Four new ICTOP10 listings

The Junior Market rose modestly during the past week while the Main Market slipped marginally to close out the week, resulting in ICTOP10 stocks delivering mixed results with the Junior Market recording some solid price increases and just three declines while the ICTOP10 Main Market stocks had just one price decline with three stocks recording notable price increases.
Market activity resulted in three new additions to the Junior Market ICTOP10 and one in the Main Market. Returning to the Junior Market TOP10 are Consolidated Bakeries, Dolphin Cove and Lasco Distributors replacing Image Plus, Lasco Financial Services and Paramount Trading with the latter reporting lower profits and revenues in the first quarter ended August and Image Plus reporting sharply lower second quarter and half year results that pushed projected earnings for the year to 27 cents per share. In the Main Market, Caribbean Producers dropped out of the ICTOP10 and is replaced by Caribbean Cement.
The Main Market closed the week with Key Insurance jumping 16 percent to $2.68, Scotia Group rising 5 percent to $33.60 and Caribbean Producers popping 4 percent to close at $10.67.
The Junior Market produced gains of 17 percent for Paramount Trading which closed up $1.76 and 16 percent of four Caribbean Cream at $4.65 followed by Lasco Financial Services up 7 percent to $2.06, declining was Elite Diagnostic down 15 percent to $1.57 and five percent for Caribbean Assurance Brokers to close at $3.03.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 stands at 5.1, well below the market average of 12.2. The Main Market TOP10 is projected to gain an average of 328 percent, by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
A total of 14 of the most highly valued stocks representing 29 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 108, with an average of 30 and 20 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 22 for the top half and 16 excluding the stocks with overweight valuations.
The PE of the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 5.7, half of the market at 10.8. There are 11 stocks or 23 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 25, averaging 19 that are well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 15, possibly the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks currently, with the market projected to rise by 261 percent by May 2024.
The divergence between the average PE of the Main and Junior Markets and the overall market valuation are important indicators of the level of likely gains for ICTOP10 stocks.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market but not always. 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 are likely to deliver the best returns up to the end of May 2024 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 and result 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.