Airtel Africa Hits 52-Week High, Tracking N5,818 Target Price
Airtel Africa Plc hits a 52-week high on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as investors increase bets on the telecom stock ahead of the second-quarter earnings period.
According to data from the Nigerian Exchange, the telecommunication company’s share price increased to N4021.2, driven by a trading volume of 100,159, with buy-side actors leading the activity.
Airtel Africa opened the week at N3,655.70, breaching its resistance despite relatively low trading volume. The company experienced relatively light trading volume afterwards, which kept the weekly gain at 10% as the share price closed at N4,021.2 from N3,655.70.
Airtel Africa has thin trading volume, which has sharply reduced share price volatility since its recent share buyback in the Nigerian market. With the deal, Airtel Africa has also continued to repurchase its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to reduce its capital.
At the close of the trading session, the market value of Airtel Africa surged to N15.112 trillion, its all-time record. Signalling more than 30% upside potential at the 52-week high, the telecom company is tracking CardinalStone Securities Limited’s target price.
“We maintain our BUY rating on AIRTELAFRI and raise our 12-month TP to N5,818.43, which implies a potential upside of 59.2% from the current market price of N3,655.70”, CardinalStone Securities said in a review.
Analysts said that, with a forward enterprise value (EV) to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) multiple of 4.1x, Airtel Africa trades at a discount to the Middle East and Africa peer median of 4.8x. This discount highlights the ticker’s relative value, with investors yet to fully price in future earnings growth.
CardinalStone Securities Limited said it updated its views on Airtel Africa Plc, citing the company’s impressive FY’25/26 performance and management guidance.
Analysts said the update included adjustments to revenue outlook, driven by higher capital expenditure (CAPEX) outlays in key markets.
The investment firm’s estimate also accounted for sustained cost-optimisation strategies expected to slightly offset higher energy costs in the near term, leaving the mean operating profit margin mostly flat at 33.3% over the next five years, as against 33.8% in prior forecasts.
“We also made adjustments to valuation metrics, particularly the equity risk premium (ERP) and equity beta, which moved from 13.8% and 1.11 to 12.6% and 1.28, respectively, reflecting macro improvements and relative changes in returns”.
Overall, analysts at CardinalStone Securities Limited said they maintain a positive outlook on the ticker, supported by robust demand, sustained network investments, and a reduction in business risk, attributable to the moderation in net debt excluding leases.
AIRTELAFRI reported a 29.4% YoY surge in revenue in FY’25/26 compared to a 0.5% YoY decline in FY’24/25. Analysts said the rebound in topline was primarily driven by tariff increases in Nigeria, faster smartphone penetration, increased data consumption, and higher mobile money usage across its footprint.
Going forward, with AIRTELAFRI structurally positioned to benefit from Africa’s digital and financial inclusion opportunities, CardinalStone said.
Analysts anticipate that the Group’s revenue momentum is likely to persist in the near-to medium-term, estimated to reach $7.8 billion in FY’26/27 and to $9.2 billion in FY’27/28.
In Nigeria, underlying demand conditions remained encouragingly solid in FY’25/26, underpinned by economic stability, favourable inflation, and lower interest rates.
Most crucially, the quality of growth improved, with smartphone penetration up 5.3ppts to 54.9% and smartphone usage per customer rising to 13.7GB/month from 11.1GB previously, resulting in a 63.6% gain in data income in the review period.
“We believe this supports the fundamental shift to a more data-centric earnings mix, which aligns with customer behaviour and preferences”, the investment firm said. Airtel, Dangote Rally Boost NGX Index, Investors Gain N628bn
