Junior Market losses start June

June 1, 2020 by

Junior Market trading picked up on the first day of June with 35 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 13,798,652 units valued at $66,443,460 as five companies traded over 1.2 million shares accounting for more than 8 million units that traded.
In contrast to Monday’s high volume, just 4,090,696 units valued at $13,986,258 changed hands from 31 securities on Friday.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 10 securities advanced, 16 declined and nine remained unchanged, with the market Index slipping 15.28 points to close at 2,617.69. The average PE ratio of the market ended at 9.4 times 2020-21 earnings.
The average ended with 394,247 units at $1,898,385, in contrast to 131,958 units at an average of $451,170 on Friday. In contrast, May closed with an average of 150,274 units valued at $491,077 for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial climbed 5 cents to $23.05 with 1,242,213 shares trading, AMG Packaging ended at $1.61 after rising 6 cents and swapping 19,611 stock units, Cargo Handlers rose 16 cents in the exchange of 189,409 units to finish at $6.21. Caribbean Assurance Brokers slipped 1 cent and traded 54,706 stock units to close at $2.29, Caribbean Cream fell 9 cents to $2.75 with 272,900 shares changing hands, Caribbean Flavours jumped by $1.30 to close at $11.30 with the swapping of 2,152 stock units. Caribbean Producers gained 4 cents and exchanged 328,436 stocks to settle at $2.40, Derrimon Trading dropped 28 cents to end at $2.32 with 3,285,500 shares changing hands, Dolphin Cove closed trading of 1,100 stock units and gained 55 cents to end at $7.80. Elite Diagnostic lost 10 cents in the exchange of 7,191 units to finish at $3.40, Everything Fresh closed 2 cents higher at 75 cents with 21,000 shares traded, Express Catering settled at $4.40 after losing 5 cents and swapping 77,382 stock units. Fontana shed 14 cents in exchange of 150,506 shares to end at $5.80, General Accident traded 605,700 units and fell 20 cents to close at $6.05, Honey Bun climbed 28 cents exchanging 38,480 shares to finish at $5.40. Jamaican Teas exchanged 2,762,864 units and lost 7 cents to close at $4.63, Jetcon Corporation slipped 1 cent to 89 cents with 3,033 stock units changing hands, Knutsford Express closed with a loss of 54 cents at $8.41 in the swapping of 100 shares. Lasco Distributors climbed 15 cents and exchanged 983,238 stock units to end at $3.10, Lasco Financial fell 20 cents in the trading 523,159 units to finish at $2.50, Lasco Manufacturing ended market activity at $4.79 after exchanging 91,830 shares and falling 11 cents. Limners and Bards slid 1 cent to $1.83 with 59,463 units changing hands, Lumber Depot exchanged 2,136,838 stock units after losing 1 cent to close at $1.13, Medical Disposables dipped 1 cent to $6.89 with 23,450 shares traded. Paramount Trading ended 1 cent lower at $1.98 with 38,130 stock units changing hands and Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 9 cents to $6.30 with 35,953 crossing the exchange.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

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

Some BUY RATED stocks move higher

June 1, 2020 by

Junior Market stocks gained 3 percent in the shortened trading week. In comparison, the Main Market rose 2 percent, a continuation of a 4 percent rise in the Junior Market index in the prior week and the Main Market rising, with less than a percentage point rise.
This week’s focus: Caribbean Cream reported full-year profit to February, with profit falling 38.5 percent to $55 million, from $89 million reported in the prior year, with revenues rising 10 percent and 16.2 percent in the fourth quarter. Depreciation charge almost doubled from $63 million to $115 million was the main reason for the fall in profit. IC Insider.com spoke with Christopher Clarke, Managing director of the company.

The price for skim milk powder fell sharply in March.

