JSE Main Market climbs again

December 15, 2020 by

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market ended trading on Tuesday with gains after more stocks advanced than declined after trading accounted for 110 percent funds chasing stocks and driving the market indices higher by up to 2,000 points.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index climbed 2,008.23 points to 428,733.79, the Main Index advanced 1,833.71 points to 391,266.62 and the JSE Financial Index rose 0.41 points to 101.92.
Trading ended with 43 securities changing hands for a second consecutive day and with prices of 19 stocks rising, 14 declining and 10 remaining unchanged. The average PE Ratio ended at 16.8 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Investors exchanged 7,525,461 shares for $102,351,143 up from 7,084,366 units at $48,587,272 on Monday. Transjamaican Highway led trading with 17.7 percent of total volume, trading 1.33 million shares, followed by Wigton Windfarm with 16.5 percent for 1.24 million units and QWI Investments with 12.1 percent for 908,796 units.
Trading for the day averaged 175,011 units at $2,380,259 for each security, compared to an average of 164,753 shares at $1,129,937 on Monday. Month to date trade averaged 302,986 units at $3,778,872, in contrast to 315,550 units at $3,916,179 on Monday. November averaged 623,120 units at $6,686,047.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading has six stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and eight with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Berger Paints lost 45 cents to end at $12.95, after exchanging 81,965 shares, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund climbed $1.40 to settle at $44.40, in trading 700 units, Grace Kennedy fell $3.49 to $63, with 107,543 shares changing hands. Jamaica Broilers lost 32 cents to end at $28, in transferring 42,518 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange climbed $1.23 in closing at $19.99, with investors switching ownership of 77,977 shares, JMMB Group rose 50 cents to $34.50, after exchanging 218,767 shares. Kingston Properties shed 40 cents to end at $6.85, with investors swapping 400 units, Kingston Wharves closed at $47.15, with gains of 60 cents trading 5,116 units, Mayberry Investments rose 86 cents to $6.52, in an exchange of 30,960 stock units. MPC Caribbean Clean Energy advanced by $19.50 to $165 after transferring 704 units, Palace Amusement climbed $113 to end at $1,213, after an exchange of 34 units, PanJam Investment closed $5.99 higher at $67.99, with 13,695 units crossing the market. Pulse Investments gained 35 cents to end at $4.71, with 255,000 shares changing hands, Sagicor Group rose $1.49 to $48.50, trading 32,896 stock units, Sterling Investments gained 39 cents to settle at $3.05, in an exchange of 314,500 shares. Supreme Ventures finished at $18, with gains of 50 cents and 78,024 shares crossing the exchange, Sygnus Credit Investments gained 31 cents to end at $16.20, after 67,770 shares cleared the market.
In the preference segment, Eppley 8.75% preference share shed $1.33 to $7.52 and finishing with an exchange of 211 units.

