More retreat for Jamaican stocks – Wednesday

February 15, 2017 by

Carreras climbed to a 52 weeks’ high of $69.

At the close of trading on the Jamaican Stock Exchange, the bias was in favour of falling prices on Wednesday as 53 securities changed hands in the overall market, ending with 18 stocks rising and 22 falling.
The market closed Wednesday, with 11 stocks gaining and 7 declining coming from the junior market as 5 securities ending at new 52 weeks’ closing highs.
The All Jamaica Composite Index dropped 1,229.08 points to close at 252,244.95, the JSE Market Index fell 1,099.01 points to finish at 229,926.34 and the JSE combined index lost 1,039.04 points, to close at 244,837.81.
At the close, 14,119,849 units valued at $235,690,329 changed hands, compared to 9,830,806 units valued at $174,930,678 changing hands on Tuesday. Of the stocks traded, the junior market accounted for 6,418,006 units valued at over $39,202,136.
The average trade for the day in the main market ended at 237,979 shares compared to an average of 210,760 units on Tuesday. For the month to date, an average of 213,191 shares compared to an average of 188,403 units up to the prior trading day. January ended with an average of 592,602 units.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 13 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 with a lower offers.
In market activity, Barita Investments lost 10 cents to close at $7.90 trading 2,835 units, Berger Paints closed at $12 with 7,273 shares changing hands, Cable and Wireless closed 1 cent lower to $1.28 with an exchange of 776,377 units, Caribbean Cement climbed to $33, gaining $2.70 trading 19,900 shares. Carreras closed higher by $1 to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $69, with 1,000 units traded, 1834 Investments lost 10 cents to close at $2.10 with trades of 27,610 shares, Grace Kennedy closed at $40, losing 50 cents with 203,000 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers slid $2.15, closing at $14 trading 104,910 shares, Jamaica Producers closed at $18, losing $2.75 with 90,696 units changing hands, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 49 cents to close at $9.99 with 178,875 shares traded, JMMB Group lost 5 cents to close at $19.50 with an exchange of 431,825 units. Kingston Wharves closed lower to $28.01 with a loss of $2.99 trading 1,397 units, Mayberry Investments closed at $5.73 with 8,343 shares changing hands and

PanJam Investment climbed $1 in trading on Wednesday.

National Commercial Bank closed at $64, losing 89 cents, after swapping 28,465 shares. 138 Student Living gained 10 cents to close at $4.60 with 21,958 units traded, Pan Jamaican ended trading at $41 with gains of $1 and an exchange of 160,281 shares, Portland JSX lost 4 cents to close at $10.51 with an exchange of 2,537 shares, Pulse Investments closed at $6.50 with 410,470 shares changing hands. Radio Jamaica gained 7 cents and closed at $1.92 trading 197,732 units, Sagicor Group jumped $2.01 to $35, with trades of 3,572,539 units, Sagicor Real Estate fund closed at $11.50 after gaining 45 cents in exchange for 26,081 units, Scotia Group closed at $41, trading 26,977 shares. Scotia Investments dropped $2.50 to close at $40 trading 3,379 shares, Supreme Ventures closed at $5.70, gaining 2 cents with 123,500 shares traded, Proven Investments gained 2 US cents trading 810,942 ordinary shares to close at 32 US cents, JMMBGL7.25 closed at $1.50 trading 254 shares and JMMBGL 7.5% preference share gained 1 cent with trades of 461,687 units to close at $1.10.

Filed Under: JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Big jump in trading value on TTSE – Wednesday

February 15, 2017 by

Witco had the largest dollar trade on the TTSE on Wednesday.

