JSE main market volume dives – Friday

May 18, 2018 by

Supreme Ventures dropped $2.75 to $12.25 on Friday.

Volume traded on the Jamaica Stock Exchange dropped back to low levels on Friday, ending with 1,921,527 units valued at $46,900,896 compared to 7,688,997 units valued at $220,155,817 changing hands on the main market on Thursday.
The low volume was built from Carreras with 417,958 units amounting to 21.75 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Scotia Group with 315,705 units accounting for 16.43 percent of volume traded and Berger Paints with 262,929 units with 13.68 percent of the volume traded.
At the end of market activities, 23 securities traded, compared to 28 on Thursday, in the main and US dollar markets as 9 stocks rose, 11 declined and 3 traded firm. At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index falling by 1,070.06 points to 327,520.83 and the JSE Index declined by 974.94 points to 298,408.49.
Stocks with major price changes are, Caribbean Cement rose $2 to $37.50, PanJam Investment climbing $1 to $7. Grace Kennedy declined $1.15 to $48.50, JMMB Group fell $1.20 to $26.80, Kingston Wharves dropped $1.60 to $46.80, Sagicor Real Estate Fund fell $1.10 to $13.99, Scotia Group lost $1.90 to $49.10 and Supreme Ventures dropped $2.75 to $12.25.
Trading resulted in an average of 87,342 units valued at an average of $2,131,859 for each security traded. In contrast to 137,284 units for an average of $1,083,320 on Thursday. The average for the month to date is 279,765 shares with a value of $13,009,983, previously 292,000 shares with a value of $13,757,854. In contrast, April closed with an average of 708,206 shares with a value of $6,395,518 for each security traded.
In the US dollar market, Proven Investments traded 15,000 shares at 22 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index advanced by 0.98 points to close at 174.28.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 5 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 closing with lower offers.
For more details of market activities see – 1,000 points fall for JSE main market – Friday.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

JSE main market attempts recovery – Thursday

May 17, 2018 by

Trading on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended on Thursday with JSE All Jamaican Composite Index jumped 1,822.14 points to 328,590.89 and the JSE Index climbed 1,660.18 points to 299,383.43.
Volume traded on the Jamaica Stock Exchange fell sharply from Wednesday’s level, ending with 3,157,522 units valued at $24,916,371 compared to 7,688,997 units valued at $220,155,817 changing hands on the main market on Wednesday.
The lower volume was built from Ciboney Group with 1,660,000 units accounting for 52.57 percent, followed by JMMB Group 7.25% preference share with 345,000 units or 10.93 percent of the day’s volume.
At the end of market activities, 24 securities traded, compared to 23 on Wednesday, in the main and US dollar markets. Only 13 stocks rose, 6 declined and 5 traded firm.
Stocks with major price changes are, Caribbean Cement losing $2 to $35.50, Grace Kennedy rising $1.45 to $49.65, JMMB Group rising $1.50 to $28, Kingston Wharves climbed $1.90 to $48.40, Sagicor Real Estate Fund gained $1 to end at $15 and Supreme Ventures climbed $2.30 to an all-time high of $15.
Trading resulted in an average of 137,284 units valued at an average of $1,083,320 for each security traded. In contrast to 366,143 units for an average of $10,483,610 on Thursday. The average for the month to date is 292,000 shares with a value of $13,757,854, previously 303,017 shares with a value of $14,739,384. In contrast, April closed with an average of 708,206 shares with a value of $6,395,518 for each security traded.
In the US dollar market, Productivity Business ended trading at 59 US cents with 5,000 shares. The JSE USD Equities Index advanced by 0.13 points to close at 173.30.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 8 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 closing with lower offers.
For more details of market activities see – JSE main market volume down prices up – Thursday.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sagicor Group & Wisynco back in TOP 10

May 13, 2018 by

Salada Foods reported earnings of 78 cents for the half year and is now no 2 on the TOP 10.

