Just 1 new addition to IC TOP 10

The bullishness continued on Jamaica Stock Exchange, driving the main market to more record highs and hitting more than 352,000 points on Friday, while the Junior Market traded at a 15 months’ high.
Half year earnings season is almost over with only Jamaica Broilers and Scotia Group left to report for the main market. Some results were excellent and most were okay, confirming what was already telegraphed to investors by earlier results. Regardless, with interest rates now under 2 percent for short term government and the central bank’s instruments, the bull market is clearly on. The chronic shortage of many of the stocks continue to put upward pressure on prices and moving the PE ratios higher as well.
Medical Disposables is the only new addition this week, to the TOP 10 coming at the expenses of FosRich Group as the price of the former, dropped to $5.10 from $6.40 at the end of the past week. General Accident has been at the top of the Junior Market list for a long time, enjoyed a bounce in the price to $3.80 by the end of the week, helped by half year results that showed profit rising from $8 million in 2017 to $95 million in the half year, with the quarter up from a loss of $9 million to a profit of $66 after tax. IC Insider.com also down graded earnings for the full year to 45 cents per share and the stock now sits at 6th spot in the list. The PE is just 8.4 and will go higher.
The PE ratio for Junior Market Top stocks averages 8.4 up from 7.9 last week, as the market continues to revalue the multiple higher. The latest valuation compares to an average PE for the overall market of 13, based on 2018 estimated earnings.The main market PE is now 8 for the top stocks, compared to a market average of 13.5, a good indicator of the level of undervaluation of these stocks. Work done by IC Insider.com suggests that the PE ratio is likely to end 2018 around 16 or 17 times earnings, as investors continue to gradually upgrade the multiple they are prepared to pay for stocks, which would lift prices sharply over the next several months from current levels. In addition, the latest Treasury bill offer saw rates dropping to 1.7 percent on the 91 days instrument and 1.88 percent on the 182 days instrument. These rates suggest more funds will be going into stocks as liquidity remains high.
The TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 35 percent to the average for the Junior Market Top stocks but it’s a third of what the average PE for the year is likely to be of 20 times earnings and main market stocks traded at a discount of 40 percent to the market.
TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns within a 12 months period. Stocks are selected based on projected earnings for each company’s current fiscal year. Based on an assumed PE for each, the likely gains are determined and then ranked, with the stocks with the highest potential gains ranked first followed by the rest, in descending order. Potential values will change as stock prices fluctuate and will result in movements of the selection in and out of the lists for most weeks. Earnings per share are revised on an ongoing basis based on new information received that can result in changes in and out of the list as well.