Top 8 penny stocks outperforming Nigeria’s inflation rate

For starters, penny stocks have a low price per share value that falls within the price range of N5 and below, which means you don’t need a ton of cash to invest in them. They are also often capable of providing massive returns to investors, and this is what attracts investors to them.

Penny stocks are quite prone to massive drawdowns due to their high volatility and can be viewed as a blend of high risk and strong profit instruments. Consequently, some stock analysts discourage purchasing them for long-term buy-and-hold investments as the sector is often built on short-term trades. It is, therefore, critical for investors to know when to take profit as these stocks often offer cyclic returns.

That being said, it is important to note that there are no guarantees when it comes to investing in equities during high inflation. At best, such investments may be inflation-safe, but returns can never be 100% guaranteed.

In this article, we bring you some of Nigeria’s leading penny stocks outperforming the country’s inflation rate of 18.12%.

Livestock Feeds Plc

The medium-capitalized company known for manufacturing animal feeds has recorded significant buying pressures from investors, as its bottom line continues to impress investors.

Recall the animal feed manufacturer, some months ago, reported pre-tax profits of N520.77 million in the 2020 Financial year compared to N112.63 million reported in 2019, thereby posting a surge of 362%.

The company, led by Adegboyega W Adedeji, presently trades at N1.80 with yearly gains of 157%.

Champion Breweries Plc

The fast-rising Nigerian brewery company is currently enjoying significant buying pressures for multiple reasons. The brewery stock presently posts a yearly gain of 112%, with the stock trading at N1.91 after Tuesday’s trading session.

The company recently disclosed that its profit before tax rose by 102% to N418.16 million in the financial year 2020 from N206.57 million in 2019.

Recall early this year, Heineken expanded its footprint to Africa’s biggest economy through the increase of its stake in Champion Breweries to 84.5%, thereby giving the stock’s value an additional boost.

NEM Insurance Plc

The company, led by Tope Smart, has outperformed many of its peers amid recent price corrections prevailing in the Nigerian stock market.

The stock posts a yearly return of 97% as it trades at N2.07 per share. Recall, the company announced the distribution of bonus shares of 4.7 billion units at N0.50k worth N2.36 billion, triggering increased buying pressures.

The Nigerian underwriter’s key area includes car insurance (29.1% of gross written premiums), fire insurance (23.8%), accident insurance (20.2%), oil and gas insurance (14.8%), marine insurance (10.9%), and reinsurance (1.2%).

First City Monument Bank

The top tier-2 bank, in the past few years, has been able to please its stakeholders with its impressive performance as the bank posted Q1 ’21 Profit Before Tax of N4.2 billion coupled with its recent payment of a dividend of N2.97 billion, translating to 15 kobo per ordinary share for the year ended December 31, 2020, despite headwinds in Nigeria’s banking sector.

Prior to Wednesday’s opening bell, the banking stock traded at N3.15, with yearly gains of 90%.

AXA Mansard Insurance Plc

AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, a member of the AXA group and a global leader in insurance and asset management, has increasingly attracted a significant number of investors amid its recent impressive results.

The fast-rising underwriter, prior to Wednesday’s trading session, was priced at N0.90 with yearly gains of about 77%. It recently posted its gross written premium ticked up by 19% to N25.08 billion in the first quarter of 2021 from N21.09 billion in the corresponding period of 2020.

AIICO Insurance Plc

AIICO Insurance Plc, the insurance company in Africa’s biggest economy that is certified with a Quality Assurance Scheme accreditation by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), has recorded significant gains in its share price, posting yearly gains of 68% with the stock trading at N1.19 after Tuesday’s trading session amid impressive results recently recorded by Nigeria’s fast-growing underwriter.

The company’s gross written premium grew by 12.2 percent year-on-year to N19.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021 from N17.6 billion in the corresponding period of 2020.

The Insurance firm also revealed that it recorded a whopping underwriting profit of N27.7 billion in Q1 2021 from N131 million in Q1, 2020.

May & Baker Nigeria Plc

The leading Nigerian pharmaceutical company, known for producing and distributing pharmaceutical products such as vaccines, antibiotics, etc., has yearly gains currently standing at 34% with its share price trading at N4 at the time this report was drafted.

The company, led by Patrick Ajah, is known for producing and marketing pharmaceuticals, beverages, personal care and other contract-manufactured products.

Investors are keenly watching for the success of Biovaccines Nigeria Ltd, a joint venture between the FG and May & Baker Nigeria Plc, amid the resurging viral attacks despite the aggressive rollout of foreign-based vaccines.

Fidelity Bank Plc

The fast-growing Tier-2 Nigerian bank is presently trading at N2.23, and printing a yearly gain of about 31%.

The leading Nigerian bank recently astonished market analysts when it posted a profit after tax for Q1 2021, which swelled by nearly two-thirds, with profit before income tax expense surging from N6.85 billion (for the corresponding period of 2020) to N10.13 billion in Q1 2021.