JSE AJ index hits 201,000 points

December 7, 2016 by

Bulls pushing Jamaica Stock Exchange.

Bulls pushing Jamaica Stock Exchange.

In early trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Wednesday with only a hand full of stocks trading, the all Jamaica Composite Index surged by more than 2,000 points at 9:40 to an all-time record high.
Sagicor Group hit a new high of $27 to help push the main market indices but Caribbean Cement also moved up resulting in the all Jamaica Composite Index jumped 2,178.48 points to 201,206.97 the Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index climbed 1,947.95 points to 183,976.92, the Jamaica Stock Exchange combined index garnered 1,771.29 points to close at 195,800.77, the junior market index slipped a bit.
At 10 o’clock, the all Jamaica Composite Index moved up further by 2,663.70 points to 201,692.19, for gains of 20.5 percent for 2016 to date.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Police in covert activity on motorists

November 25, 2016 by

New leg of Highway 2000

New leg of Highway 2000

The Police Traffic Division is taking covert action in apprehending motorists a report from National Road Safety Council (NRSC) stated. According to the recently released report over 1073 tickets were issued across three key parishes for various driving offences since the strategy was implemented over a month ago.
The operations have been successful particularly in Kingston and St. Andrew and St. Catherine, netting traffic tickets for driving offences including improper overtaking, exceeding the speed limit, and sometimes when motorists are stopped there are accompanying charges, such as defective vehicles or failure to wear seat belts. Since the start of the year, a total of 388,811 tickets have been issued on the island’s roads.
“Covert operations target certain areas where indiscipline and bad driving are rampant. We have done a number of operations and you never know where we might be next. Motorists found in breach will be dealt with,” warned Acting SSP Courtney Coubrie, Head of the Police Traffic Division.
The covert operations are done with police officers using unmarked vehicles, with a marked vehicle in close proximity to assist in apprehending offenders where necessary. “We frequent areas where there is a high level of indiscipline and lawlessness. In the past what usually happens is that the marked vehicle is easily seen from a distance as we are normally on long stretches of roads. If the officers tried to respond to those who commit a violation, on seeing the marked vehicles, motorists tend to divert in an attempt to evade the police,” explained DSP Errol Adams, Operations Officer, Police Traffic Division.
Another challenge is that on the highways, once a marked vehicle is in position to do speed checks, if a motorist realizes, there is the usual communication with the flashing of the headlights. However, in a covert operation, because the vehicle is unmarked, the police are able to detect numerous breaches before persons are aware of their presence.

Filed Under: Breaking News

Key Insurance in at top of TOP 5

November 20, 2016 by

Key Insurance listing ceremony.

Key Insurance listing ceremony.

Key Insurance climbed into the Top 5 of the IC Insider’ junior market list, at the number one spot. The rise came about as a result of a turnaround in the company’s September quarterly results, to overcome a drag the losses reported in the June had on the profit and the stock price.
IC Insider’s forecast is for earnings per share of approximately 35 cents for 2016, for Key, suggesting the potential for a big rise in the stock price. It is noted that the only offer for the stock is 34,688 at $3.50 with the highest bid at $2.15 to buy 40,700 shares.
Jetcon Corporation has fallen out of the Top five due to a combination of a rise in Jetcon’s price, following strong third quarter results and the ascension of Key Insurance to the list. Access Financial that has been in the TOP 5 for a long time also reported strong increased profit, with a hike of 95 percent for the September quarter and a 60 percent rise to $353 million for the six months to September.
Barita could be the star performer from the TOP 5 main market stocks as demand has come in for the stock, while supply has declined.IC Top 5 18-11-16 While the investment bank reported 54 cents per share for the full year to September, earnings from ongoing operations is more like 65 cents per share. Most importantly, the information that says the stock is an outstanding buy candidate, is the quality of the final quarter results, with strong growth in fee income and net interest income and less reliance on investment and foreign exchange gains. The final quarter results, suggest earnings should end up around $1.50 in 2017. JMMB Group came in with big increased earnings, one off gains may have played a big role in the big increase but even without that, the stock is undervalued with earnings from ongoing operations in the $2 range.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Buy Rated, Company News, Stocks to watch Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mayberry’s latest stock picks

