After a prolonged hiatus, the local general insurance Main Market listed, General Accident came to life during the week and hit a series of 52 weeks’ highs, to close at $6.50, with a rise of 8 percent. The company closed with few stocks on offer, a feature over the past few weeks. The price could get ignited in the coming weeks following better than expected audited results for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 that were revised upward from previously reported numbers.
General Accident spreading wings
General Accident originally reported $0.39 per share in earnings for 2023 based on in-house numbers and released audited accounts with earnings of $0.52 per share, with that for 2022 revised to $0.71 from $0.53 previously reported in the audited 2022.
The 2022 results now reflect the impact of IAS17 which requires insurance companies to report income and expenses dramatically differently from the previously used format.
Caribbean Assurance Brokers (CAB) a former 2023/24 ICTOP10 company, reported solid gains in profit for 2023 compared to 2022. Earnings were downgraded when the company reported disappointing third quarter numbers. The latest audited results show the company earning $0.47 per share in line with ICInsdier.com’s projection before the release of the third quarter results with a fall in revenues and profit. The compared reported earnings per share of $0.30 in the previous year. The change in the 2023 results along with increased projections for 2024 resulted in the company returning to the TOP10 with projected earnings of $0.65, with the potential to report gains in the stock price of 500 percent.
CAB replaces Dolphin Cove after closing at a 52 weeks’ high of $20.03. Coming into the Main Market ICTOP 10 is Lasco Manufacturing with projected earnings for the current fiscal year ending March 2025 of $0.85 per share replacing Pulse Investments.
The main market top 10 saw Margaritaville falling 15 percent to $14.25 during the week followed by JMMB Group down 7 percent to $23.60, while Palace Amusement rose 6 percent to $1.08. Junior Market ICTOP10 witnessed an 8 percent gain in Edufocal to close at $0.96, with losses in Iron Rock Insurance of 12 percent to close at $2.20 and a 6 percent contraction in the price of AMG Packaging to $3.40.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 5.3, well below the market average of 13.1 and the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 6.9 over half of the market, with an average of 12.7.
The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 284 percent by May 2025, based on 2024 forecasted earnings, providing better values than the Junior Market with the potential to gain just 207 percent over the same period.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, a total of 16 of the most highly valued stocks representing 31 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 103, with an average of 31 and 23 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 25 for the top half and 19 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
In the Junior Market IC TOP10 are 11 stocks, or 24 percent of the market, with PEs ranging from 15 to 45, averaging 21, well above the market’s average. The average PE in the top half of the market is 17, possibly the lowest fair value for stocks, currently.
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 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.