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

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

JSE Majors lost altitude on Monday

December 14, 2020 by

Trading closed with a heavy bias to declining stocks that dominated advancing ones 5 to 2 on the Main Market of Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday, leading the market indices down after two previous days of gains.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index lost 3,170.34 points to 426,725.56, the Main Index shed 2,802.34 points to 389,432.91 and the JSE Financial Index lost 0.79 points to settle at 101.51.
Trading ended with 43 securities changing hands similar to Friday and closed with the prices of eight stocks rising, 20 declining and 15 remaining unchanged. The average PE Ratio ends at 16.5 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Investors exchanged 68 percent fewer shares than Friday with 7,084,366 units trading for $48,587,272, down from 22,148,337 units at $106,842,072 on Friday. Wigton Windfarm led trading with 20.1 percent of total volume, after exchanging 1.43 million shares, followed by Transjamaican Highway with 16.2 percent for 1.15 million units and Sagicor Select Manufacturing & Distribution Fund with 12.5 percent for 888,116 shares.
Trading for the day averaged 164,753 units at $1,129,937 for each security, compared to an average of 515,078 shares at $2,484,699 on Friday. Month to date trade averaged 315,550 units at $3,916,179, compared to 331,966 units at $4,219,492 on Friday. November averaged 623,120 units at $6,686,047.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading has nine stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Barita Investments lost 51 cents to close at $85, after trading 154,850 shares, Berger Paints dropped 60 cents to $13.40, with just 55 units changing hands. Eppley Caribbean Property Fund lost 50 cents after transferring 14,465 stock units at $43, First Rock Capital rose 89 cents to $12.99, with the switching of 22,292 stock units, Grace Kennedy climbed $1.49 to $66.49, in trading 9,982 units. Jamaica Broilers Group gained 39 cents to settle at $28.32, after an exchange of 61,415 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $18.76, after gaining 48 cents in exchanging 17,599 units, Key Insurance rose 50 cents to $8.60, as investors switched ownership of 233,856 shares. Kingston Wharves fell $1.35 to $145.01, with 16,798 units crossing the exchange, 138 Student Living gained 43 cents to settle at $4.75, in exchanging 26,196 stock units, Palace Amusement dropped $200 to $1,100, in transferring 8 units. Pan Jam Investment dropped $4 to close at $62 after 5,631 units crossed the exchange, Pulse Investments shed 37 cents to $4.36 in trading 422,959 shares, Scotia Group fell $1.50 to $45 in an exchange of 25,605 stock units and Wisynco Group shed 33 cents to end at $16.10, with 78.736 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 Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wisynco remains a buy

December 14, 2020 by

Wisynco Group was on a roll, with revenues up 27.5 percent in the nine months to March this year and 24 percent in the March quarter. Gross profit margin slipped in the March quarter while rising Administration and other expenses squeezed profits even more as the onset of the COVID-19 virus set in during March and upended business operations locally and overseas.

Wisynco headquarters.

Sales dipped slightly in the June and September quarters, but the September 2019 quarter includes sales of $503 million from a discontinued operation, resulting in flat sales from ongoing business. Net Profit Attributable to stockholders from continuing operations slipped 9 percent to end at $851 million for earnings of 23 cents per stock, compared to $932 million or 25 cents for the similar period of the prior year. Revenues for the quarter from continuing operations fell 6 percent from $8.6 billion to $8.1 billion in the 2019 quarter.
Gross Profit for the quarter of $2.9 billion was 5.9 percent less than the $3.1 billion achieved in the same quarter of the previous year, with a strong Gross Margin at 35.9 percent, the same as the prior year.
Selling and Distribution expenses dropped eight percent to $1.56 billion from $1.7 billion in 2019, but Administrative expenses rose 6 percent from $334 million to $354 million for the quarter for the corresponding quarter of the prior year. The charge for corporation taxes also declined 18 percent from $217 million to $177 million.
“We did see some pockets of improvement and were pleased that our exports rose 43 percent or approximately $56 million over the comparative quarter last year. We attribute this increase to higher demand in the US, Canada and other CARICOM countries for our brands and we continue to press the development of our exports as a means of getting exposure to new revenue channels,” William Mahfood, Chairman and Andrew Mahfood, Chief Executive Officer reported to shareholders in their commentary of the results.

Wisynco growing revenues and profit.

They went on further to state, “Management continues to implement measures to reduce expenses and were pleased that our expense to sales ratio held at 23.8 percent of sales even though our revenue base was lower than the prior year’s quarter. We are hopeful that the expense control measures will be more evident in future quarters.” The company expects to have lower energy costs with the successful commissioning of a cogeneration plant in July 2020, reducing energy costs.
Shareholders’ Equity rose to $13.87 billion from $11.91 billion in the 2019 September quarter. The group relied on loans to the tune of $2.66 billion, up from $2.6 billion in 2019. Cash flows from operations before changes in working capital amounts to $1.27 billion and after working capital changes, $1.8 billion compared to $1.74 billion in 2019 and build up cash and deposits to $6.6 billion with investments of $775 million. Current assets stood at $12.8 billion, with current liabilities at $5.2 billion.
ICInsider.com projects earnings per share for the fiscal year ending June 2021 to be $1.25, with a PE ratio of 13 compared to the market average for Main Market stocks of 16.6 based on the closing price on Friday of $16.43. The stock should be acquired as a medium to long-term investment, with the probability for the price to hit $30 by the end of 2021.
The principal activities of the group are the bottling and distribution of water and beverages and the distribution and retailing of food items.

