Honey Bun jumps into ICTOP 10

Honey Bun jumped into the Junior Market IC TOP10 this week in the sixth place, while Access Financial dropped out in a week when both of the Main and Junior markets declined in value compared to the 2023 year end close. Honey Bun rose to the ICTOP 10 following the release of the 2023 full year results, showing profit after tax rising 14 percent to $232 million, with indications that the 2024 performance should see profits hitting 80 cents per share with a PE of 8 currently.
Honey Bun sales income rose 16 percent for the fiscal year but only 8 percent in the final quarter.
t the close of the market on Friday, five Junior Market stocks gained between two and eight percent and three fell by 2 percent and 18 percent, while just two Main Market stocks rose at 2 and to four percent and seven fell by 7 percent or less.
The Main Market ICTOP10 ended with, 138 Student Living gaining 4 percent to $4.05. Declining stocks include JMMB Group down seven percent to $24.25, Pulse Investments with a six percent fall to $1.97 and General Accident down four percent to $4.66.
The Junior Market ended the week, with Lasco Manufacturing rising eight percent to $4.64, Lasco Distributors up seven percent to $4 and AMG Packaging climbing six percent to $3.20. Jamaican Teas dropped eighteen percent to $2.31, as investors seem to ignore a positive report on the group that was published in the Financial Gleaner on Friday.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 5.2, well below the market average of 13.4 and the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 7.3, just over half of the market, with an average of 13.4.
The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 292 percent by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings, providing better values than the Junior Market with the potential to gain 189 percent over the same time frame.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, 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 110, with an average of 32 and 21 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 25 for the top half and 18 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
In the Junior Market, there are 12 stocks, or 25 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 50, averaging 23, well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 18, possibly the lowest fair value for stocks.
Of great import is that the averages of both markets are now converging around a PE of 20 for close to a third of the market, as the year is coming to a close and with more information available on the full year’s earnings.
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 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.