Activity on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange saw a $14 million trade in West Indian Tobacco, on Wednesday, swelling the overall value traded well in excess of Tuesday’s level.
Trading closed with 11 securities changing hands, compared to 12 Tuesday. 5 stocks advanced, 5 declined and 1 remained unchanged resulting in an exchange of 723,552 shares valued at $21,761,282. On Tuesday’s 150,265 shares valued at $957,723 traded in contrast.
The Composite Index lost 0.21 points to 1,249.44, the All T&T Index slid 0.69 points to 1,832.21 but the Cross Listed Index gained 0.04 points to 89.40 with year to date gains of 14.37 percent.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 8 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 7 with lower offers.
Gains| Guardian Holdings closed at a new 52 weeks’ high of $15.35 with gains of 5 cents trading 100 shares, but the it closed with a bid to buy 41,000 units at $15.89. JMMB Group added 1 cent to close at $1.20 exchanging 251,611 units valued at $301,602, Massy Holdings advanced $1, closing at $53 with 2,000 shares changing hands. Scotiabank closed at $58.75, adding 5 cents with 38,210 units being exchanged at a value of $2,244,636 and West Indian Tobacco closed at $127, a gain of 1 cent with an exchange of 110,000 shares valued at $13,969,997.
Losses| Clico Investment closed at $22.50, losing 6 cents and exchanging 184,833 shares valued at $4,168,335, First Citizens lost 1 cent to close at $32.49 with trades of 816 units, National Enterprises declined 10 cents, closing at $10.90 with an exchange of 52,824 shares valued at $578,143. Republic Financial Holdings closed at a 52 weeks’ low of $105.99 having lost 70 cents with 544 units changing hands and Scotia Investments closed 1 cent lower to $2.19 with 13,039 shares trading.
Firm Trades| National Commercial Bank was unchanged at $4 with 69,575 units changing hands.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Profit climbs 31% at Cargo Handlers

February 15, 2017 by

Overvalued Cargo Handlers.

Revenues rose 32 percent for the Montego Bay based, Cargo Handlers, in the December 2016 quarter, with profit rising 31 percent to $46 million after tax.
The company recorded earnings per share of`12 cents for the quarter which is in line with IC Insider.com’s forecast of 55 cents, for the full year. “Increased passenger vessel traffic coupled with the seasonal increases in containerized cargo, pushed revenues to $91.1 million,” management stated in their report accompanying the results. While revenues grew quite strongly, cost also grew, with operating cost rising in line with revenues by 33.5 percent to $33.5 million and administrative expenses climbing by 36 percent to $4.5 million.
Gross cash flow, generated in the quarter was $52 million, increased receivables and reduction in payables help to reduce the net flows for the quarter to just $6 million, but still ending with a healthy cash position of $232 million at the end of the year. Receivables ended the year at $86 million and current liabilities at just $27 million.
Montego Bay is one of the fastest growing regions in Jamaica, with increasing tourism and BPO activities and more expansion in these areas to come. The port is likely to be used as the centre for exporting of LNG to the Eastern Caribbean, Cargo Handlers should benefit from the growth in the area down the road. Cargo Handlers last traded on Tuesday at $24.50 for a rich PE of 45, based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 55 cents per share.
The company is slated to pay an interim dividend of 13.5 per stock unit on March 21.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: , , ,

Jamaican stocks down again on Tuesday

February 14, 2017 by
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Jamaica Broilers traded at a new high on Tuesday

Prices mostly pulled back for Jamaican stocks on Tuesday, with big fall in market indices as more stocks fell than advanced at the close of trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange with 55 securities changing hands in the overall market ending with 16 stocks rising and 22 falling.
The market closed Tuesday, with 11 stocks gaining and 7 declining coming from the junior market as 6 securities ending at new 52 weeks’ closing highs.
The All Jamaica Composite Index dropped 750.62 points to close at 254,224.65, the JSE Market Index fell 671.19 points to finish at 231,025.35 and the JSE combined index lost 849.58 points, to close at 245,876.85.
At the close, 9,830,806 units valued at $174,930,678 changed hands, compared to 17,383,764 units valued at $129,272,080 changing hands on Monday. Of the stocks traded, the junior market accounted for 3,740,128 units valued at over $70,476,295.
The average trade for the day in the main market ended at 210,760 shares compared to an average of 179,527 units on Monday. For the month to date, an average of 188,403 shares compared to an average of 166,045 units up to the prior trading day. January ended with an average of 592,602 units.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 1 with a lower offer.
In market activity, Barita Investments gained 30 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $8, while trading 96,986 units, Berger Paints exchanged 59,653 shares at $12, Cable and Wireless closed 4 cents higher to $1.29 with 462,009 units changing hands, Caribbean Cement lost 30 cents to close at $30.30 with trades of 85,064 shares. Carreras closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $68, gaining $1 with 16,633 units traded, 1834 Investments added 5 cents to close at $2.20 with trades of 88,628 shares, Grace Kennedy closed at $40.50, losing 15 cents with 2,650,225 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers lost 10 cents, closing at a 52 weeks’ high of $16.15 trading 18,902 shares, Jamaica Producers declined by 97 cents to close at $20.75 with 168,975 units changing hands, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $9.50, losing $1 with 281,670 shares traded and JMMB Group lost 5 cents to close at $19.55 with an exchange of 68,103 units. Kingston Properties ended at $10 trading 23,048 shares, Kingston Wharves declined 50 cents, closing at $31 with trades of 115,240 units, Margaritaville Turks gained 4 cents to close at 39 US cents, trading 4,000 shares,

Barita closed at a new high on Tuesday.