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

IC TOP10 stocks deliver strong gains

December 12, 2020 by

The Junior Market closed the week at the highest level since November 17 and before that, October 2 and seems poised to take out all recent highs on the way to the year-end rally and a bullish period to come, to take it over 3,000 points. The main Market pulled back from last week’s levels but closed at the highest point for the week on Friday.
Honey Bun dropped out of the TOP 10, with Derrimon Trading replacing it at the bottom of the list. Honey Bun’s stock price jumped 19 percent for the week to $6.49 on Friday, with the stock now showing very limited supply and a bit of demand on the buying side, although a bit below the last sale price. The increased demand this week follows a strong September quarter profit that rose 76 percent over 2019. Wisynco Group spent just a week in the Main Market TOP 10, moved up in price to close out the week with the stock rising to $16.43 from $16.10 and replaced by NCB, in at the tenth position. The projections are for earnings to recover from the increased provision for expected credit loss charges in 2020 and from continued growth in the business and deliver earnings of $12 per share for the current year to September.
Former TOP10 holder MailPac, hit a record high on Friday, in closing at $2.60, up 19 percent from $2.19 last week. Lumber Depot reported earnings for the October quarter, keeping earnings on track for 20 cents per share and put added life into the stock, moving the price up 6 percent to close the week at $1.39 at a PE of 7 times earnings, well below the market average of 13.7. Caribbean Producers moved up 13 percent from $2.60 to $2.94 at the close and up a nice 21.5 percent for the month to date. The stock seems on target to move back into the $4 range sooner than later, with stock supplies thinning out and prospects for improved business looking increasingly better in 2021.
The top three stocks in the Junior Market with the potential by March 2021 to gain between 216 to 342 percent down from 239 to 400 percent at the end of the previous week are Caribbean Producers, even with the price has moved in recent weeks from $2.35 to $2.94 currently, followed by Elite Diagnostic and Jamaican Teas. Lumber Depot, in at third position last week, is now down to sixth after investors responded positively to quarterly results. With expected gains of 146 to 236 percent, the top three Main Market stocks are Berger Paints, followed by Radio Jamaica and Carreras.
The local stock market’s targeted average PE ratio is 20 based on profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. The Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below the market average, indicating strong gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 16.6 and the Junior Market 13.7, based on ICInsider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere 7.3 at just 53 percent of the market average. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 9.1 or 55 percent of the PE of that market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 192 percent down from 210 percent and 129 percent from 133 percent last week for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings. IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2021 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on likely gain for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year.  Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in movements in and out of the lists weekly. 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Weekly high for JSE Main Market

December 11, 2020 by

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market indices recorded more gains on Friday to end with the highest reading for the week but more than 4,000 points lower than the close of the previous week after an exchange of 327 percent more shares and changed hands with an increase of 134 percent in values over Thursday.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index rose 1,581.20 points to 429,895.90, the Main Index advanced 1,446.63 points to 392,235.25 and the JSE Financial Index gained 0.10 points to settle at 102.30.
Trading ended with 43 securities changing hands, down from 46 on Thursday, with the prices of 19 stocks rising, 12 declining and 12 remaining unchanged. The average PE Ratio ended at 16.6 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Investors exchanged 22,148,337 shares, with a consideration of $106,842,072 compared to 5,190,810 units at $45,639,960 on Thursday. Transjamaican Highway led trading with 70.3 percent of total volume, after exchanging 15.57 million shares followed by Supreme Ventures with 11 percent for 2.45 million units and Wigton Windfarm with 6.2 percent market share for 1.36 million units.
Trading for the day averaged 515,078 units at $2,484,699, compared to an average of 112,844 shares at $992,173 on Thursday. The average month to date trade is 331,966 units at $4,219,492 for each security, in contrast to 309,597 units at $4,431,412. November averaged 623,120 units at $6,686,047.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading has nine stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Barita Investments advanced 51 cents to $85.51, with 78,712 shares passing through the market, Caribbean Cement rose $1 in closing at $57 and exchanging 1,339 units. Grace Kennedy climbed $1.97 to $65, with 181,311 shares changing hands, Jamaica Producers Group advanced by $1.20 to $21.70, after crossing the exchange with 5,925 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange lost 48 cents in closing at $18.28, and clearing the market with 1,922 units. JMMB Group fell $1 to $34 trading 30,515 shares, Key Insurance slipped 35 cents to $8.10, with the trading of 1,215 units, Kingston Wharves fell 90 cents to $47.90, in exchanging 2,771 units. Mayberry Investments declined by 30 cents to $5.70 trading 76,550 shares, 138 Student Living shed 33 cents to end at $4.32, after exchanging 4,700 stock units, Palace Amusement climbed $100 to end at $1,300, after exchanging 5 units, Pan Jam Investment rose $1.61 to $66, in crossing the exchange with 3,150 units. Scotia Group advanced by $5.09 to $46.50 after 6,231 stock units passed through the market, Seprod gained $2 to settle at $66, with an exchange of 10,394 stock units, Sterling Investments lost 34 cents to close at $2.56, as investors switched ownership of 1,076 units and Sygnus Credit Investments fell $1.16 to $15.94, with 429,283 shares changing hands.