November 19, 2016 by

MILMayberry Investments released their most recent recommendations for 6 Jamaica Stock Exchange listed stocks that they say are BUYS and their closing prices for 19th November.
The stocks selected are considered undervalued by Mayberry and are shown with earnings and PE ratios and comprise:• JMMB Group: $13.91 per share – P/E ratio 7.31 • Jetcon Corporation: $4.97 per share – P/E ratio 12.18 • Jamaican Teas: $4.10 per share – P/E ratio 10.73 • Sterling Investments: $15.50 per share – P/E ratio 8.34 • General Accident Insurance: $3.06 per share – P/E ratio 6.20 • Pulse Investments: $3.90 per share – P/E ratio 4.21
Mayberry indicates, that recent stock splits provide additional buying opportunities as stocks are more liquid and list the following as the candidates to benefit from stock splits.
Paramount Trading, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Cargo Handlers, EPPLEY Limited that will split the it’s $735 priced stock into 150 units, to take effect from the opening of trading on Thursday, December 1.
The Mayberry report also states that company developments that are positive, include the granting of commercial banking licence for the JMMB Group, Initial Public Offerings (IPO’s) to come within the next 3 months that will provide opportunities for new Investments as well as expansion plans at Honey Buns and National Commercial Bank’s record profits.

JMMB is one of 6 stocks identified by Mayberry as BUYS.

JMMB is one of 6 stocks identified by Mayberry as BUYS.

IC Insider’s view the top six selection a good choice, with some listed in IC Insider’s TOP 5 selection. the Mayberry’s selection seems to focus on historical or trailing earnings and could result in missed opportunities for investors. Jetcon’s PE is put at 12.18 which may be consider relatively high, suggesting that full year earnings would be 40 cents per share. Nine months earnings before tax is at that level, hence the PE seems overstated. Jamaican Teas earnings from continuing operations is 44 cents, with the stock priced at $4.10 the PE is around 9 and Pulse appears lowly valued but may require a lot of convincing of the market that that is the case, with a lot of its profit coming from real estate valuation gains and bartering arrangements.
Stock splits, create more liquidity in the stocks of companies that undertake them. Investors in the Jamaican market have driven most of the stocks that have split to full valuation and pushed the vast majority to be amongst the highest valued on the market.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Company News, Stocks to watch

JSE stock split effective today

November 4, 2016 by

Exchange placeJamaica Stock Exchange stock price will adjust at the commencement of trading this morning to take into effect the 5 for 1 stock split that was approved at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on October 25.
Record date for the stock split is November 8 but the ex-stock split date takes effect on November 4. At the close of trading on Thursday, the price the stock traded at was $27.90 and will result in an opening price of $5.58.
The stock split will result in an additional 561,000,000 ordinary shares will be listed, increasing the issued shares from 140,250,000 to 701,250,000.
JSE reported of profit of $32 million for the June quarter versus $15 million in 2015 and $158 million compared to $102 million for the six months to June 2015. The improvement in net profit flowed from a 52 percent rise in revenues to $188 million for the June 2016 quarter compared with $124 million in 2015 and $525 million for the half year to June for a rise of 37 percent versus $382 million in 2015. Earnings per share for the half year ended at $1.12 versus 73 cents in 2015. The JSE had a big month of trading in August with some special trades that took place thus swelling the volumes and value to $6.6 billion for July to August compared to $6.5 million for the June quarter.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Company News, General Business News Tagged With: , ,

Jamaican stocks jump 3,000 points to record

November 2, 2016 by

Sagicor Group jumped $1.50 and helped push JSE to a new record on Wednesday.

Sagicor Group jumped $1.50 and helped push JSE to a new record on Wednesday.

