OCBC Bank (O39) Guide: Share Prices, Dividends and Market News

As one of Singapore’s major local banks, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) stands out with its bold branding and attractive banking products, such as the OCBC 360 savings account, OCBC 365 credit card and the newly launched OCBC 90°N air miles card.

It is part of a huge banking empire that has not only made it one of Southeast Asia’s biggest banks in terms of assets — second only to DBS — but also earned it the reputation as one of the region’s safest. Considering investing in OCBC? Here’s a quick guide to OCBC share prices, dividends and other relevant stock information.

Disclaimer: This article contains information on OCBC share prices as well as its recent performance trends. It is meant as a guide for readers only, not financial advice. Please practise your own discretion when making investment decisions.

 

OCBC Bank (O39) overview

Sector	Banking and investment services, banks
Year of incorporation	1932
Total Market Cap	38,839.71 million
Historical share price	Hovering around the 11 SGD mark, peaking at 12.14 SGD in May 2019. Due to Covid-19, share price has plunged to below 9 SGD.
Current share price	8.950
Current dividend yield	6.016%
Dividend Yield 5-yr avg	3.916%

Note: The figures are accurate at the time of writing (Apr 2020), but due to the nature of this industry, this information changes very frequently. For the latest updates, do check the OCBC (O39) SGX listing.

 

OCBC Bank (O39) Stock Profile: Share prices, dividends and more

With a massive market capitalisation of 38.8 billion, a strong dividend yield and, until the recent Covid-19 stock market crash, consistently strong performance, OCBC is usually considered a safe bet. It is tracked by the Straits Times Index, which has also slumped in the wake of the global pandemic.

OCBC has demonstrated consistently strong performance over the past five years, with share prices rising steadily from 2016 until reaching a peak of $13.80 in April 2018.

After April 2018, prices declined to the $10.70 to $11.70 region until the Covid-19 epidemic sent them plunging in February 2020. After reaching a low of $7.80 in March, prices have rebounded to more than $8.

They’re currently offering a strong dividend yield of 6.016% and have shown good dividend growth hover the past five years. Will they be able to keep this up now that Covid-19 has struck? Well, they’ve actually been conservative with dishing out dividends, which bodes well for the future as it gives them more leeway to continue maintaining their dividends during the downturn.

Read also: Robo Advisors In Singapore — Is This Approach to Investments Right for You?

 

About OCBC Bank (O39): Market news and updates

Incorporated in 1932, OCBC is a multinational bank that was created through the merger of three other banks. It is generally considered one of Southeast Asia’s strongest, safest and most reputable banks. OCBC currently employs more than 29,000 people.

The company has more than 370 branches and offices spread out over 15 nations and territories including Malaysia, China, Japan, Australia, The UK and the US, with a particularly strong presence in Indonesia.

As one would expect, OCBC offers a full suite of banking and financial products and services. So, they offer the usual consumer banking services such as credit cards, insurance and investment management. They also offer a wide range of business and international banking and investment management services.

Outside of its day job as a bank, OCBC has diversified its income by participating in activities such as property development, stockbroking and hotel management.

OCBC’s biggest shareholder is Selat Pte. Ltd, which holds 10.48% of their shares. Its second biggest shareholder is Lee Foundation (Singapore), Singapore’s biggest private charitable foundation, which holds 4.2% of their shares, followed by Singapore Investments Pte Ltd, with 3.56%.

In February when the virus first sent OCBC’s stock prices downwards, CEO Samuel Tsien forecasted that revenue would take a 2% hit from the impact of the coronavirus.

 

Concluding thoughts

While OCBC has taking a beating thanks to Covid-19, the company is actually in a strong position to bounce back after the downturn.

Prior to the epidemic, they’d been exhibiting very strong revenue growth, and also been quite aggressive in expanding their wealth management base through acquisitions of other companies.

Whatever happens, the prospect of OCBC collapsing is almost nil. That being said, many expect the Covid-19 crisis to get worse before it gets better. So, if you currently have OCBC stocks, you might want to hold on to it and ride out the storm.

If you’re thinking of acquiring some, the upcoming recession may give you a good chance to do so.

 

Do you have any stock investment tips to share? Leave them in the comments!