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

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

JSE Main Market closes higher

December 10, 2020 by

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market indices regained momentum in trading on Thursday after an exchange of 23 percent more shares traded than on Wednesday but with more stocks falling than rising.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index advanced by 4,980.27 points to 428,314.70, the Main Index climbed 4,490.67 points to 390,788.62 and the JSE Financial Index rose 2.00 points to settle at 102.20.
Trading ended with 46 securities changing hands compared to 44 on Wednesday and closed with the prices of 14 stocks rising, 18 declining and 14 remaining unchanged. The average PE Ratio ended at 16.5 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Trading resulted in 5,190,810 shares changing hands for $45,639,960 compared to 4,210,405 units at $40,575,680 on Wednesday. Wigton Windfarm led trading with 29.3 percent of total volume, after exchanging 1.52 million shares followed by Transjamaican Highway with 11.5 percent for 595,299 units and Ciboney Group with 10.8 percent market share for 561,269 units after the stock traded at a 52 weeks’ high of 21 cents.
Trading for the day averaged 112,844 units at $992,173 for each security, compared to an average of 95,691 shares at $922,175 on Wednesday. The average month to date trade is 309,597 units at $4,431,412 for each security, in contrast to 339,174 units at $4,948,422 on Wednesday. November averaged 623,120 units at $6,686,047.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading has eight stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Barita Investments fell by $1.50 to close at $85, with an exchange of 6,956 units, Caribbean Cement shed $1 to settle at $56, after clearing the market with 4,063 units. Eppley Caribbean Property Fund climbed $3 to end at $43.50, in exchanging 1,071 units, Grace Kennedy shed 96 cents to close at $63.03, with the changing of ownership of 31,199 shares, Jamaica Broilers lost 45 cents to close at $28 trading 18,187 stock units. Jamaica Producers declined $1.24 to $20.50, after exchanging 28,512 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 49 cents to $18.76, with investors swapping 6,700 units, Kingston Wharves advanced by $1.80 to $48.80, with 3,308 units crossing the exchange. Mayberry Investments ended at $6, with gains of 39 cents after exchanging 35,146 shares, Mayberry Jamaican Equities rose 97 cents to close at $8.19, after crossing the exchange with 10,500 units, NCB Financial dropped $1 to $146, in trading 58,216 shares. 138 Student Living gained 34 cents to end at $4.65, with 1,101 units trading, Palace Amusement dropped $100 in closing at $1,200, with 5 units passing through the market, Pan Jam Investment gained 39 cents to end at $64.39, with an exchange of 8,413 units. Sagicor Group fell by $2.49 to $47.01, with 32,983 shares crossing the exchange, Salada Foods shed 99 cents to close at $26.02 trading 500 units and Scotia Group declined by $2.59 to close at $41.41, in transferring 171,015 shares after the Group reported lower full-year profit than in 2019.