Sagicor Group fell out of TOP 10 of main market stocks in the previous week, is back, with the price falling from $42 to $38 and Salada Foods surges to the number 2 spot with half year results.
Wisynco joins the TOP 10 after a very long absence as the price dipped to $10 on Friday. The two new listings replaced Grace Kennedy and PanJam Investment, with the latter jumping to a new 52 weeks’ high of $46.01. In the Junior Market there was only one change with Stationery and Office Supplies (SOS) climbing to a new record high of $7.50 after positing good first quarter results with earnings per share up 70 percent to 17 cents. Lasco Financial moved back into the TOP 10, replacing SOS that still have much more room to grow this year as profits should hit close to $1 per share for the year and investors could well see a stock split as a result of the rising profit and stock price.
Other changes of note, were the fall in price of Berger Paints to $20 from $22 at the end of the previous week, Caribbean Cement moved to $40.05 from $38.60 and Barita Investments rose to $11.50 from $10.49 as selling by investors dried up. Second quarter results may not be good enough to push the stock much higher but when the growth in other comprehensive income is factored in, the stocks is still extremely cheap.
On Thursday, a number of company results were released with some having the potential to help prices to move forward. On Friday, more results were released with Salada Foods and tTech posting good gains in profit. Salada earnings suggest full year results of $1.80 per share and pushed the stock to the number 2 choice in the TOP 10. Others will come on Monday and Tuesday, investors should be alert to news that they may provide that could impact prices in the short term.
The main market pulled back from record highs reached at the close of the previous week but is now sitting just below that level on Friday, as that market continues to grind its way slowly upwards ahead of the big breakout that is coming.
At the close of Friday, the average PE ratio for Junior Market Top stocks ended at 6.2 compared to an average PE for the overall main market of 10 based on 2018 estimated earnings. The main market PE is 7.2 for the top stocks, compared to a market average of 13.
IC Insider.com’s TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 38 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 44 percent to the market.
Stocks to Watch this week include, Stationery and Office Supplies that should go higher based on the first quarter results that were released on Thursday. It should be interesting to see how investors treat with the lack of supply of Barita and Berger shares while Palace that jumped $300 on Friday could be pushed when the company’s third quarter results are released this coming week that should see very positive impact of the Black Panther movies now still being shown, although less frequently than previously, with Avengers seems to have taken over from it. NCB Financial pulled back to $95 during the past week and should be another interesting stock to watch as it is undervalued. Grace Kennedy posted decent first quarter results that should encourage more buying of the stock and PanJam Investment is very scarce. Increasing interest in Radio Jamaica pushed the price to $1.20 and is another that could move higher during the week.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Stock Market, Stocks to watch Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Q2 profit doubles at Barita

May 10, 2018 by

Barita closed trading on Wednesday with the bid at $12.07.

Profit at Barita Investments more than doubled after tax in the March quarter, to $88 million from $43 million in 2017 with lower taxes booked in the 2018 quarter. 

Profit declined for the six months to March, profit dipped 8.5 percent to $49 million from $58 million in 2017, as the company recovered from a loss in the first quarter due mainly to foreign exchange losses.
Earnings per share came out at 20 cents for the quarter and 11 cents for the six months period.
Most major revenue streams rose nicely for the quarter, with net interest income climbing to $109 million from $69 million in 2017, fees and commission income was up more modestly from $117 in 20917 to $123 million and foreign exchange gains were nearly $29 million from $16 million in the 2017 quarter. Gains realized on trading investments fell to $69 million in the quarter from $103 million in 2017. Overall net income generated was just up to $329 million in the quarter versus $316 million in 2017. For the six months, net income generated was $490 million falling below $528 million in 2017.
Improvement in profit flowed from increased margin on money market instruments, reduced staff cost and the none recurrence of impairment losses which was $20 million in 2017 quarter and $40 in the 2017. Total cost fell from $226 million in the 2017 quarter to $204 million in the March quarter and to $370 for the half year to march this year versus $394 million last year.
In spite booking strong investments gains Barita still had $773 million of unrealized gains in reserves and is up from$605 million at the end of September last year.
At the end of March, shareholders’ equity stood at $2.9 billion with total assets of just over $16 billion and a net asset value of $6.40.
The stock last traded at $10.50 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and closed on Wednesday with the bid at $12.07.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: , , , ,

Sagicor Group out of TOP 10 stocks

May 7, 2018 by

Sagicor Group profit climbed just 7% for 2017.

