Dangote Cement Plc has crossed N13 trillion in market valuation, the first of its kind on the Nigerian Exchange following a strong buying interest that started in January. The rerating comes ahead of the cement company’s fourth quarter of 2023 earnings release.
Data from the local exchange showed that Dangote Cement Plc has 17.040 billion shares outstanding now valued at N13.001 trillion as its unit price skyrocketed to N763 on Monday. There is an expectation that the stock will rise further as the market expects a good earnings scorecard ahead of the release of the financial year 2023 audited results.
Dangote Cement deflated insiders’ trading risk with earlier closed period announcement. The recent interest in the company stock was supported by Femi Otedola’s decision to step into the ring. Dangote Industries Limited remains a major shareholder in the cement names following a rapid share buyback programme.
Broadstreet analysts said that the company’s share repurchase programme was initiated as the group plan to list the cement company on the London Stock Exchange. Selloffs Provoke Spike in Nigerian Treasury Bills Yield
“The share buyback was to obtain the right listing price for London stock exchange listing since the Nigerian Exchange has failed to reward performance,” a leading Nigerian stockbroker said in 2022.”
Rather than improved market fundamentals, the ongoing positive price movements in the local bourse have been fuelled by investors’ sentiments. While undervalued stocks are getting rerated, some listed companies with near-zero fundamentals have been climbing.
A slew of stockbrokers and market analysts think the Nigerian Exchange is already overvalued. They are looking forward to market corrections when earnings and dividend declaration festival on the Nigerian Exchange kick starts.