Sovereign Trust Insurance Falls 12.5% to Lead NGX Weekly Losers

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc emerged as the worst-performing stock on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) last week, extending a sharp reversal that followed its earlier rally.

The insurance company’s share price declined from N2.40 at the beginning of the week to N2.10 at the close, representing a loss of N0.30 per share or 12.50 percent, according to the NGX weekly market report.

The weekly decline extends a reversal Investors King has tracked since the stock recorded a strong gain toward the end of September.

Sovereign Trust Insurance had advanced 9.17 percent from N2.40 to N2.62 on September 28, placing it among the day’s leading gainers.

However, the rally proved short-lived.

The stock reversed course in the following session, falling 9.92 percent from N2.62 to N2.36 on September 29. Selling pressure subsequently persisted, eventually pushing the stock down to N2.10 at the latest weekly close.

From the N2.62 level reached during the September 28 rally to N2.10, Sovereign Trust Insurance has now lost N0.52 per share, or approximately 19.85 percent.

The stock also finished below the N2.40 level from which the late-September rally started, leaving it about 12.5 percent below its pre-rally price.

Sovereign Trust Insurance recorded the biggest weekly loss among equities tracked by the NGX, ahead of E-Tranzact International, which declined 12 percent from N12.50 to N11.

Learn Africa dropped 11.05 percent from N8.60 to N7.65, while PZ Cussons Nigeria declined 10.03 percent from N73.80 to N66.40.

Fortis Global Insurance, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, Nigerian Exchange Group, FTN Cocoa Processors, Chams Holding Company and Cutix completed the exchange’s ten biggest weekly decliners.

The reversal in Sovereign Trust Insurance came during a generally weaker week for Nigerian equities. The NGX All-Share Index declined 0.52 percent to 250,808.27 points, while equity market capitalisation fell 0.50 percent to N162.843 trillion.

The stock’s movement, however, was considerably steeper than the broader market decline with Sovereign Trust Insurance shedding 12.5 percent in one week and nearly 20 percent from its September 28 level of N2.62.