Sagicor Group out of TOP 10 stocks this past week as the price jumped to $42 and is replaced by Salada Foods and are the only two major change to the TOP 10 listings this week.
Other changes of note were the rise in price of Berger Paints to $22 from $19 at the end of the previous week, Caribbean Cement move to $38.60 from $36.50 and Barita Investments moving to $10.49, more importantly, selling by investors dried up towards the end of the week. Most importantly, the main market continues to hit new record highs during the week and ending the week at a record high level with signs of more gains during the coming week as more company results are released this week and the effect of falling interest rates and a stable Jamaican dollar playing big roles in increasing interest in the market.
At the close of Friday, the average PE ratio for Junior Market Top stocks ended at 6 compared to an average PE for the overall main market of 10 based on 2018 estimated earnings. The main market PE is 7.3 for the top stocks, compared to a market average of 13.
IC Insider.com’s TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 40 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 44 percent to the market.
The Stocks to Watch this week are Stationery and Office Supplies that should release first quarter results early this week with profits that could double over the 2017 first quarter. It should be interesting to see how investors treat with the lack of supplies for Barita and Berger while Palace could jump in price with continued success of movies now being shown. NCB Financial could be another interesting stock to watch.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Stock Market, Stocks to watch Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Grace & FosRich in TOP 10 stocks

April 29, 2018 by

Grace Kennedy is in TOP 10

Out go Palace Amusement and Lasco Financial, in comes Grace Kennedy and FosRich Group into the TOP 10 listings this week.
Lasco Financial climbed to $5.65 at the end of last week while the bid on Palace climbed to $1,000 thus leaving room for Grace Kennedy and FosRich that fell to $2.35, to enter, in a week that saw the main market trading in record territory and the Junior Market recording gains in the index for the week.
The next two weeks should set the tone for the market in the medium term as most companies will be releasing results for the March quarter. Based on early releases, only a handful of results have positive effect on prices. The latest results from Supreme Ventures with a 49 percent rise in the first quarter profit seems set to push the price higher.
Investors responded positively to Berger Paints prospects, with active supply below $20 per share having declined sharply, leaving the price to close the week at $19.
Buying continued for Barita Investments with the price hitting $10 during the week. JMMB Group pulled back by the end of the week to $26.98 from $28.32, as the block out period for insiders to trade in the stock is in place until full year results are out. Resistance for the stock price is just over $31 an area investors should be on the lookout for, in the short run. Caribbean Cement first quarter profit was slightly down on last year, but the company is set to do better in the June quarter with the buyout of the expensive lease of equipment and prospects of lower operating cost, with the major repairs behind them and increasing demand for cement likely, ahead of the 6 percent growth in the first quarter. The stock may remain around current price levels for a while. Iron Rock reported vastly improved results for first quarter and appears to be on the way to their first profit since listing. The stock climbed to $3.50, following release of the results.
At the close of Friday, the average PE ratio for Junior Market Top stocks ended at 6.1 compared to an average PE for the overall main market of 10 based on 2018 estimated earnings. The main market PE is 7.2 for the top stocks, compared to a market average of 13.
IC Insider.com’s TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 39 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 43 percent to the market.

Filed Under: Buy Rated Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Standoff for TOP 10 stocks

April 16, 2018 by

Berger Paints annual report had some good news for investors to digest.

