At the close of trading on Friday, November 6th, 2020 the share price of Uchumi Supermarkets edged upwards by 7.14% to Ksh0.30 from the previous Ksh0.28. However, this price gain still left Uchumi as the cheapest counter at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Figures from the NSE show that Uchumi share price has hit a low of Ksh0.23 and Ksh0.40 over a 52-week period. A strong retail brand of yesteryear, Uchumi last had a rights issue 6 years ago when it raised Ksh579.12 million, with an oversubscription of 183.6%. The cash injection apparently failed to counter growing competition in the retail sector.
Uchumi supermarkets had a total of 364,959,616 shares as at October 2020 with foreigners owning 37,102, 688 or 10.17% of these shares. Local individual investors own 39.11% of the firm or 142,719,713 shares while local institutions own 185,137,215 shares.
Listed property developer, Home Afrika, the share was priced at Ksh0.41 when trading closed at the bourse on November 6th, 2020, placing it in the position of the second cheapest counter at the NSE.
Struggling against a depressed real estate property market, Home Afrika posted a substantial pre-tax loss of Ksh645 million in 2019, compared to a pre-tax loss of Ksh582 million in the prior year. The Covid-19 pandemic, which was first reported in Kenya, in March this year, is likely to affect its business in 2020.
Priced at Ksh0.90, Eveready counter was the third cheapest counter at the bourse as a Friday, November 6th, 2020. This stock closed its last trading day at Ksh0.90, a 9.09% drop from its previous closing price of Ksh0.99.
Eveready began the year with a share price of Ksh 1.10 but has since lost 18.18% off that price valuation, ranking it 26th on the NSE in terms of year-to-date performance.
With a market capitalization of Ksh189 million, Eveready has 210 million shares at the NSE. The firm is actively involved in manufacture and sale of Eveready branded dry cells D size batteries in East Africa, as well as trade of an assortment of imported Eveready branded flashlights, batteries, razors and accessories.
Flame Tree Group Holdings (FTGH) share price fell to Ksh1.39 from the previous Ksh1.44, a drop of 3.47% placing this counter as one of the worst performers.
Data from the NSE shows that the price of FTGH fell by 16.56% from Ksh 1.57 on 30th June, 2020, to Ksh1.31 on 30th September, 2020.
East African Cables, which is staring at prospects of being delisted following hints dropped by its parent firm TransCentury, comes up the rear of top 5 cheapest stocks at the bourse. Figures indicate that between June and September, 2020, CABL share price dropped 30.77% from Ksh2.08 to Ksh1.44.
Signs of a bearish market at the NSE first emerged in the second quarter of 2020. Cheap stocks offer low entry level for investors. With right fundamentals its advisable to buy cheap stocks and hold for price appreciation.
Equity turnover for Q2 2020 stood at Ksh39.53 billion, compared to Ksh43.70 billion registered in Q1 2020, a 9.54% drop, confirming a decrease in trading activity at the bourse during the quarter.