Clarke stated that the jump in Q4 revenues is due primarily to new products introduced in April last year and increased sales arising from the opening of the May Pen depot that resulted in lower selling price to the public.
Kremi, as the company is also known, seems set enjoy reduced cost in May and August quarters as the price of a critical raw material, milk solids, used in the production of ice cream. The price was $2,924 per ton at the start of November last year and moved to just over $3,000 in January and declined to US$2,747 at the beginning of March, US$2,527 at the end of March and US$2,380 in April and remained there until May 20 before pulling up to $2,549 towards the end of May.
The rise in the market during the past week did little for IC TOP 10 stocks, resulting in no movement in or out of the TOP 10.
The week closed with the three top Junior Market stocks with the potential to gain between 387 to 705 percent by 2021 as Caribbean Producers, followed by KLE Group and Elite Diagnostic. In the Main Market, Radio Jamaica continues to lead, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group with projected gains of 165 to 212 percent.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results for the financial year ending after the second quarter of 2020 up to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 14 and the Junior Market at just 9.6, based on current 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.1 at just 53 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at 8.7 or 62 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 330 percent, for the Junior Market and 138 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication that there is greater potential to make greater gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver some of the best returns up to March 2021. Projected gains are based on earnings and PE ratios, projected for the current fiscal year. The ranking of stocks is in order of likely increases, with the highest-ranked, being the most attractive. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and will result in movements of the selection in and out of the lists for most weeks. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.

Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.

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Junior Market rises 9% in May

May 29, 2020 by

The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended Friday with modest gains in the market index to close out May, up 9 percent for the month but is still 21.4 percent adrift of the start of the year.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 13 securities advanced, 10 declined and eight remained unchanged. The Junior Market Index advanced by 4.54 points to close at 2,632.97 and the average PE ratio of the market ended at 9.5 times 2020-21 earnings.
Trading resulted in 31 securities changing hands and an exchange of 4,090,696 units at $13,986,259 compared to 4,251,896 units at $11,083,038 on Thursday.
The average trade for the day was 131,958 units for $451,170 in contrast to 146,617 units for an average of $382,174 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 150,274 units valued at $491,077 and previously 151,266 units valued at $93,240. In contrast, April closed with an average of 447,863 units valued at $1,028,076 for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial added 49 cents to end at $23 and traded 1,314 shares, AMG Packaging rose 5 cents and exchanged 500 shares at $1.55, Blue Power shed 15 cents in trading of 5,000 units at $3.60. Caribbean Cream closed 7 cents higher at $2.80, with 167,826 stock units trading, Caribbean Producers gained 1 cent to end at $2.36, trading 301,257 shares, Consolidated Bakeries ended market activity exchanging 145,650 shares to close at $1.64 after falling 6 cents. Elite Diagnostic closed trading of 32,398 units and gained 10 cents to end at $3.50, Everything Fresh ended with a loss of 1 cent at 73 cents with 133,453 stock units changing hands, Express Catering closed 44 cents higher at $4.45, with 91,687 stock units trading. Fontana closed trading of 259,958 units and gained 24 cents to end at $5.94, General Accident closed 25 cents higher at $6.25, with 118,999 stock units trading, Honey Bun declined 29 cents in trading of 15,596 units at $5.12. Indies Pharma closed with a loss of 4cents at $2.25 in swapping 66,561shares, ISP Finance ended lost $1 at $13 with 50 units changing hands, Jetcon Corporation closed trading of 30 units and gained 10 cents to end at 90 cents. Knutsford Express ended at $8.95, after rising $1.45 and trading 20,792 shares, Lasco Distributors closed with a loss of 20 cents at $2.95 after swapping 92,095 shares, Lasco Manufacturing closed trading of 1,186,538 shares and gained 40 cents to end at $4.90 (See note at the foot of this story). Limners and Bards rose 2 cents and exchanged 34,476 shares at $1.84. Mailpac Group closed with a loss of 2 cents at $1.86while trading 792,156 shares, Medical Disposables ended market activity, exchanging 4,114 stock units to settle at $6.90 after falling 10 cents and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 6 cents in trading 97,229 shares at $6.21.

NB The JSE trading sheet posted on the exchange website shows Lasco Manufacturing trading 1,186,538 shares, but the trading platform used for trading had just 221,121 shares traded, its unclear which is correct at the time of going to publishing. The trading sheet also has Eppley as trading in the Junior Market. The stock migrated to the main market for several months.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

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

Heavy trading in Lasco Manufacturing

May 27, 2020 by

Lasco Manufacturing dominated trading on the Junior Market on Wednesday, with for 47 percent of the units traded, with Jamaican Teas and Caribbean Cream rounding out the volume leaders on Wednesday as investors exchanged 12,985,144 shares at $58,964,309 from 33 securities.

Lasco Manufacturing dominated Junior Market trading with 6 million shares.