The up and down nature of the markets this past week left most stocks fairly stable resulting in no new entrant to the TOP 10 list of stocks on the Jamaican Stock Exchange.
The past week got greeted by a series of company results that were not inspiring with most reporting lower profits for the first quarter this year. On a positive note, most of the results were affected by increased cost resulting from expansion ahead of full flow of new income from the expanded facilities.
Companies affected include recently listed Elite Diagnostic, Paramount Trading and Knutsford Express. Berger Paints released their annual report that was filled with some good talk of going after market share, new product lines to be added and upgrading of equipment to increase efficiency.
“The outlook for 2018 and beyond is extremely positive. The Berger brand remains strong and continues to dominate the local market with strong brand equity and a reputation for quality. With GDP projected to grow by at least 1.5% in 2018, construction activity and the demand for coatings is expected to remain relatively strong for the next two to three years. Plans are already being implemented to expand the company’s local distribution and product range as well as to improve our level of customer service and responsiveness. In 2018, there will also be greater emphasis on building out exports by targeting new markets in Central America and the Greater CARICOM region,” the Managing Director reported.
For Palace Amusement with the bid at $781 at the close of the week down to $750 the movie Black Panther continues to pull in the crowd after two months of showing and still has two showings per day in all three cinemas, the same as shows that opened during the past week.
Barita Investments rose to close the week at $9.50 as investors sucked out most of the supply under $10. Key Insurance fell to $3 as the company reported that two directors sold shares during the week, while JMMB Group gained more ground, as the block out period for insiders to trade in the stock, comes to a close, until after mid May.
At the close of Friday, the average PE ratio for Junior Market Top stocks ended at 6.2 compared to an average PE for the overall main market is 10 based on 2018 estimated earnings. The main market PE remains at 6.5 for the top stocks, compared to a market average of 12.3.
IC Insider.com’s TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 39 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 47 percent to the market.

Filed Under: Buy Rated Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kremi in tTech out of TOP 10 stocks

April 8, 2018 by

 

Caribbean Cream outlet in Kingston.

Caribbean Cream jumped into the Junior Market TOP 10 replacing tTech that reentered last week but enjoyed a bounce in price to be edged out for this week.
There was no new entrant to the main market list, even as that market recorded three days of record close during the shortened week. Market activity in the main market is pointing to a big break out for stock prices while the Junior Market is flexing to rise having hit a one year low in early December last year.
The most notable change was the $250 fall in the price of Palace Amusement down to $750 from $1,000 last week even as the big money making movie Black Panther continues to draw large crowds after nearly two months of showing and seems set to ensure that revenues and profit for the year to June is the highest by far in the company’s history.
Berger Paints made gains and Barita Investments slipped in price and swapped the top two positions by the end of the week. In the Junior Market, Jamaican Teas moved up to $5.30 from $4.75 at the end of the prior week but still sits in at number 4 on the list.
Caribbean Cream recorded strong revenues gain in the year to February but enjoyed lower profit up to November as input cost rose negated the revenues rise. A major part of the input cost well sharply in price since peaking in 2017 and should help restore gross profit margin going forward. This is one to be watched going forward along with Radio Jamaica where reports are that advertising picked up nicely for the March quarter, from a slow December quarter and may be pointing to improvement for 2018 onwards, with increasing economic activity taking place, leading to increased sales and profits for many of the advertisers.
At the close of Friday, the average PE ratio for Junior Market Top stocks ended at 6.2 compared to an average PE for the overall main market is 10 based on 2018 estimated earnings. The main market PE is 6.5 for the top stocks compared to a market average of 12.
IC Insider.com’s TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 38 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 47 percent to the market.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Stock Market, Stocks to watch Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Wisynco corners 79% of JSE main market – Monday

March 26, 2018 by

Wisynco, producers of Wata..

