Zenith Bank Edge Higher as Foreign Investors Take Positions
Zenith Bank Plc’ share price increased in the equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as foreign portfolio investors re-entered positions.
The bank’s share price settled at N64 on Friday amidst significant trading volume, a chunk of which was transacted as block trades, negotiated price, in off-market deals.
The banking sector is expected to be affected by lower interest rate and a firmer local currency, which have effectively reduced non-interest revenue size posted by local lenders.
According to data from the Nigerian stock market, Zenith Bank, which opened the week at N60, gained about 7% week on week to close at N64.
Hence, the stock market value of Zenith Bank’s 41.69 billion outstanding shares increased to N2.628 trillion, up by 6.7% week on week.
Stockbrokers reported significant offshore participation in the equities market with strong interest in banking tickers, especially the risers and earnings and dividend leaders.
Equity analysts at Futureview Financial Limited set N81.03 price target for Zenith Bank at a reference price of N59.60 with an estimated potential upside of about 36%.
Analysts priced in expectation of a robust earnings performance in reaction to the bank’s decision to deliver a clean balance sheet in post-forbearance removal by the Central Bank.
In 9M-2025 results, Zenith Bank gross earnings grew by 16.3% year on year to N3.4 trillion, underscoring the resilience of the bank’s core business.
Interest income surged 40.8% YoY to N2.7 trillion, supported by strong growth in interest income from loans to customers and treasury bills
Although interest expense rose by 22.2% year-on-year to N814.2 billion, the bank maintained a healthy net interest margin (NIM) of 12.8%, up from 10.4% in 9M’2024. This happened as net interest income (NII) advanced 50.4% year on year to N1.9 trillion.
However, overall earnings were weighed down by a 37.5% year-on-year drop in non-interest revenue, which settled at N534.8 billion, driven by a 59.5% year-on-year decline in trading gains. Zenith Bank Soars by 10% in Fresh Rally