Wednesday’s trading contrast with Tuesday’s 4,137,638 units valued at $10,997,880 as 32 securities changed hands. The Junior Market index made further gains in its rebound, by adding19.32 points to close at 2,580.44 after it crossed over the 2,620 points level in the morning session. At the close of the market, prices of 14 securities advanced, 13 declined and six remained unchanged. The average PE ratio of the market ended at 9.3 times 2020-21 earnings.
Trading closed with an average of 393,489 units at $1,786,797 for each security traded in contrast to 129,301 units at $343,684 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 151,514 units valued at $499,172 and previously 135,857 valued at $415,855. In comparison, April closed with an average of 447,863 units valued at $1,028,076 for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows two stocks ended with bids higher than its last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial shed 25 cents in the exchange of 47,605 units to end at $23, Caribbean Assurance Brokers fell 15 cents to $2.30 with 5,834 shares changing hands, Caribbean Cream slipped 3 cents and traded 4,900 shares to close at $2.72. Caribbean Flavours ended 2 cents lower at $10 in an exchange of 1,276,041 stock units, Derrimon Trading declined by 22 cents and exchanged 211,000 shares to settle at $2.50, Dolphin Cove rose by 25 cents to $7.25 in swapping 1,545 units. Elite Diagnostic ended at $3.35 after falling 5 cents and trading 24,942 shares, Everything Fresh declined by 5 cents in the swapping of 116,123 stock units to close at 75 cents, Express Catering leaped 99 cents to $4.51 in the exchange of 29,558 shares. Fontana closed at $5.95 after climbing 35 cents and trading 507,948 stock units, Fosrich fell 15 cents in the trade of 11,795 units to close at $3.85, General Accident finished 28 cents lower at $6.22 with 207,819 units changing hands. iCreate added 3 cents after switching ownership of 41,481 shares to close at 55 cents, Indies Pharma closed 7 cents higher at $2.29 with an exchange of 101,552 units, Iron Rock Insurance rose 5 cents in the swapping of 64,572 shares to finish at $3.85. Jamaican Teas exchanged 1,939,702 units and gained 15 cents to settle at $4.50, Jetcon added 9 cents to close at 89 cents with 8,229 shares traded, Knutsford Express jumped 28 cents to $8.98 with 36,752 units changing hands. Lasco Distributors dropped 17 cents to $2.73, with 34,238 shares crossing the exchange, Lasco Financial slipped 5 cents and exchanged 198,900 shares to end at $2.65, Lasco Manufacturing traded a volume leading 6,099,978 units to close at $4.01 after inching 1 cent higher. Limners and Bards increased by 20 cents in swapping 410,000 units to end at $1.95, Lumber Depot finished 1 cent lower at $1.13 with 88,045 shares changing hands, MailPac Group slipped 3 cents in the exchange of 644,976 units to settle at $1.85. Main Event closed 42 cents higher at $4.50 with 31,379 shares traded, Medical Disposables shed 30 cents and swapped 1,740 shares to end at $7 and Stationery and Office Supplies rose 2 cents higher to $6.27 with 11,154 units crossing the exchange.
In the junior market preference segment, CAC 2000 9.5% preference share rose 20 cents to $1 after trading 4,392 units.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

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

BUY RATED General Accident jumps 28%

May 24, 2020 by

The big news for the past week was a 28 percent jump in the price of General Accident shares, following the release of the first-quarter results. The stock last traded at $6.01 after rising to a high of $6.63 on Friday and dropped out of the Junior Market TOP 10.

General Accident is now out of IC TOP 10 with Q1 profit more than doubling.