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

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

Big gains for JSE Main Market indices

December 8, 2020 by

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market regained some of the grounds lost on Monday with the market index rising after an exchange of 33 percent more shares than on Monday, despite more stocks falling than rising and values down marginally.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index climbed 1,991.05 points to 429,520.28, the Main Index advanced by 1,803.16 points to 391,895.69 and the JSE Financial Index gained 0.90 points to settle at 102.67.
Trading ended with 46 securities changing hands similar to that on Monday and closed with the prices of 16 stocks rising, 21 declining and nine remaining unchanged. The average PE Ratio ended at 16.2 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Investors traded 28,767,472 shares for $57,416,333 compared to 21,659,826 units at $60,805,085 on Monday. QWI Investments led trading with 70.7 percent of total volume, after exchanging 20.33 million shares followed by Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 8.7 percent for 2.51 million units. Transjamaican Highway with 6.7 percent market share for 1.93 million units changing hands and JMMB Group 7.5% with 4 percent for 1.07 million units.
Trading for the day averaged 625,380 units at $1,248,181 for each security, compared to an average of 470,866 shares at $1,321,850 on Monday. The average month to date trade is 380,065 units at $5,624,586 , in contrast to 327,822 units at $6,556,598. November averaged 623,120 units at $6,686,047.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading has seven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Barita Investments shed $1.10 to end at $86.90, with investors switching ownership of 17,820 shares, Berger Paints advanced $1 to $14 after exchanging 374 units, Caribbean Cement declined by $3.01 to $53.99, in trading 18,651 stock units. Eppley rose $1 to close at $21, with 1,530 units passing through the market, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund fell by $3.50 to $40.50, in exchanging 2,385 shares, First Rock Capital rose $1 to end at $12, after exchanging 30,794 stock units. Grace Kennedy gained 99 cents to settle at $63.99, in clearing the market with 47,206 stocks, Jamaica Broilers closed 50 cents higher at $28.50, with an exchange of 190,927 units, Jamaica Producers rose $1.24 in closing at $21.74, after trading 43,847 shares. Jamaica Stock Exchange lost 50 cents to finish at $19.50 after 4,456 stock units passed through the market, JMMB Group dropped $2 to close at $33.01, in exchanging 46,056 shares, Kingston Wharves fell $1.45 to $46.55, with 4,744 units changing hands. Palace Amusement declined by $105 to $1,300 after trading 12 units, Pan Jam Investment advanced $6 to $68, with 19,919 stock units crossing the exchange, Portland JSX fell by $2 to $7, in exchanging 6,606 shares. Sagicor Group rose $2.98 to $49.50 after owners switched 8,268 units, Sagicor Real Estate Fund shed $1.48 to settle at $6.01 trading 22,100 stock units, Salada Foods ended at $27.01, with a loss of $1.97 exchanging 200 shares. Scotia Group declined $4.37 to $43.12, in clearing the market with 19,042 stock units, Supreme Ventures gained 40 cents to settle at $18, with 55,133 shares crossing the market and Sygnus Credit Investments closed 57 cents higher at $16.57, in exchanging 28,814 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

