Junior Market stocks gained 4 percent for the week and 1.4 percent for January while the Main Market rose by half a percent for the week and finished down at the close of the first month of the year. The changes resulted in 5 stocks producing solid gains and three with notable losses for Junior Market ICTOP10 while the Main Market TOP10 had two gains as five stocks fell.
In the Junior Market ICTOP10, Lumber Depot jumped 15 percent to close at $2.94, AMG Packaging rose 10 percent to $3.26 followed by Access Financial and Limners and Bards with an increase of 9 percent to close at $18.55 and $1.31 respectively while Jamaican Teas gained 7 percent to finish trading at $2.22. Caribbean Assurance Brokers declined by 10 percent to $2.49, Express Catering lost 9 percent to close at $3.05 and Caribbean Flavours fell 5 percent in ending at $1.30.
The JSE TOP10, compiled from all listed ordinary stocks on the JSE, had two changes with JMMB Group and AMG Packaging falling out and replaced by Jamaica Broilers and Lasco Distributors.
Lumber Depot dropped out of the Junior Market ICTOP10 following the B gain during the week and is replaced by Cargo Handlers. Jamaica Broilers returns to the Main Market ICTOP10 with JMMB Group falling out.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 sits at just 5.5, well below the market average of 14.5 and the Junior Market TOP10 stands at 8.4, more than half of the market, with an average of 13.7.
Based on the earnings projected estimates for 2024, the Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 278 percent by May 2025, providing better values than the Junior Market, projected to achieve a 151 percent increase for the same time.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, there are 16 stocks with the highest values representing 30 percent of the Main Market, with PEs between 15 to 105, with an average of 30 and 23 excluding the highest PE ratios and a PE of 24 for the top half of the market with the highest values and 19 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
In the Junior Market IC TOP10 are 15 stocks, 31 percent of the market, with PEs ranging from 15 to 33 with an average of 20 and a PE of 18 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 so. 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 receipt of new information.
Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.