THERE are several stocks analysts are recommending in 2026. These stocks range from AIICO to BUA Cement, and from NASCON to Fidson. Economy Post has selected 25 of these stocks for you.
Across major research houses, a wide list of many recommended stocks has now been streamlined into 25 core names, based on overlaps in analysts’ forecasts and sector preferences.
For investors, this is an opportunity to take a calculated risk and reap from the gains of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), which has proven to be one of the best in the world in terms of returns.
Meristem Research: Aggressive growth focus
Meristem Research says short-term volatility is likely to persist, but improving company fundamentals should support returns over the medium term. The firm’s aggressive growth portfolio is tilted towards small- and mid-cap stocks with strong earnings prospects.
Meristem’s key recommendations include AIICO Insurance, BUA Cement, Fidson Healthcare and First Holdco.
Other stocks favoured by Meristem are Mutual Benefits Assurance, MTN Nigeria, NASCON and NEM Insurance.
The firm also highlights UACN, UBA, Unilever Nigeria, Vitafoam, Lafarge Africa, Wema Bank and Zenith Bank as strong long-term investment candidates.
CardinalStone: Frontier market optimism
CardinalStone Research believes Nigeria could benefit from renewed foreign inflows if the country is reclassified as a Frontier Market by FTSE Russell in 2026.
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The firm’s recommended stocks include: Access Holdings, Airtel Africa, Dangote Cement, Fidelity Bank, GTCO, MTN Nigeria, Presco and Seplat Energy.
Other CardinalStone picks are Stanbic IBTC, Transcorp, UBA, Unilever Nigeria, Lafarge Africa and Zenith Bank.
United Capital: Value and upside plays
United Capital Research has advised investors to buy Sterling Financial Holdings, citing a target price of N10.
Other stocks recommended by United Capital include Access Holdings, Aradel Holdings, United Bank for Africa, FCMB Group, Transcorp, Julius Berger Nigeria and Nestlé Nigeria.
The firm also recommends Zenith Bank, C & I Leasing, AIICO Insurance, Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, AXA Mansard, Transcorp Power, MTN Nigeria and Mutual Benefits Assurance. In addition, United Capital has Lafarge Africa, Wema Bank, PZ Cussons Nigeria and Seplat Energy on its buy list.
Futureview: banking and industrial bias
Futureview Research maintains a strong preference for banking stocks, led by GTCO. Other bank stocks recommended by Futureview are Fidelity Bank, Access Holdings, UBA, Zenith Bank and Sterling Financial Holdings.
Outside the banking sector, Futureview favours Nigerian Breweries, Unilever Nigeria, Honeywell Flour Mills, Dangote Cement, Lafarge Africa, Beta Glass, MTN Nigeria, Airtel Africa, NEM Insurance, AXA Mansard and Transcorp.
The consolidated 25-stock list for 2026
Based on overlaps across Meristem, CardinalStone, United Capital and Futureview, the 25 most consistently recommended stocks for 2026 are:
Access Holdings – CardinalStone, United Capital, Futureview
Airtel Africa – CardinalStone, Futureview
AIICO Insurance – Meristem, United Capital
BUA Cement – Meristem, United Capital
Dangote Cement – CardinalStone, United Capital, Futureview
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FCMB Group – United Capital, Futureview
Fidelity Bank – CardinalStone, Futureview
First Holdco – Meristem
GTCO – CardinalStone, Futureview
Lafarge Africa – Meristem, CardinalStone, United Capital, Futureview
MTN Nigeria – Meristem, CardinalStone, United Capital, Futureview
Mutual Benefits Assurance – Meristem, United Capital
NASCON – Meristem
NEM Insurance – Meristem, Futureview
Presco – CardinalStone
Seplat Energy – CardinalStone, United Capital
Sterling Financial Holdings – United Capital, Futureview
Transcorp – CardinalStone, United Capital, Futureview
Transcorp Power – United Capital
UACN – Meristem
UBA – Meristem, CardinalStone, United Capital, Futureview
Unilever Nigeria – Meristem, CardinalStone, Futureview
Vitafoam – Meristem
Wema Bank – Meristem, United Capital
Zenith Bank – Meristem, CardinalStone, United Capital, Futureview
Buying the ‘dip’
In finance, investors are advised to ‘buy the dip.’ This means you should buy stocks when the prices are down and then sell when they rise. The stocks are relatively high at the monent, and analysts advise that investors wait unless a price has reached its ‘equilibrium.’
A corporate finance expert, Mr Andrew Loo, who majors in economics, fixed income and foreign exchange, defined buying the dip as “buying or adding to an existing long position of an asset during a period of downward price pressure, hopefully with the opportunity for the price to recover.”
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“Investors ‘buy the dip’ and increase their exposure to that asset when prices are depressed in anticipation of prices recovering and earning larger returns. Disciplined and prudent investors base their decision on when to buy the dip on careful research and analysis as the downside risk for buying the dip is quite high as the investor is increasing their overall position on that particular asset,” he wrote on Corporate Finance Institute (CFI).