The main market of the Jamaica Stock exchange surged with the All Jamaica Composite Index adding 3,761.75 points to close at a new high of 188,475.06 bring the year to date gains to 12.6 percent. The JSE Market index, the Select Index and the Composite index all closed at new all-time highs as well, erasing the previous high on October 11.
Helping to move the index up were a $3.35 jump in Caribbean Cement, 80 cents gain in National Commercial Bank, a gain of $1.50 in Sagicor Group and $1.48 in Scotia Group.
The JSE Market Index jumped 3,363.67 points to finish at 169,572.00 and the JSE combined index blasted 3,330.80 points up, to end at 182,521.72 and gained 15.3 percent for the year to date.
At the close 8,751,466 units valued at $70,052,498 changed hands, compared to 8,941,559 units valued at $145,848,058 changing hands on Tuesday. The junior market accounted for 521,462 units trading valued at $7,467,867 of the stocks traded.
ICI JSE sum 2-11-16 The average trade for the day in the main market ended at 330,400 and month to date 312,605 units. On Tuesday, an average of 294,810 units traded. The average for the October was 220,811 units.
The market closed with 43 securities trading as the prices of 19 gained while 9 declined in the overall market, including 6 stocks rising and 4 falling, in the junior market.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 15 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with lower offers.
In market activity, Barita Investments lost 5 cents in trading 3,200 units to close at $4.40, Berger Paints traded 7,068 shares to end at $6 after rising 14 cents, Cable & Wireless lost 1 cent to close at 84 cents with 94,486 units trading. Caribbean Cement recovered $3.35 with 10,094 units changing hands to close at $30.85, Carreras traded 57,910 shares and jumped 40 cents to end at $66. Grace Kennedy lost 24 cents in trading 18,701 units at $41.75, Jamaica Producers gained 1 cent to end at $8.20 with 33,536 units trading,ICI -JSE fn Qts 2-11-16r Jamaica Stock Exchange rose 26 cents and ended at $27.50 while trading 41,833 shares. JMMB Group traded just 670 shares and rose 49 cents to end at $13.99, Kingston Wharves traded 6,740 shares to close at $17.50, Mayberry Investments fell 23 cents and ended with 34,383 shares trading at $3.65, National Commercial Bank rose 80 cents in trading 28,240 shares to close at $44.50. Radio Jamaica gained 5 cents and closed at $1.45 after trading 5,000 shares, Sagicor Group had 77,084 shares changing hands and jumped $1.50 to close at $23.50. Scotia Group jumped $1.48 in trading 438,863 shares to close at $32.98, Supreme Ventures traded 7,196,635 shares to end at $5, Proven Investments traded 88,291 units at 19.89 US cents down from 20 US cents and JMMB Group 7.50% preference shares rose 1 cent and traded 80,500 units at $1.09.

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

10 for 1 stock split for Paramount

October 31, 2016 by

Paramount Trading - 10 for 1 stock split.

Paramount Trading – 10 for 1 stock split.

Shareholders of Paramount Trading (PTL) will see the number of shares they currently own, jumping ten times come mid November. Shareholders approved a resolution put forth by directors to split the stock into ten units for each one currently issued at the Annual General Meeting held on October 29.
The stock split will take effect from the opening of trading on Monday, 14 November 2016. The stock closed trading on the junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday at $24, if the price remains at the current level, the price after the split would end at $2.40.
Paramount reported lower profit of $15 million, down from $43 million in 2015 in its latest quarterly report, ending August, from increased sales revenues of $253 million versus $238 million in 2015. The company indicates that cost increased in the quarter in connection with rebranding and celebration for the company’s 25th anniversary celebration.
Paramount is expanding into the processing of lubricants in a joint venture with Allegheny Petroleum with the plant expected to be operational early in 2017.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Company News, General Business News Tagged With: , , ,

