The two primary markets of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed slightly down for a second week, with the All Jamaica Composite declining 2,670 points or 0.74 percent, the JSE Main Index falling 1,515 points with a 0.48 percent decline and the Junior Market Index slipping 27 points or 0.74 percent with investors pushing a few stocks to record highs, including Transjamaican Highway hitting a new record high during the week.
Against the above developments, two stocks gained and 7 fell in the Junior Market TOP10, in the Main Market TOP10 5 stocks gained and 3 declined.
As was the case in the previous week, Guardian Holdings continues to hold on to the number one position by a wide margin, in all markets and the All JSE TOP10 compiled from all ordinary stocks listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, with JMMB Group in the number 2 spot for the Main Market. This list is more exact than the Junior and Main Market TOP10, a total of 20 stocks. Elite Diagnostics now holds the number one spot in the Junior Market followed by Caribbean Cream which has been in the news recently, with plans for increased efficiency following the company’s recent annual general meeting.
In the Junior Market ICTOP10, no stock gained more than 2 percent. but Elite Diagnostic shed 12 percent to close at $1.85, Express Catering fell 10 percent to $3.14 and Jamaican Teas dipped 4 percent to $2.08.
In market activity, Main Market ICTOP10, Berger Paints jumped 22 percent to $8.55, Margaritaville rallied 17 percent to $14.79 and Key Insurance gained 8 percent to end at $2.44. Declining stocks include Pulse Investments down 9 percent to $1.30 and JMMB Group slipping 6 percent to $21.60.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 5.1, well below the market average of 14.1 and the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 7.4, more than half of the market, with an average of 12.8.
The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 304 percent by May 2025, based on 2024 forecasted earnings and provide better values than the Junior Market with the potential to achieve 190 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 have PEs between 15 to 103, with an average of 27 and 20 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 22 for the top half of the market with the highest values and 17 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
In the Junior Market IC TOP10 are 11 stocks, 23 percent of the market, with PEs ranging from 15 to 29 with an average of 21 and a PE of 17 for half of the market with the highest PEs.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market, but this is not always the case. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on the 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, resulting 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.