Mayberry Investments lost 2 cents to end at $5.73 with 37,903 shares changing hands. National Commercial Bank closed at $64.89 with a loss of 11 cents, after swapping 70,085 shares, 138 Student Living traded 580,941 units at $4.50, Pan Jamaican ended trading at $40, dropping $4 with an exchange of 223,325 shares, Portland JSX gained 5 cents to close at $10.55 with an exchange of 5,000 shares. Pulse Investments slid 49 cents to close at $6.50 with 30,900 shares changing hands, Radio Jamaica gained 15 cents and closed at $1.85, trading 402,611 units, Sagicor Group slid $2.49, closing at $33.01 with trades of 25,617 units, Sagicor Real Estate fund closed at $11.05, losing 45 cents with an exchange of 30,954 units, Salada traded 100 units at $9.24. Scotia Group declined by $2.10 to close at $41, having traded 60,327 shares. Scotia Investments climbed higher by $4.50 to $42.50, trading 24,747 shares, Supreme Ventures closed lower at $5.68 with a loss of 2 cents and 67,700 shares traded, Proven Investments lost 2 US cents trading 126,922 ordinary shares, to close at 30 US cents and JMMBGL 7.5% preference share, lost 1 cent, with trades of 263,465 units, to close at $1.09.

Filed Under: JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

More gains for Trinidad stocks

February 14, 2017 by

Trading volume on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Tuesday remained low even as 12 securities changed hands compared to 9 on Monday.
At the close, 2 stocks advanced, 2 declined and 8 were unchanged, leading to 150,265 shares changing hands at a value of $957,723 compared to Monday’s 41,128 shares valued at $800,553.
The Composite Index gained 0.22 points to 1,249.65, the All T&T Index rose 0.84 points to 1,832.90 and the Cross Listed Index was down 0.05 points to 89.36.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 10 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 6 with lower offers.
Gains| Clico Investment closed at $22.56, a gain of 1 cent with an exchange of 6,110 units and Guardian Holdings closed 20 cents higher to a 52 weeks’ high of $15.30 with 3,500 shares changing hands.
Losses| JMMB Group lost 1 cent to close at $1.19 trading 5,500 units and Scotia Investments closed 1 cent lower to $2.20 with 7,755 shares changing owners.
Firm Trades| Angostura Closed at $15 trading 127 shares, Ansa McAL held firm at $66.45 with 70 units traded, First Citizens was unchanged at $32.50 with 23 units traded and Grace Kennedy closed at $2.63 with 773 shares changing hands. National Commercial Bank traded 81,454 units valued at $325,816 and closed at $4, Point Lisas closed at $3.70 with an exchange of 2,840 units, Sagicor Financial held firm at $9.30 trading 42,001 shares and Scotiabank closed at $58.70 with 112 units changing owners.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jamaican stocks down sharply on Monday

