Zenith Bank Plc’s market value rose as investors continued to pay attention to top tier-1 lenders in the local bourse. The Ajose Adeogun-based financial services group topped investors top picks ahead of the fourth quarter of 2024 earnings release.Currency exchange services
According to data from the Nigerian Exchange, Zenith Bank share price rose by about 4.5% to settle at N46.50 on Thursday due to surging demand for banking names.
The buying momentum from the alpha seekers trading highs and lows in the local bourse nudged Zenith Bank market capitalisation to N1.459 trillion. At the current valuation, Zenith is trading at 1.8% discount to its 52-week in the equities market on Thursday.Currency exchange services
The management has already declared a close period that disallows connected stakeholders from trading the bank shares in the stock market. The close period for the bank started on January 1, 2025, and will be lifted after earnings release in the local bourse.
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Up by about 99% year on year, Zenith Bank posted a pretax profit of N1 trillion in nine months to financial year 2024, according to its regulatory filing posted on the Nigerian Exchange last year.
Following an impressive outing, analysts at CardinalStone Securities Limited expected Zenith Bank to close financial year 2024 on a strong note, with a profit after tax of N1.1 trillion and an earnings per share of N35.25.
“This growth is expected to be primarily driven by a triple-digit increase in net interest income (NII), alongside strong non-interest revenue (NIR) bolstered by solid trading gains as the bank continues to maintain a resilient trading portfolio.
“Farther out, we expect the bank’s performance to be shaped by the interplay of interest rate dynamics and the bank’s readiness to grow risk assets in 2025. Strong trading gains could also act as a secondary support to earnings in the financial year,” the investment firm said in a note.