Berger Paints dropped out of ICTOP10 this past week, with a gain of 2 percent, following the release of full year results that are lower than ICInsider.com’s forecast, but 2025 is poised to be better, as some costs fade away and revenue rises. The week reflects a market caught up with investors who have sold stocks to help fund two ordinary share offerings in a week when the main market had just one change and none for the Junior Market.
The week closed with prices of only 2 stocks rising and 7 declining in the Junior Market ICTOP10 while the Main Market ICTOP10 ended with one winner and 5 losers.
In the Junior Market ICTOP10, Dolphin Cove rebounded sharply from its recent fall, with a 21 percent climb during the week to $17. Express Catering dropped 11 percent to $2.80, Access Financial declined by 6 percent to $16.60 and Elite Diagnostic fell 4 percent to $1.51.
In the Main Market ICTOP10, QWI Investments fell 8 percent to 77 cents while 138 Student Living, Jamaica Broilers and NCB Financial fell by 5 percent to close at $3.80, $35.40 and $45.35 respectively.
The All JSE ICTOP10, compiled from all listed ordinary stocks on the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended the week with Berger Paints falling out and replaced by Caribbean Producers. 
There is no change to the Junior Market ICTOP10 while Berger Paints dropped out of the Main Market ICTOP10 and was replaced by GraceKennedy after a long absence, with the company reporting earnings for 2024 that rose 8 percent to $8.43. The company’s new CEO Frank James seems bullish on earnings for 2025, he indicated that a look at the 2024 segment accounts shows“ the food segment which is by far the largest and most profitable segment of our business is growing profits at 22 percent, banking and investments at 26 percent in the insurance at 8 percent as you pointed out remittances where we lost some ground and as you also point out there are some external factors however as indicated in the stockholders report we have made significant investments in digital which will pay off in this area as such while 2024 had some exceptions we are in good in growth mode,” he concluded.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 sits at just 5.7, well below the market average of 15.2 and the Junior Market TOP10 stands at 7.7, more than half of the market, with an average of 13.8.
Based on the earnings estimates for 2024, the Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 254 percent by May 2025, providing better values than the Junior Market, projected to achieve a 176 percent increase for the same period.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, there are 19 stocks with the highest values representing 37 percent of the Main Market, with PEs between 15 to 43, with an average of 21 and a PE of 20 for the top half of the market with the highest values.
In the Junior Market IC TOP10, 13 stocks or 27 percent of the market have PEs ranging from 15 to 31 with an average of 19 and a PE of 15 for half of the market with the highest PEs.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market, but this is not always the case as some weaker companies may be oversold and therefore end up in the list. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings, allowing investors to focus on the most undervalued stocks and helping to remove emotions in selecting stocks for investments that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks will likely deliver the best returns on or around May 2025 and are ranked in order of potential gains, computed using projected earnings for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate, resulting in weekly movements in and out of the lists. Revisions to earnings are ongoing, based on the receipt of new information.
Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.