February 13, 2017 by

Jamaica Stock Exchange dropped to $10.60

Prices mostly pulled back for Jamaican stocks on Monday, with big fall in market indices as more stocks fell than advanced at the close of trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange with 46 securities changing hands in the overall market ending with 16 stocks rising and 17 falling.
The market closed Monday, with 6 stocks gaining and 15 declining coming from the junior market as 6 securities ending at new 52 weeks’ closing highs.
The All Jamaica Composite Index dropped 3,171.06 points to close at 254,224.65, the JSE Market Index dived 2,835.48 points to finish at 231,696.54 and the JSE combined index plunged 3,008.67 points, to close at 246,726.43.
At the close, 17,383,764 units valued at $129,272,080 changed hands, compared to 23,308,737 units valued at $169,240,005 changing hands on Friday. Of the stocks traded, the junior market accounted for 13,224,639 units valued at over $70,476,295.
The average trade for the day in the main market ended at 179,527 shares compared to an average of 116,707 units on Friday. For the month to date, an average of 166,045 shares compared to an average of 152,563 units up to the prior trading day. January ended with an average of 592,602 units.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 20 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 with lower offers.
In market activity, Berger Paints traded 145,500 shares at $12, Cable and Wireless closed at $1.25 trading 758,788 units, Caribbean Cement closed at $30.60, losing $2.40 with an exchange of 18,000 shares. Carreras traded 20,128 units and closed at $67, trading in 1834 Investments ended with an increase of 3 cents to close at $2.15 with 254,139 shares changing hands, Grace Kennedy closed at $40.65 with 70,634 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers closed at $16.25 with an exchange of 18,057 shares, Jamaica Producers advanced $1.72 to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $21.72 with 59,292 units changing hands, Jamaica Stock Exchange dropped $3 and closed at $10.50 with 163,955 shares traded, JMMB Group gained 10 cents to close at $19.60 with 336,314 units traded. Kingston Wharves dropped $2 to close at $31.50 with trades of 7,065 units, Mayberry Investments gained 25 cents, closing at $5.75 with 54,645 shares changing hands, National Commercial Bank added 10 cents to close at $65, after swapping 26,583 shares. 138 Student Living traded 438,159 units at $4.50, Pan Jamaican ended trading at a 52 weeks’ high of $44, gaining $4 with an exchange of 35,183 shares. Radio Jamaica gained 2 cents and closed at $1.70 trading 345,833 units, Sagicor Group closed at $35.50 with trades of 34,157 units, Sagicor Real Estate fund closed at $11.50, gaining $1.50 with an exchange of 3,550 units, Scotia Group closed at $43.10, having traded 276,859 shares. Supreme Ventures closed at $5.70 with 625,973 shares traded and Proven Investments gained 2 US cents trading 389,057 ordinary shares to close at 32 US cents.

Filed Under: JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Trading in Trinidad stocks dips – Monday

February 13, 2017 by

Trading activity on Monday was lower for stocks listed on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange. The market closed with 9 securities changing hands in contrast to 15 on Friday leading to 41,128 shares changing hands valued $800,553.
Mondays trades compares with Friday’s 371,231 shares being exchanged valued at $6,085,335. At the close of the market on Monday, 4 stocks advanced, 1 declined and 4 were unchanged.
The Composite Index jumped 10.54 points to 1,249.43 points, the All T&T Index gained 0.84 points to 1,832.06 points, sitting just below the close of 2016 and the Cross Listed Index advanced 2.77 points to 89.41, to be up 14.38 percent for 2017.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 6 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 6 with lower offers.
Gains| Guardian Holdings closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $15.10, gaining 10 cents with 5,210 shares changing hands, the stock closed with a bid higher than the closing price with 3,126 shares on the bid at $15.21. National Commercial Bank advanced 40 cents to a 52 weeks’ high of $4 with 5,500 units exchanged, Prestige Holdings gained 14 cents trading 100 shares to close at $10.99 and Trinidad & Tobago NGL closed at $22.80 with gains of 5 cents and 4,200 shares changing owners.
Losses| One Caribbean Media closed at a 52 weeks’ low of $19.49, a loss of 1 cent with 250 shares traded.
Firm Trades| First Citizens remained at $32.50 with trades of 16,577 units valued at $538,753, JMMB Group closed at $1.20 with an exchange of 4,096 units, Sagicor Financial held firm at $9.30 with 5,069 shares changing hands and Scotiabank closed at $58.70 trading 126 units.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Scary data pushing some stocks

February 12, 2017 by

Overvalued Cargo Handlers, rated a buy by Barita.