During the week, investors pushed the Junior Market up 4 percent but barely moved the Main Market higher, with less than a percentage point rise. This trend is worth watching as bullish indicators point to more gains for Junior Market stocks going forward, with the latter being highly undervalued compared to the Main Market.
Medical Disposables rose from $6.20 at the start of the week to close at $7 and was the other stock to fall out of Junior Market, IC TOP 10. Coming into the TOP 10 are CAC2000 and Elite Diagnostic. The latter faced challenges in critical machine operation, resulting in lost income. Management stated that they “continue to have challenges getting the CT and MRI machines” at the St Ann branch operational. The company will hopefully resolve the problems soon so that the 2021 fiscal year can deliver optimally. Revenue for the 3rd quarter rose to $111.4 million, from $107 million the previous year and resulted in a loss of $2 million compared to a profit of $16 million the past year. In the Main Market, Proven Investments dropped out of the TOP 10 and replaced by Victoria Mutual Investments.
The three top Junior Market stocks with the potential to gain between 344 to 634 percent by 2021 are Caribbean Producers, followed by KLE Group and Lasco Financial. In the Main Market, Radio Jamaica continues to lead, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group with projected gains of 165 to 190 percent.
This week’s focus: General Accident reported profit rising 146 percent to $76 million, with investment and other income moving from just $7 million to $74 million. The report showed no cost-benefit from savings that could result from lower motor vehicle accident claims, from sharply reduced motor vehicle usage, since March. Gross Premiums written declined to $2.54 billion from $2.69 billion, but Net Premiums written increased to $689 million from $543 million. Claims rose to $448 million from $294 million in 2019. The December quarter usually generates the highest profit, with claims accounted for conservatively in the earlier quarters adjusted to reflect expected amounts. The new subsidiary, Trinidad based MotorOne Insurance made a small loss of $2 million in the quarter, an indication that not much contribution to profit is expected from it for the current year, it could add to 2021 profit for the group. Total assets of the company grew substantially since March last year from $7.5 billion to $12 billion in the current year, with liabilities rising by $3.5 billion.
Over at Jamaican Teas a report in the newspaper stated, “President of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, JMEA, Richard Pandohie, says the coronavirus has opened trade doors that the sector had been knocking on for a long time.”
“On one level there have been great ­stories where those businesses have exploded in terms of exports. A lot of small manufacturers who are into natural juices, and natural products from cassava and natural spices have gone into markets that they have trying to do for years,” Pandohie told the Financial Gleaner.
One company that has seen an uptick in business, Jamaican Teas, had to lay on new work shifts and extra production days to keep up with export demand.
“Because of our product base, there’s been strong demand overseas to the extent that we’re doing over time, even on Saturdays, keeping up with the extra demand, said JamTeas CEO John Mahfood.
Although General Accident stock is now out of the Junior market IC TOP 10 listing, it boasts a PE ratio of just 7 versus the market average of 9.4 times this years’ earnings, an indication of potentially more upside for it.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results for the financial year ending after 2020 second quarter up to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 14 and the Junior Market at just 9.4, based on current 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.2 with or 55 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at 8.7 or 62 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 319 percent, for the Junior Market and 136 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication that there is potential to make greater gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver some of the best returns up to March 2021. Forecasted earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year are used in determining potential gains. The ranking of stocks is in order of likely increases, with the highest-ranked, being the most attractive. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and will result in movements of the selection in and out of the lists for most weeks. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.

Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.

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

Modest gains for JSE Junior Market

May 18, 2020 by

The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange remained steady on Monday and reflected in a modest move in the Market Index with a rise of just 8.27 points to close at 2,453.26.
At the close of market activities, 36 securities changed hands the prices of 12 securities advanced, 16 declined and eight remained unchanged with the average Pe ratio for the market ending at 8.8 times 2020-21 earnings.
At the close of trading investors exchanged 5,004,784 units valued at $10,748,542 compared to 5,341,821 units valued $11,683,519 from the trading of 31 securities on Friday.
Trading ended with an average of 139,022 units at $298,571 for each security traded, in contrast to 172,317 units at an average of $376,888 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 134,295 units valued at $349,923 and previously 133,758 units valued at $355,755. In contrast, April closed with an average of 447,863 units valued at $1,028,076 for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained $1 to end at $23.10 with 701 stock units trading, Blue Power ended trading with 27,924 shares, after rising 12 cents to close at $3.55, CAC 2000 closed trading of 1,000 units and gained 39 cents to end at $9.39. Caribbean Cream fell by 20 cents in trading of 150,000 units at $2, Caribbean Flavours shed 30 cents in exchanging 1,752 units at $9.70, Caribbean Producers lost 10 cents in trading 396,001 shares to close at $2.40. Consolidated Bakeries closed 19 cents higher at $1.70, trading 9,455 stock units, Derrimon Trading closed 19 cents higher at $2, with 3,021,923 stock units changing hands, Everything Fresh closed trading of 1,000 units with gains of 6 cents to end at 77 cents, Express Catering ended market activity exchanging 22,223 shares to close at $3.42 after falling by 8 cents. Fontana slipped 13 cents in trading 96,338 shares to close at $5.44. Fosrich lost 20 cents in trading of 19,426 units at $3.50, GWest Corporation closed trading of 1,000 units and gained 10 cents to end at 90 cents, Honey Bun lost 18 cents with 49,002 units crossing the market at $5.02. iCreate was down 4 cents in trading 391,995 shares to close at 51 cents, Iron Rock Insurance ended trading with 33,900 shares, after rising 75 cents to end at $3.45, ISP Finance lost 9 cents in trading of 1,000 units at $15.90. Jamaican Teas closed trading of 13,510 units and gained 18 cents to end at $3.99, Knutsford Express declined 8 cents in trading of 43,553 units at $7.70. Lasco Distributors dipped 15 cents in trading of 53,691 units at $3.10, Lasco Manufacturing exchanged 24,398 shares, after rising 3 cents to end at $4. Limners and Bards closed with 4,834 units changing hands and gained 5 cents to end at $1.90, Lumber Depot ended with a loss of 1 cent at $1.12 with an exchange of 87,105 stock units. Mailpac Group declined by 5 cents to settle at $1.83 in swapping 257,532 shares, Main Event lost 2 cents trading 9,587 shares to close at $4.08, Medical Disposables declined by 35 cents in exchanging 6,795 units at $5.85 and tTech closed at $4.75 after rising $1.04 with 1,783 shares crossing the exchange.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

