South African businessman Piet Mouton gains over $75 million in 29 days, as investors intensify buying pressure in Capitec Bank

South African businessman Petrus Johannes (Piet) Mouton and entities linked to him have seen the market value of his stake in Capitec Bank rise by R1.13 billion ($75.25 million) in the past 29 days.

The recent gain in Mouton’s stake can be linked to double-digit growth in the share price of the South Africa-based lender, as bargain hunters and value investors intensified buying interest in the retail bank’s shares after the stock price slumped below the $115-per-share mark.

As of press time, Nov. 9, shares in the financial services group were trading at R1,839 ($122), 22-basis points higher than its market opening price of R1,835 ($121.84) per share.

Since Oct. 11, Capitec’s shares have increased from R1,671 ($111) per share to R1,839 ($122) per share as of the time of writing. This translates to a 10.05-percent gain for Mouton, who holds a beneficial stake amounting to 6,685,622 ordinary shares in the leading retail bank.

Research conducted by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the market value of Mouton’s stake in the lender has increased from R11.28 billion ($748.53 million) on Oct. 11 to R12.42 billion ($823.79 million) on Nov. 9, accruing a gain of N1.13 billion ($75.25 million) for the businessman in 29 days.

The uptrend in the bank’s shares has translated to impressive gains for shareholders and can be linked to a surge in the bank’s profit in the first half-year period of its current accounting year.

In its first-half-year financial report, Capitec revealed that headline earnings for the period rose to R3.99 billion ($264.8 million) from the R650 million ($43.15 million) that it recorded last year.

The group noted that the drivers of its results in the past 18 months were impacted differently by socio-economic conditions during each six-month period.

However, the headline earnings for the first half of its 2021 financial year were driven by the necessity to meet challenges posed by COVID-19 and hard lockdowns in South Africa.

Aside from his stake in Capitec, Mouton also holds a substantial position in PSG Group, a South Africa-based investment holding founded by his father, Jannie Mouton, in 1995.