A Comparative Analysis of the Performance of Value and Growth Stocks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange Kenya

Abstract

In making investments, investors will always wish to employ strategies that will realize superior performance. One of the most important developments in equity management is the creation elf portfolio strategies based on value-oriented and growth-oriented strategies, where value stocks have been defined as stocks with a higher of earnings yields, book-market value, dividend yield, or cash flow to price ratio, and growth stocks as those with a low of these ratios. This study sought to compare the performance of value and growth stocks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Kenya. This study adopted a quantitative research design. The study adopted a Quantitative comparative design. The population comprised all the 56 listed companies at the NSE as of 31st December, 2011. Because the study applied secondary data and some of these are already available, the study included all the 56 companies in the analysis according to the trading sector. The study used secondary data on the Price Earnings Ratio and Price to book ratios for both the growth and value stocks. The data collected from the financial statements of the respective companies presented to the NSE. The data analysis methods involved calculating financial ratios which include the Price to earnings, price to book ratios, and dividend yield. The study concluded that the agricultural segment was majorly comprised of growth stocks as majority of the companies in this segment recorded a lower of all the three ratios used. The Industrial and allied segment together with the finance and Investment segments comprised of the value stocks because they all posted a somewhat higher of the three ratios used in the analysis. The value stocks posted low performance in terms of Price earnings, price to book ratios and dividend yield while growth stocks continuously posted high performance. The study recommended that the companies quoted at the NSE need to make their policies clear especially as regards the kind of investors they would like to attract. The study further recommended that the Government of Kenya looks at ways of improving the performance of the agricultural segment especially for the firms listed at the NSE.