Yesterday the share price of East African Breweries Limited (EABL) jumped 1.36% to close at KES 233. This is not a large increase but noteworthy nonetheless.

Over the last month the counter has steadily increased from KES 215 to the current price of KES 223. This increase may be attributed to investor expectation. It may be that investors expect the company to announce positive financial results as their financial year draws to a close at the end of this month.

[caption id="attachment_11164" align="alignleft" width="604" caption="The Performance of the EABL share over the last month (Image from Bloomberg)"][/caption]

Last year the company announced a profit after tax of KES 9.014 billion up from KES 8.838 billion the previous year. The final dividend recommended by the board stood at KES 6.25 a share in addition to the interim dividend of KES 2.50 that was paid earlier. Consequently, the total dividend payout last year was KES 8.75 per share.

The anticipation of positive results may be encouraging investors to buy the share and hold it. If positive announcements are released the share price may, the dividend payout or both may appreciate further. The expectation of either benefit is driving investor demand for the share and exerting upward pressure on the share price as we have observed.