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

SOS & Proven back in IC TOP 10

May 17, 2020 by

The Junior and Main Market, IC Insider.com TOP 10 closed the week with Medical Disposables and Stationery and Office Supplies returning the TOP 10, after a week’s absence as they replaced CAC2000 and Elite Diagnostic.
In the Main Market, Seprod rose to $49.99 from $44.10 on limited volume, following robust first-quarter results, to be replaced by Proven Investments.
During the past week, investors pushed the Main and Junior Markets slightly higher than at the close of the previous week, but the message from the markets is that they are both in a consolidation mode as investors absorb results released during the past week.
If history is anything to go by, the market could remain in a period of consolidated until early July when it usually starts a slow recovery.
The past week saw the release of quarterly results with positive gains, the companies reporting sharp increases include Grace Kennedy, tTech, Caribbean Flavours, 138 Student Living, Eppley, Kingston Wharves and Sterling Investments.
The three top Junior Market stocks with the potential to gain between 355 to 663 percent by 2021 are Caribbean Producers, followed by KLE Group and Caribbean Cream. In the Main Market, Radio Jamaica continues to lead, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group with projected gains of 165 to 213 percent.
This week’s focus: Caribbean Cream released full-year results, after trading closed on Friday, with profits falling 38 percent, from $89 million to $55 million, from a 10 percent rise in revenues to $1.7 billion. Depreciation more than doubled in the year, with an increase of $63 million, to end at $115 million, negatively affecting the results for the year to February. In the final quarter, sales grew 16 percent over the similar period in 2019 and might be indicating that revenues are poised to rise above recent growth levels. If this is, in fact, the case then the company is poised for strong growth in profits going forward.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results for the financial year ending after this year’s second quarter and up to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 13.6 and the Junior Market a mere 8.9, based on current 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5 with the Main Market at a much higher level of 8.4.
The TOP 10 stocks now trade at a discount of 44 percent of the average for Junior Market and Main Market stocks trade at a discount of 38 percent to the overall market. The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 332 percent, for the Junior Market and 144 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns to March 2021. Forecasted earnings and PE ratio for the current fiscal year are in determining potential gains. The ranking of stocks is in order of likely increases, with the highest-ranked, being the most attractive. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and will result in movements of the selection in and out of the lists for most weeks. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.

Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.