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

JSE Main Market tumbles

December 7, 2020 by

Prices tumbled on Monday and sent the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market indices diving sharply lower after the value of shares trading tumbled 94 percent below Friday’s out-turn.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index dived 6,819.00 points to 427,529.23, the Main Index dropped 6,331.19 points to 390,092.53 and the JSE Financial Index shed 2.36 points to settle at 101.77.
Trading ended with 46 securities changing hands compared to 41 on Friday and closed with the prices of 15 stocks rising, 24 declining and seven remaining unchanged. The average PE Ratio ended at 16.6 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Investors traded 21,659,826 shares for $60,805,085 compared to 26,035,964 units at $1,185,955,996 on Friday. Transjamaican Highway led trading with 73.7 percent of total volume, after exchanging 15.96 million shares, followed by Wigton Windfarm with 7.1 percent for 1.53 million units and Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 3.7 percent market share for 794,869 units.
Trading averaged 470,866 units at $1,321,850 for each security, compared to an average of 635,024 shares at $28,925,756 on Friday. The average trade for the month to date is 327,822 units at $6,556,598 for each security, in contrast to 289,116 units at $7,973,059 . November averaged 623,120 units at $6,686,047.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading has seven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and nine with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Barita Investments fell $2 in closing at $88, with investors switching ownership of 1,886 shares, Berger Paints shed 80 cents to end at $13, in trading 5,017 units. Eppley dropped $3 in closing at $20, with investors switching ownership of 9,536 units, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund closed at $44, after losing 80 cents and trading 7,998 units, First Rock Capital slid $1.50 to $11, with 31,000 shares crossing the exchange. Grace Kennedy shed $1 to settle at $63, in trading 21,414 stock units, Jamaica Broilers gained 50 cents to settle at $28, in exchanging 29,230 stock units, Jamaica Producers shed $1.25 to close at $20.50, with a transfer of 15,667 stock units. Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 45 cents to end at $20, after investors swapped 2,252 units, Mayberry Investments advanced by $1.37 to $6.97, in an exchange of 7,557 units, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy declined by $4.50 to close at $145.50, in trading 117 units. NCB Financial Group shed 50 cents to end at $145, in transferring 92,444 shares, 138 Student Living gained 40 cents to end at $4.60 after exchanging 92 units, Palace Amusement climbed $105 to settle at $1,405, in crossing the exchange with 3 units, Pan Jam Investment declined by $6 to settle at $62, after clearing the market with 18,976 units. Proven Investments dropped $1 to close at $36, in trading 15,274 units, Sagicor Group declined by $5.48 to $46.52, in clearing the market with 2,593 units, Scotia Group climbed $2.99 in closing at $47.49, with an exchange of 33,426 shares. Seprod fell $1.99 to settle at $64, in transferring 13,119 stock units, Supreme Ventures gained 49 cents in closing at $17.60, with investors switching ownership of 62,688 shares and Sygnus Credit Investments lost 99 cents to settle at $16, with an exchange of 116,506 shares.
In the preference segment, Eppley 8.25% gained $1 to end at $7, in trading 2,214 units.

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

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

IC TOP 10 buffeted by market consolidation

December 7, 2020 by

Both the Junior and Main Market continue to consolidate ahead of a bullish period to come, as trading activities were calmer during the past week on the Jamaican Stock Exchange after a surge in prices towards the end of November. There were no major price movements this past week, but the price of Grace Kennedy pulled back from $67 to close at $64 at the end of the week while JMMB Group moved up to $35 from $34 last week.

Wisynco squeezes back into ICInsider TOP 10.

Fontana closed trading $5.35 and that was enough to move it out of the IC TOP 10. Honey Bun, with its earnings now based on the fiscal year ending September 2021 replaced Fontana. Stanley Motta is out of the Main Market TOP 10, with the stock rising to $5.35 and replaced by Wisynco Group, in at tenth position.
Profit after tax at Honey Bun, rose a healthy 76 percent to $54 million from $31 million in the fourth quarter over the similar period in 2019, bettering the 21 percent rise in the June quarter, to $20.4 million from $16.7 million. For the year to September, profit increased just 6.6 percent to $167 million from $156 million in 2019, from sale revenues that rose 15.5 percent for the quarter, to $432 million from $374 million but rose 8.5 percent for the year, to $1.675 billion from $1.544 billion in 2019. Earnings projection for the 2021 fiscal year is 55 cents, up from 35 cents for 2020 giving the stock a PE of 10.

Wisynco Group’s performance was on a roll, with revenues up 27.5 percent in the nine months to March this year, and 24 percent in the March quarter, but gross profit margin slipped in the March quarter while rising Administration and other expenses squeezed profits even more. Sales dipped slightly in the June and September quarters, but the September 2019 quarter, includes sales of $503 million from a discontinued operation, leaving flat sales from ongoing operations. Net Profits Attributable to Stockholders from continuing operations was $851 million or 23 cents per stock unit compared to $932 million or 25 cents per stock unit for the corresponding period of the prior year. Revenues for the quarter from continuing operations of $8.1 billion fell 6.1 percent from $8.6 billion in the 2019 quarter. The company expects to have lower energy costs with the successfully commissioning of the Cogeneration plant in July 2020, with the company seeing a positive contribution from the implementation through reduced energy costs.
The top three stocks in the Junior Market with the potential to gain between 239 to 400 percent by March 2021 are Caribbean Producers, followed by Elite Diagnostic and Limber Depot. With expected gains of 147 to 252 percent, the top three Main Market stocks are, Berger Paints followed by Radio Jamaica, Carreras and Sygnus Credit Investments tied for the third position.
The local stock market’s targeted average PE ratio is 20 based on profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. The Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below the market average, indicating the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 16.1 and the Junior Market 13.1, based on ICInsider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere 6.9 at just 53 percent of the market average. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 9 or 56 percent of the PE of that market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 210 percent and 133 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings. IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2021 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on likely gain for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year.  Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in movements in and out of the lists weekly. 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

