Fakoyejo OlalekanWhat started out to be a compilation on the best performing Insurance stocks in Nigeria for H1 2022, ended up being a list containing the worst, as only two insurers were able to grow their shareholders’ investment during the period.
In an industry analysis by Prime Business Africa, out of the 18 insurance companies publicly listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, investors in Cornerstone and Linkage Assurance saw their investment grow by 56.52% and 1.96% respectively.
This made Cornerstone the best gainer for the H1 period, as its share appreciated to N0.72kobo from N0.46kobo in the first six months of 2022, pushing its market valuation to N13.07 billion at the end of June, against the N8.35 billion the firm was valued at the beginning of January.
While Linkage Assurance growth wasn’t as significant as that of Cornerstone, the former was still able to pull some weight for its shareholders, as share rose marginally from N0.51kobo to N0.52kobo in H1, pulling the market cap up to N7.27 billion, surpassing the year’s open of N7.13 billion.
However, regardless of the growth in Cornerstone and Linkage Assurance, a general diagnosis of the insurance sector reveals investors are not willing to hold insurance shares, and cutting off their holdings to limit risk exposure to their other investment portfolio,
Top five worst performing insurance stocks in Nigeria for H1 2022
Regency Alliance Insurance
Between January to June, shareholders of Regency Alliance Insurance lost -44.8% of their investment in the company after massive sell off among investors rocked the firm.
The sell off caused Regency Alliance share to lose value, falling as low as N0.27kobo, despite selling for N0.49kobo at the start of the first quarter in 2022. This caused a loss of N1.46 billion in market value, which dwindled to N1.80 billion, from N3.26 billion.
Prestige Assurance
The story was same for shareholders at Prestige Assurance, as their investment dip significantly after the firm’s share depreciated by -27.4% within the period of six months.
Prestige Assurance share fell all the way from N0.51kobo to N0.37kobo, wiping off N1.85 billion from shareholders investment, as the Market capitalisation fell to N4.90 billion from N6.75 billion in H1.
Coronation Insurance (Wapic)
Coronation Insurance, also known as Wapic, experienced a bearish run in H1 this year, suffering -26.7% loss in its share value, as demand for the equity falls, amid investors dumping their shares.
Investors confidence in Coronation Insurance non-existent in the first half of 2022, considerin shareholders were willing to sell for as low as N0.41kobo by June, despite the share holding a value of N0.56kobo in the first trading day of January.
As a result, Coronation Insurance’s market valuation significantly depleted, dropping to N9.83 billion at the close of H1, after shedding N3.59 billion from the N13.43 billion equity cap it opened the year with.
Mutual Benefit Assurance
Being one of the most easily recognised insurance name in Nigerian didn’t do much for Mutual Benefit Assurance, considering share dump among shareholders triggered a bearish run in H1, devaluing the share down to N0.25kobo, from N0.33kobo.
As a result, investment in Mutial Benefit Assurance depreciated by -24.2%, causing investors to lose N1.60 billion, and reducing the value of the firm, which was N6.62 billion at the start of January to N5.01 billion last month.
Sunu Assurance
Investors in Sunu Assurance were not spared of the bearish sentiment that held the insurance sector hostage in H1 2022, with investors in the company losing -22.2% of their investment in the insurer.
The company had started 2022 with a stock worth N0.45kobo per share, but after six months of trading, it experienced a downward trajectory that saw the share sell at N0.35kobo at the end of second quarter this year.
Analysis shows that the -22.2% decline in the share price between January to June represents a loss of N581.08 million, after the market capitalisation of Sunu depreciated from N2.61 billion to N2.03 billion.
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