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

Rising stocks dominate Junior Market

May 13, 2020 by

The number of securities advancing far outnumbering those declining on Wednesday in trading on the Junior Market, but the Index slipped 1.15 points to close at 2,464.04. At the conclusion of market activities, the prices of 21 securities advanced, 6 declined and 6 remained unchanged.
Trading closed with 33 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 3,008,593 units valued at $9,244,861 compared to 4,739,302 units valued at $9,995,916 from 32 securities on Tuesday. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market ended at 9 based on 2020-21 earnings.
Trading ended with an average of 91,169 units at $280,147 for each security traded in contrast to 148,103 units for an average of $312,372 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to units 133,330 valued at $367,276 and previously 139,654 units valued at 380,345. In contrast, April closed with an average of 447,863 units valued at $1,028,076 for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows one stock ended with the bid higher than its last selling price and two with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial exchanged 4,113 units and gained 7 cents to end at $22.08, AMG Packaging lost 11 cents in the swapping of 60 shares to close $1.78, Blue Power closed trading of 25,000 units and added  5 cents to finish at $3.45. Caribbean Assurance Brokers advanced 1 cent to $2.20 with 18,768 units changing hands, Caribbean Cream closed 9 cents higher at $2.60 trading 23,300 stock units, Caribbean Flavours climbed 50 cents and exchanged 600 shares to settle at $9.50. Caribbean Producers rose 13 cents to end at $2.48 with 583,415 shares changing hands, Dolphin Cove dipped 80 cents in the trading of 500 units to close at $7, Elite Diagnostic climbed 42 cents and exchanged 3,650 shares to settle at $3.62. Everything Fresh ended the day rising 12 cents to 82 cents after investors switched ownership of 19,950 shares, Express Catering jumped 11 cents and exchanged 2,819 shares to finish at $3.51, Fontana closed 3 cents higher at $5.48 with 74,481 units traded. Fosrich ended with a loss of 1 cent at $3.79 with 2,314 shares changing hands, General Accident rose 26 cents in exchanging 630,068 stock units to close at $5, Honey Bun rose 6 cents to $5.55 with 7,596 shares trading. iCreate closed 2 cents higher at 44 cents with 25,000 stock units switching owners, Indies Pharma climbed 5 cents and exchanged 42,298 shares to settle at $2.30, Jetcon declined by 9 cents to settle at 80 cents with 33,915 units crossing the market. Knutsford Express exchanged 9,900 shares to finish at $7.50 after falling $1.47, Lasco Distributors closed trading of 76,558 units and gained 15 cents to end at $3.25, Lasco Financial gained 10 cents to close at $2.70 with an exchange of 7,707 shares. Lasco Manufacturing added 1 cent to close at $3.99 with 64,598 shares traded, Limners and Bards climbed 15 cents and exchanged 32,912 shares to settle at $1.95, Lumber Depot slipped 1 cent to $1.13 with 199,124 stock units changing hands. MailPac Group ended 3 cents higher at $1.92 in the exchange of 711,639 shares, SSL Venture jumped 15 cents and swapped 4,286 shares to finish at 90 cents and Stationery and Office Supplies closed 6 cents higher at $6.26, with 22,645 stock units crossing the exchange.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

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

Junior Market climbs 46 points – Tuesday

May 12, 2020 by

After posting a moderate decline on Monday the Junior Market followed up Fridays good 50.7 points rise with another solid rally on Tuesday with the market index jumping 45.91 points to close at 2,465.19 resulting from a rise in the prices of 15 securities and a fall in the prices of 11 stocks while six remained unchanged.

Junior Market had a month of consolidation but maybe setting to breakout.

The day’s activities ended with 32 securities changing hands similar to the number on Monday, resulting in an exchange of 4,739,302 units at $9,995,916 compared to 3,532,717 units valued at $11,173,927, on Monday.
Trading closed with an average of 148,103 units for $312,372 for each security traded in contrast to 110,397 units at $349,185 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 139,654 units valued at 380,345 and previously 138,216 valued at $391,915. In contrast, April closed with an average of 447,863 units valued at $1,028,076 for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stock ended with bids higher than its last selling prices and two with lower offers. One technical indicator is pointing to a big break out of the Junior Market soon.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging gained 24 cents in exchanging 30,455 shares to end at $1.89, Blue Power slipped 10 cents to $3.40 with 7,103 units traded, Cargo Handlers finished 40 cents higher at $6.50 with 5,000 stock units changing hands. Caribbean Cream climbed 22 cents in exchange of 138,754 shares to settle at $2.51, Caribbean Producers added 5 cents to close at $2.35 with an exchange of 789,589 shares, Consolidated Bakeries fell 18 cents to $1.51 with 3,900 shares crossing the market. Dolphin Cove jumped 58 cents and swapped 5,000 units to end at $7.80, Elite Diagnostic dropped 30 cents to $3.20 with 32,800 shares changing hands, Everything Fresh ended with a loss of 19 cents at 70 cents trading 78,160 stock units. Fontana closed 45 cents higher trading 101,458 shares to finish at $5.45, Fosrich gained 35 cents in the exchange of 27,788 shares to settle at $3.80, General Accident closed trading of 164,716 units with the adding of 4 cents to end at $4.74. Honey Bun fell 10 cents to $5.49 with the swapping of 1,000 units, iCreate closed at 42 cents, after slipping 1 cent and trading 395,149 stock units, Indies Pharma lost 5 cents in exchanging of 6,847 shares to finish at $2.25.Jamaican Teas climbed 5 cents trading 34,755 shares to settle at $4, Jetcon Corporation jumped 24 cents to bounce back from yesterday’s 52-week low and finished at 89 cents with 45,500 units changing hands, KLE Group closed 5 cents higher at $1.70 with an exchange of 31,459 shares. Knutsford Express leaped $1.33 in the trading just 150 units to finish at $8.97, Lasco Distributors closed 11 cents lower at $3.10 with 15,957 stock units crossed the exchange, Lasco Manufacturing added 13 cents after an exchange of 3,131 shares to end at $3.98. Limners and Bards dropped 15 cents in trading 24,385 units to end at $1.80, Investors responded strongly to strong increased revenues and profit at Mailpac Group by moving the price higher by 4 cents to $1.89 in exchanging 2,498,396 shares, Main Event slid 39 cents in swapping 1,817 units to settle at $4.50. Medical Disposables lost 5 cents trading 20,204 units to close at $6.20 and Stationery and Office Supplies rose 5 cents to $6.20 with 16,906 stock units crossing the exchange.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