Investors have been acting strangely of late, buying a few stocks at inflated valuation that are well ahead of anything in the market. There are just no logical explanations for it. It is downright dangerous for some investors, who seem set to get badly burnt.
IC Insider.com attempted to get an understanding of this unusual development of scary PE ratios. One possible clue came from two seasoned investors. One bought shares in Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) on the assumption that the PE was only 4, he was unaware that the earnings per share, last reported by the company, was not adjusted for the 5 to 1 stock split. The other investors pointed out that Cargo Handlers was selected by Barita Investments as the top junior market stock for 2017. That is a strange selection as research going back to the early years of the JSE, shows that only around 20 percent of top 10 stocks ends in the top 10 in the subsequent year, in very bullish periods, even less do so. A look at Barita’s stock market update chart, shows the Cargo Handlers having a PE of just 11.47 with earnings of $2.18, but the earnings is well ahead of the 43 cents the company reported for 2016. The PE for the stock, based on 2016 earnings is near 60 and 46

Jamaica Producers is one of the company’s that investors seem to be pushing the price, based on pre-bonus earnings.

times, IC Insider’s 2017 projection, making it the richest priced stock on the market.
Cargo Handlers may not be the sole stock that investors seem to be ignoring the effect of stock split on values. Barita shows JSE with a PE of 12.5 with earnings of $1.02, thankfully there is no recommendation for this one. Jamaica Producers is shown with a PE of 6.52 from earnings of $3.02, with a buy recommendation. Producers earnings are at best inflated with one off items, with them earning at the above level highly unlikely, as such the stock boast a PE of 40 times 2017 earnings. Pan Jam Investment is shown with earnings per share of $3.97 and a PE of 10.08. The only problem is that Pan Jam earnings for the nine months from continuing operations for 2016, is in the order of $1.92 making reaching the Barita’s earnings forecast challenging.
When the quarterly reports start coming in with adjusted earnings, it could be a huge disappointment and wake up call for some investors. It just does not seem smart for investors to be buying stocks that are valued well ahead of the market and expect to beat the market, unless there are huge increased profits down the road.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Combined, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Main Event jumps TOP 10 stocks

February 11, 2017 by

Main Event Entertainment, Jamaica’s recent initial public stock offering, listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange junior market this past week. The stock traded just 100 units on Wednesday, the opening day for a 30 percent rise from the IPO price of $2.
On Thursday a small amount traded at $3.70 and on Friday the stock shot to $4.70 with 15,722,362 units trading. The price has so far risen by 138 percent and seems to be heading higher.
The one week performance, pushed Main Event out of the IC Insider’s 2017 TOP 10 stocks, for the junior market. Lasco Financial Services entered the listing at ninth spot with potential to gain over 100 percent in the next twelve months based on projected 2018 fiscal year earnings and a market PE of 20.
Access Financial reported an 87 percent improvement in results for the December quarter, with profit of $142 million and $494 million for the nine months versus $296 million in 2015, at Caribbean Flavours, profit rose 31 percent in the December quarter to $23 million and to $43 million for the six months versus $37 million in 2015. ISP Finance reported increased profit for 2016 over 2015 with $39 million generated versus $31 million in 2015, the unaudited report showed healthy gains in the loan portfolio and a reduction in loan losses. Lasco Financial reported a 51 percent increase in profits for the December quarter of $75 million before tax, compared to 2015. Profit before taxation for the nine months’ period rose 21 percent to $199 million, but Lasco Manufacturing suffered a profit set back with lower profits of $113 million in the third quarter compared with $233 million in the December 2015 quarter. Increased profit after tax in the first 6 months, kept the year to date decline, to a moderate level, with profit of $700 million versus $729 million in 2015. The company will still be bringing new products to market in the current quarter that should have a positive impact on its operations during the 2018 fiscal year.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Feature Stories

140% jump in past week for JSE stock

February 11, 2017 by

Major moves in the past week in the main market indices of the Jamaica Stock Exchange saw the market indices climbing sharply on three days, with more than 8,000 points on Thursday, more than 5,000 points move on Tuesday and one with over 2,300 points on Monday.
By the close on Friday, the market rose more than 7 percent in the week.
Jamaica Stock Exchange jumped sharply during the week by 140 percent, to $13.50 and joined Cargo Handlers, Kingston Wharves and Jamaica Producers with PE in excess of 30 times 2017 projected earnings. During the past week of rapid gains in some stocks, Radio Jamaica, Barita Investments, JMMB Group, Berger Paints and Scotia Investments all recorded gains during the week, with each hitting new 52 weeks’ highs.
The week closed with the full slate of stocks remaining in the IS Insider’s TOP 10. During the week Pulse Investments released quarterly results to December, with slightly lower profit for the quarter than in 2015 but with improved six months numbers over 2015.
The target PE used in the projecting prices is based on the market’s PE for 2016 earnings, for 12 stocks in the junior market and 11 in the main market that are selling around this level, with some well over.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Feature Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,