PE ratio is 5.6x. Its RSI is 3.5.

Ikeja Hotel

Ikeja Hotel appears on the list for trading significantly below its intrinsic value. The company’s PB ratio is 0.6x, while its PE ratio is 3.1x. The RSI is 37.4.

ALSO READ: Fidson healthcare reports N5.78bn profit for 2024

Jaiz Bank

Jaiz Bank appears on the pick for currently trading below its underlying value. The PB ratio of the company is 3x, while the PE ratio is 5.1x. Its RSI is 43.3.

First HoldCo

First Holdco features in this week’s pick for trading below its intrinsic value. The PB ratio of the lender is 0.4x, while its PE ratio is 1.3x. The RSI is 27.3.

NEM Insurance

NEM Insurance makes this week’s list for trading below its underlying value. The underwriter’s PB ratio is 1x, while the PE ratio stands at 2.9x. Its RSI is 51.2.