JSE correcting directors’ error

September 22, 2016 by

Marlene Street Forrest - General Manager of the JSE

Marlene Street Forrest – General Manager of the JSE

Shareholders of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) will have a much longer wait to see the increase in the number of issued shares take effect than the date originally indicated on Wednesday in a release by the JSE.
In the original release of September 21, the company said the “Board of Directors decided at a meeting held on September 21, 2016, that each ordinary share of the Company be subdivided into five shares, resulting in the issued and fully paid capital of the Company increasing from 140,250,000 ordinary shares to 701,250,000 units of no par value, with the record date of October 5.”
In an article reporting on the decision to split the stock IC Insider, stated that the directors had no power to effect a stock split or increase the issued number of shares, as only the shareholders of the company has the power to do so, at a general meeting.
Late on Thursday, the JSE has issued a new statement and now advises “that an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company will be convened at a date to be decided and communicated following the Board of Directors’ decision at a meeting held on September 21, 2016 that each ordinary share of the company be subdivided into five shares. This advisory supersedes the announcement on September 21, 2016, in which the date 2016 was stated as the effective date for the stock split.”
The JSE regulates the companies listed on the stock exchange and broker members, for them to have made such a huge error, raises some major questions about their ability to regulate the market with the present cadre of regulators. Was the other regulator, the Financial Services Commission aware of the miststep.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , ,

The top 5 major & junior stocks

September 10, 2016 by

Barita is the top IC Insider's stock for growth over the next 12 months in the main market.

Barita is the top IC Insider’s stock for growth over the next 12 months in the main market.

Barita Investments looks like the stock to deliver the best returns in the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and Medical Disposables the stock to deliver the best returns in the medium term, in the junior market, according to data compiled by IC Insider.com.
IC Insider starts a new feature that highlights the top 5 stocks IC Insider’s selection for gains over the next several months based on the latest earnings forecast for the current fiscal year for each company.Investors should bear in mind that companies with September year ends will have a head start on companies with later ending period as the earlier year end will result in two sets of results between now and early 2017, thus giving investors an early look into what 2017 earnings will look like. The stocks in the list may surprise many but detailed look at their financials paint a far better picture than the stock prices may currently be telling. These stocks are selling well below the market average and even more so against their potential. Top 5 jm-mm -09-9-16The two stocks at the top of both listing may surprise many, but they should not. In the case of Medical Disposables revenues are growing close to 50 percent increase as new products are added, this growth is expected to boost gross profit at levels that should out pace increase in cost. Barita Investments is undergoing change and this has driven up fee income sharply which is replacing interest income formerly generated form the repo business. Barita has built up a large pool of unrealized gain on investments which can be released to profit for 2016.
The list is likely to be updated on a weekly basis which is likely to see stocks being added or removed on an ongoing basis.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Feature Stories, Stocks to watch Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

GOJ revenues grow faster than plan

August 2, 2016 by

Minister of Finance Audley Shaw

Minister of Finance Audley Shaw

Government of Jamaica revenues jumped nearly 6 percent over budget for the first two months of the fiscal year to May, and have seen an acceleration to June with a 7.9 percent increase, bringing the surplus to $8.4 billion with total inflows of $115 billion.
Revenues for the first quarter are running 11 percent or $12 billion ahead of the 2015 first quarter revenues. Recurrent spending dropped sharply by 8 percent against budget to hit $122.7 billion from a budget of $133.5 billion. The net result of the increase in revenues and reduced expenditure is a reduction in the fiscal deficit of just $7.5 billion, down by $26.8 billion projected.
Revenue in take for the two period is just over $9.2 billion or 15 percent ahead of the similar period for 2015. The primary surplus that was budgeted at $11 billion is now at $26.8 billion.
Tax revenues jumped 7.8 percent or $7.9 billion over forecast with the excess over budget flowing mainly from the following, corporation tax of $1.66 billion, PAYE $457 million, local GCT $2.4 billion, local stamp duty $680 million, education tax $300 million. GCT on imports accounted for $1.5 billion of the excess inflows while custom duty chipped in with $422 million but travel tax fell by $380 million.
Collector of Taxes office, Constant Spring, Kingston.

Collector of Taxes office, Constant Spring, Kingston.

Interest cost fell by $3.5 billion and normal housekeeping expenses is down by $4.7 billion while the wage bill moved up by $936 million. Capital spending was under by $3.7 billion with only $9.6 billion spent to June.
The increase in revenues is in keeping with a trend seen in the first 9 months of 2015 when revenues were growing well ahead of forecast.
The savings in the cost of debt servicing, plus the increased revenues above budget, translate to $11.8 billion or $47 billion over a full 12 months, should the trend continue, well in excess of the cost of the tax break agreed for personal income tax.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Economy, Feature Stories Tagged With: , , , ,