JSE Main Market rises again

December 4, 2020 by

Stocks bounced sharply in early trading on Friday on the Main Market Jamaica Stock Exchange with the All Jamaica Composite index rising to more than 437,454 points. just after 11:30 AM, but ended a bit lower at the close on Friday after an exchange of 300 percent more shares after 14 times more funds were exchanged than on Thursday.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index advanced 1,075.26 points to end at 434,348.23, the Main Index rose 973.03 points to 396,423.72 and the JSE Financial Index gained 0.50 points to settle at 104.13.
Trading involved 41 securities compared to 44 on Thursday and closed with the prices of 15 stocks rising, 18 declining and eight remaining unchanged. The average PE Ratio ended at 16.2 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Investors traded 26,035,964 shares for $1,185,955,996 compared to 8,368,235 units at $78,354,493 on Thursday. Barita Investments led trading with 46.5 percent of total volume, after exchanging 12.11 million shares followed by Transjamaican Highway with 33.7 percent for 8.78 million units and Sterling Investments with 5.5 percent market share for 1.44 million units.
Trading averaged 635,024 units at $28,925,756 for each security, compared to an average of 190,187 shares at $1,780,784 on Thursday. The average trade for the month to date is 289,116 units at $7,973,059 for each security, in contrast to 179,176 units at $1,313,675. November averaged 623,120 units at $6,686,047.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading has five stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Barita Investments climbed $4.42 to settle at $90 trading 12,109,602 shares, Berger Paints rose $1.31 to close at $13.80, with 10,312 units passing through the market, Caribbean Cement fell $3 to $57, after exchanging 67,835 shares. Eppley shed 65 cents to close at $23 trading 100 units, First Rock Capital declined by 70 cents to $12.50, with investors swapping 2,709 units, Grace Kennedy climbed $4 to end at $64, with an exchange of 27,186 stock units. Jamaica Broilers lost 80 cents to close at $27.50, in the transfer of 47,405 shares, Jamaica Producers shed 75 cents to finish at $21.75 after an exchange of 2,013 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange lost 45 cents in ending at $19.55 with 4,398 units crossing the market. JMMB Group advanced $2 to $35, with investors switching ownership of 565,948 shares, Key Insurance lost 49 cents to settle at $9.50 trading 47,411 stocks, Kingston Wharves rose $1 to $48, in exchanging 3,466 units. Mayberry Jamaican Equities advanced $1.08 to $8.23, with 6,518 units passing through the market, NCB Financial fell $1 to $145.50, after 24,142 stock units crossed the market, Pan Jam Investment advanced by $8 to $68 trading 2,114 units. Portland JSX rose $1 to close at $9 after transferring 4,218 stock units, Sagicor Group dropped $1.30 to $52, after exchanging 302,882 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund declined by $1.48 to $7.49, with investors swapping 52,140 units. Salada Foods climbed $2.98 to $28.98, with 50 stocks crossing the exchange, Scotia Group lost 50 cents to finish at $44.50 trading 734,994 shares, Seprod rose $1.98 to end at $65.99, clearing the market with 20,865 stock units. Sterling Investments shed 35 cents to end at $2.85 trading 1,439,187 shares, Supreme Ventures lost 69 cents to close at $17.11, with investors swapping 4,059 units, Sygnus Credit Investments gained 99 cents to settle at $16.99 after investors switched ownership of 278,419 shares and Wisynco Group lost 40 cents to end at $16.10, in exchanging 62,549 shares.
In the preference segment, Eppley 8.25% shed $1 to close at $6 trading 1,140 units.

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

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