Fantastic Five Banks Now Make up 12% of NGX Led by GTCO, UBA

The Fantastic Five mega cap bank stocks have rallied to now become 12% of the entire Nigerian Exchange (NGX) stock market capitalization, powered by surging share prices of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) and United Bank for Africa (UBA).

The ‘Fantastic Five’ that include: GTCO, Zenith Bank, UBA, Access Bank and First HoldCo had a combined market capitalization of N7.74 trillion as at the last trading day before the 2-day holidays on Friday, March 28.

This compares to the NGX All Share Index which closed Friday with a market cap of N64.16 trillion.

GTCO has led the year-to-date (YTD) rally in the mega cap banks with a stunning YTD return of 20.7%, followed by UBA which is up 8.53% in the same time period. The NGX ASI is up 2.67% year-to-date, while the NGX banking index is up 5.6% YTD (March 27th).

GTCO has a market capitalization of N2.34 trillion, Zenith Bank N1.93 trillion, UBA N1.262 trillion, Access Bank N1.19 trillion and First Holdco N1.01 trillion.

GTCO and Zenith recently reported stellar Full Year 2024 earnings that saw their after-tax profit eclipse the N1 trillion mark each.

Higher dividend payouts are also leading to the rally in the banks share price.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc will pay a record dividend of N8.03 Per Share for Full Year 2024, Zenith Bank proposed a final dividend of N4.00 per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to N5.00 per ordinary share.

UBA has proposed a final dividend of N3.00 kobo for every ordinary share of 50 kobo, for the financial year ended December 31, 2024. This brings the total dividend in the year to N5.00.

The Fantastic Five are the largest and most capitalsed Nigerian Banks controlling over 70% of total industry Bank assets.

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