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

Just three IC TOP 10 changes

May 10, 2020 by

Investors seem to be shrugging off some of the recent negative developments in the Jamaica stock market, with their activity moving the Main Market higher by the close of the week and the Junior Market just a few points lower.
The market is moving into a period where prices tend to move slightly downward until early July when it usually, starts a slow recovery, in this regard, first quarter results are going to be important for the market’s direction for a few weeks. Information management presents current and future business developments that will be critical in informing investors.
Developments of note this past week are the reporting of new results, with Barita Investments reporting profit of $1 billion for earnings per share (EPS) of $1.24 for the half year to March, versus 68 cents in 2019. Jamaican Teas with negative EPS of 3 cents after gross profit climbed 33 percent over 2019 out turn. Pulse Investments EPS ended at 12 cents versus 5 cents in 2019 for the nine months to March and Wisynco Group generated EPS of 78 cents vs 61 cents for the nine months to March. General Accident released 2019 audited accounts that showed for the first time the impact of the acquisition of their 55 percent interest in the Trinidad based Motor One insurance company at $238 million.
The Junior and Main Market, IC Insider.com TOP 10 closed the week with Medical Disposables and Stationery and Office Supplies exiting the TOP 10, to be replaced by Access Financial Services and Caribbean Cream, after the latter fell to $2. Seprod replaced Victoria Mutual Investments in the Main Market listing.
The three top Junior Market stocks with the potential to gain between 362 to 726 percent by 2021 are Caribbean Producers leading, followed by KLE Group and Lasco Financial. In the Main Market, Radio Jamaica continues to lead, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group with projected gains of 173 to 213 percent.
This week’s focus: Seprod released first quarter results after trading closed on Friday, with ongoing operating profits more than doubling from $312 million to $632 million for the 2020 first quarter, with EPS of 86 cents. Revenues climbed 6 percent from continuing operations to $9.14 billion, an increase of $544 million. The big improvement arose from the closure of the sugar manufacturing operations and improvement in profit margin. The Sugar operations generated a loss of nearly $140 million in 2019 and just $15 million in the latest quarter while gross profit margin jumped to 30 percent from 26.6 percent in 2019.  The first quarter results are in line with ICInsider.com’s forecast of $4 per share earnings for this year and put the PE at just 11 times current year’s earnings.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results for the financial year ending after this year’s second quarter and up to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 13.3 and the Junior Market a mere 8.9, based on current 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5 with the Main Market at a much higher level of 8.5.
The TOP 10 stocks now trade at a discount of 44 percent of the average for Junior Market and Main Market stocks trade at a discount of 36 percent to the overall market. The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 338 percent, for the Junior Market and 139 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns to March 2021. Forecasted earnings and PE ratio for the current fiscal year are in determining potential gains. The ranking of stocks is in order of likely increases, with the highest-ranked, being the most attractive. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and will result in movements of the selection in and out of the lists for most weeks. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing based on receipt of new information.

Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.

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