HF at below par value after slide into losses

Mortgage lender HF Group’s stock has fallen to a 15-yearlow at the NSE as the slide into losses weighs down on investor sentiment.

The stock closed at Sh4.76 on Tuesday, joining the list of firms such as Mumias and Uchumi that are trading below par value at the bourse. Its par value is Sh5, with 384.6 million issued shares.

This is the lowest the stock has fallen since January 2003, with the bank’s market capitalisation now standing at Sh1.83 billion, having gone down by more than half from Sh4 billion at the beginning of the year when the share was valued at Sh10.40.

“HF Group in closing below par value for the first time joins Deacons, Mumias, Sameer, Uchumi, Home Afrika, Olympia Capital and Stanlib Fahari I-Reit,” said Standard Investment Bank in a daily market report.

Although there are no laws barring a company from trading below par value or penalising such occurrence, the down side would be a hit on investor confidence in the stock, as has been the case with the likes of Mumias, Deacons and Home Africa whose shares are now trading in cents at the bourse.