How to buy KCB shares
You can buy KCB shares by applying any of the several order types, which instruct your stockbroker how exactly you want to make the investment.
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| KCB CEO Joshua Oigara. |
KCB Group PLC (KCB) is one of the oldest and largest bank companies in the country. It operates across the East African region. If you are interested in stock investing, you may want to know how to buy KCB shares to become part of one of Kenya’s greatest businesses.
How do you buy KCB shares?
KCB shares are traded publicly on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). To be able to buy and sell shares listed on the NSE, investors must have a CDS account. The CDS account is like a bank account except that it holds shares or stocks instead of cash.
You can open a CDS account through a stockbroker. After you have completed setting up the CDS account, the next step is to fund the account. Funding CDS account simply means making available the money to spend on buying shares. You can fund the CDS account through bank transfers or Mpesa.
Once your CDS account is set up and funded, you can now proceed to place an order to buy KCB shares through your stockbroker. The broker will use the funds in your CDS account to purchase the shares for you and keep them safely in that account.
There are several order types when it comes to buying shares on the NSE. The common order types are market order and limit order. A market order instructs the broker to buy the shares you want immediately. Therefore, the broker will purchase the shares at the prevailing market price.
On the other hand, a limit order instructs the broker to buy the shares at a specific price. For example, in limit order you can instruct your broker to buy a stock at no more than Ksh30 a share. Therefore, if the prevailing KCB share price at the time of your order is Ksh30, then broker will proceed to purchase the shares right away. However, if the share price is above Ksh30 at the time of your order, then the broker will have to wait until it comes down to your preferred price before executing the order.
You now know how to buy KCB shares. But something important to remember is that you can only purchase shares in blocks of 100 units. That means you can only buy a minimum of 100 KCB shares, for instance. With that in mind, the share price and quantity you want to purchase will determine the amount of money you will need to make the investment.
What is KCB shares price now?
KCB share price was Ksh30.55 at the close of trading on Friday. The shares have been under pressure this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic. KCB shares are down 43% this year and down 11% this month. The shares fell 7.3% last week after KCB reported a big drop in its half-year profit.
KCB profit in H1 2020 tumbles 40%
KCB released its financial results for the half-year ended June on Wednesday. The financial report showed KCB’s profit for half-year 2020 dropped 40% compared to the profit the company reported for half-year 2019. The results were primarily impacted by the pandemic.
“We project a continued strain on the business and economy in the remaining part of the year as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves,” said KCB CEO Joshua Oigara.
Banks generally face high risk of loan defaults as borrowers struggle with Covid-19 economic fallout. KCB said it increased its cash reserve to cover potential loan losses by Ksh11 billion in half-year 2020, compared to Ksh3 billion increase in half-year 2019. The huge loan loss provision cut into KCB’s profit for half-year 2020.
KCB share price fell 6.14% on Thursday, the worst decline since May, as investors reacted negatively to the profit drop.