Wisynco Group traded 15,104,462 units and accounted for 79.18 percent of the day’s volume of 19,076,584 units valued at $210,708,799, in main market activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday.
The main market closed with 27 securities changing hands and ended with 8 securities rising, 8 falling and 11 trading firm. At the end, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index climbed 1,544.61 points to 324,039.68 and the JSE Index rose 1,407.32 points to 295,236.78.
In main market activity, Barita Investments closed 28 cents higher at $9.45, with 2,593 shares, Berger Paints ended at $17.95, with 1,100 stock units, Cable & Wireless concluded trading with a loss of 1 cent at $1.15, with 84,826 units, Carreras finished at $10.90, with 186,565 shares, Caribbean Cement settled with a loss of $1 to close at $41, with 13,331 shares. Ciboney Group ended trading at 12 cents, with 1,013,952 shares, Grace Kennedy traded with a loss of $1.50 at $48, with 11,033 stock units, Jamaica Broilers finished trading with a loss of 75 cents at $19.25, with 14,298 units, Jamaica Producers closed at $15.15, with 13,306 shares. Jamaica Stock Exchange ended 2 cents higher at $7, with 60,400 shares, JMMB Group fell $1.30 cents to $24.70, with 154,141 shares, Kingston Wharves settled at $40, with 56,687 units, Mayberry Investments ended trading with a loss of 3 cents at $6.25, with 4,338 shares. NCB Financial Group traded 50 cents higher at $99.85, with 28,618 shares, 1834 Investments finished trading at $1.15, with 32,418 shares, PanJam Investment ended at $41.65, with 18,597 units, Pulse Investments finished 10 cents higher at $1.75, with 221,312 shares. Radio Jamaica settled 4 cents higher at $1.10, with 48,935 shares, Sagicor Group finished trading $36.05 higher at $36.05, with 633,364 shares changing hands, Sagicor Real Estate Fund settled with a loss of 45 cents at $15.05, with 16,661 shares. Scotia Group traded with a loss of 42 cents at $53.05, with 175,666 units, Seprod finished trading at $33.50, with 4,692 shares, Supreme Ventures ended 49 cents higher at $11.99, with 500,720 shares. Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading 10 cents higher at $4.50, with 659,569 stock units and Wisynco Group finished at $10.50, with 15,104,462 units. In the main market preference segment, JMMB Group 7.5% gained 8 cents and closed at $1.10, with 5,000 shares and Proven Investments settled at $5.15, with 10,000 units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “Record run falters for JSE majors – Monday.”

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

More stocks prices fall than rise – Tuesday

March 20, 2018 by

NCB traded 2 million shares on Tuesday.

The prices of more stocks fell on Tuesday than rising, but the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended with moderate gains in the two major indices.
At the close, the all Jamaican Composite Index rose 503.78 points to 321,663.25 and the JSE Index climbed 459 points to 293,071.59.
Trading closed with 28 securities changing hands, down from 26 on Monday, leading to 10 advancing, 13 declining and 5 trading firm, in the main and US dollar markets. Securities closing with sizable price changes include, Berger Paints rising $1.50 to $17.95, Caribbean Cement that settled $1.36 higher at $33.56, Grace Kennedy gaining $1 to end at $51, NCB Financial Group rising $1 to $99, Salada Foods declining $1.33 to $10.72 and Scotia Group with a fall of $2 to $52.
Main market activity ended with 5,286,653 units valued at $240,796,595 compared to 6,657,188 units valued at $155,508,071 changing hands on Monday. NCB Financial Group closed with 2,044,781 units representing 38.68 percent of traded shares followed by Victoria Mutual Investments with 907,199 units with 17.16 percent of shares traded and Radio Jamaica with 569,681 units for 10.78 percent of the day’s volume trading.
Trading results in an average of 195,802 shares valued at $8,918,392 for each security traded, compared to 277,383 shares valued at $6,479,503 on Monday. For the month to date an average of 576,343 units with an average value at 10,044,835 traded, compared to 604,726 units with an average value at 10,135,623 traded on the previous trading day. In contrast, February closed with average of only 213,336 units valued at $3,392,475 for each security traded.
Trading in the US dollar market on Tuesday ended with Margaritaville concluded trading at 20 US cents with 1,803 units, and the market index rising 0.03 points to close at 169.16.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 7 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 with a lower offer.
For more details of market activities see – JSE main market rise again – Tuesday.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,