The Banking Sector had shares worth KSh1.2 billion transacted which accounted for 42.62% of last week’s (20-24 January 2020) traded value.
Equity Group Holdings actively moved 10.8 million shares, valued at KSh.557 million at between KSh50.75 and KSh52.50.
KCB Group unchanged at KSh51.75 moved 7.3 million shares valued at KSh381 million. Co-operative Bank was down 2.5% to KSh15.60 and moved 6.3 million shares worth KSh100 million.
According to a research note by NCBA Investment Bank, the firm remains bullish on KCB, Equity, Barclays and I&M Bank, pegged on the removal of interest rate caps and enhanced sector focus by these banks.
“We expect these banks to maintain high levels of efficiency while counting on the economy to boost NPLs recoveries. The banks also offer attractive valuations in both capital appreciation and dividend returns,” said the NCBA note.
The Investment Bank projects that KCB Group, Equity Group and Co-operative bank will record return on equity of more than 20% this year. It says earnings for the three tier-one banks are expected to rebound supported by a mix of both funded and non-funded income.
But even with banks maintaining their dominance, activity at the NSE had a mixed performance as the week came to a close.
The NSE 20 share index was down 26.63 points to stand at 2642.50. All Share Index (NASI) ended the week 1.25 points lower to settle at 164.98. The NSE 25 Share index shaved-off 26.81 points to stand at 4075.32.
Safaricom was the week’s main feature with 31 million shares valued at KSh982 million, changing hands at between KSh31.20 and KSh32.30. This represented 34.57% of the week’s traded value.
The Manufacturing & Allied Sector had shares worth KSh536 million transacted which represented 18.87% of the week’s traded value. E.A Breweries closed the week 2.38% higher to KSh215.00, moving 1.9 million shares valued at KSh401.9 million.
NCBA is recommending a BUY for Safaricom, owing to M-Pesa revenue forecast of 23.2% and wide scope for growth in fibre infrastructure space. The mobile operator is also expected to ride on its wide network coverage (4G) and new strategies to increase data consumption. This is in addition to planned entry into new markets and saturation of its voice and SMS revenue levels.
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