JSE Main Market closed with gains

Trading on the Main Market of Jamaica Stock Exchange sank on Tuesday as fewer securities changed hands with a much lower with the average volume being just 31 percent that on Monday.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index advanced 1,805.60 points to 399,034.14, the JSE Market Index gained 1,535.01 points to end at 363,775.87 and the JSE Financial Index lost 0.05 points to 97.36.
The market closed with 41 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 12 stocks advancing, 22 declining and seven securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 38 securities accounting for 8,751,199 units valued at a low $77,299,031, in contrast to 29,595,732 units valued at $155,534,212 from 40 securities on Monday.
Trans Jamaican Highway led trading with 3.3 million shares for 37.5 percent of total volume followed by Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 860,185 units for 10 percent of the day’s trade and Wigton Windfarm with 756,266 units for 8.6 percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 230,295 units at $2,034,185 for each security traded, in contrast to 739,893 units valued at an average of $3,888,355 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 375,605 units valued at $2,531,754 for each security changing hands, compared to 443,776 units with an average cost of $2,765,181. Trading in April resulted in an average of 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows twelve stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and six stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 13.9, while the Main Market ended at 14.1 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments gained 40 cents trading 86,170 shares to close at $52 after the stock traded down to $45 during the day. Eppley transferred 58,856 shares at $11, after losing $1, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund ended $1.50 lower at $34, with 120 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers lost $1 to close at $24, with the swapping of 27,887 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange climbed $1.10 to $21.60, in an exchange of 64,146 shares, Key Insurance shed 35 cents to settle at $8.10, with 302,746 shares crossing the exchange. NCB Financial Group sustained a loss of $7.50 to close at $135, after transferring 140,023 shares, 138 Student Living closed 69 cents lower to $6.31, in swapping 250 units, PanJam Investment picked up $1 to end at $77.50 trading 13,244 stock units. Sagicor Group ended at $46.50, with gains of $1.50 exchanging 316,045 shares, Salada Foods tumbled $4 to $24.50, after trading a mere one stock unit, Seprod advanced $2.40 to $46.40, with an exchange of 17,376 stock units. Stanley Motta fell by 60 cents to $4.70, in transferring 9,346 units, Supreme Ventures ended 90 cents lower at $15.50, after swapping 187,479 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments closed at $15.20, with a loss of 80 cents exchanging 103,586 shares and Wisynco Group lost 40 cents trading 168,450 shares to finish at $17.

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

JSE Main Market closed down – Monday

The Jamaican Stock Exchange Main Market shot up 4,787 points within 30 minutes of trading to 405284.40 but failed to hold on to the early gains at the close of the market.
At the close of trading, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index declined by 3,268.96 points to 397,228.54, the JSE Market Index dropped 2,888.59 points to 362,240.86 and the  JSE Financial Index lost 0.60 points to 97.41.
The market closed with 45 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 17 stocks advancing, 17 declining and 11 securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 40 securities accounting for 29,595,732 units valued at $155,534,212, in contrast to 6,350,098 units valued at $68,445,442 from 41 securities on Friday.
Trans Jamaican Highway led trading with 13.9 million shares for 47 percent of total volume followed by Mayberry Jamaican Equities with 9.7 million units for 33 percent of the day’s trade and Wigton Windfarm with 2 million units for 7 percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 739,893 units valued at $3,888,355 for each security traded, in contrast to 154,880 units valued at an average of $1,669,401 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 443,776 units valued at $2,765,181 for each security changing hands. Trading in April resulted in an average of 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and six stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14.1, while the Main Market ended at 14.3 times 2020/21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments declined by $1.85 to $51.60, with an exchange of 43,168 stock units, Caribbean Cement closed $1 higher to $45.99, in transferring 4,850 units, Eppley ended at $12, with a loss of $3 after trading 13,922 units. Grace Kennedy settled at $58, after gaining $1 and swapping 17,132 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed $1.10 lower to $20.50, with a transfer of 43,338 stock units, Key Insurance picked up $1.45 in trading 160,949 shares and finished at a record high of $8.45. Kingston Properties gained $1.65 to end at $6.15, after exchanging 200 units, Mayberry Investments shed 40 cents to close at $5.40, in switching ownership of 74,079 shares, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy climbed $13 to $160 trading a mere 100 units. NCB Financial Group closed at $142.50, with a loss of $2.50 after transferring 115,522 shares, PanJam Investment lost 50 cents to close at $76.50, with 230 units changing hands, Proven Investments rose 49 cents exchanging 11,104 units to end at $36.50. Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed $1.25 lower to settle at $6.50, in swapping 6,438 units, Scotia Group added 50 cents to finish at $44.50, in trading 9,250 units, Seprod ended at $44, with a loss of 85 cents exchanging 6,938 units and Supreme Ventures added 50 cents to close at $16.40, trading 229,782 shares.

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

Just two IC TOP 10 changes

The week just ended saw investors knocking bank stocks down following the surprise announcement by Bank of Jamaica to get banks to suspend the payment of dividends for the remainder of 2020 and that helped to push the market index sharply lower with some recovery on the last three days of the week.
Caribbean Cement and NCB Financial released first-quarter results in the past week with lower profit than the previous year’s March quarter. As if investors expected the outturn, the stock prices did not seem to react to them.
The Junior Market, after attempting to close higher for the past six days finally did so on Friday a sign that it could be heading higher in the days ahead as it traded as high as 2,478 points on Friday just below the close on April 16.
 The Junior and Main Market, IC Insider.com TOP 10 closed the week with one change each. Dropping from the list are Access Financial Services for the Junior Market and replaced by Stationery and Office Supplies, while Stanley Motta dropped from the Main Market listing and replaced by Victoria Mutual Investments.
The three top Junior Market stocks with the potential to gain between 344 to 660 percent by 2021 are Caribbean Producers leading, followed by Lasco Financial and KLE Group. 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: Stationery and Office Supplies fell from a high of $16.35 last august is now trading at a discount of 61.5 percent to that price. The stock had moved from $6.85 in May last year to the high after revenues climbed by 23 percent for the half-year to $639 million to $519 million and profits rose 63 percent from $56 million to $92 million. The half years revenues compare favourably with the $702 million generated in the twelve months in 2016, the year before listing in 2017. Revenues grew around 12 percent from 2013 to 2016, then increased to 17.4 percent for 2018 and 14.5 percent for 2019. The company has an excellent management team that is growth-oriented as such investors can look forward to revenues growing in the 15-20 percent range going forward. In pursuit of this objective, the company is putting in place additional storage facilities to accommodate a robust expansion of sales. Investors should not rule out the possibility that they could expand from acquisitions as well as was the case with the addition of the business making the SEEK brand. While the disruption caused by the Coronavirus could derail the medium-term growth, it will only be a matter of time for management to pick up and return to the pre virus growth levels.
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 12.5 and the Junior Market a mere 9, based on current 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.3 with the Main Market at a much higher level of 8.3.
The TOP 10 stocks now trade at a discount of 43 percent of the average for Junior Market and Main Market stocks trade at a discount of 34 percent to the overall market. The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 319 percent, for the Junior Market and 148 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. Earnings per share are revised on an ongoing basis when new information is received that can affect earnings significantly.

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

JSE Main Market stretches gains into May

JSE Main market stocks climbed higher at the close on Friday on top of substantial gains on Wednesday and a more moderate increase on Thursday as advancing stocks were marginally less than declining ones.
At the close of trading, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index advanced by 1,102.78 points to 400,497.50, the JSE Market Index climbed 1,083.49 points to 365,129.45 and the JSE Financial Index added 0.04 points to 98.01.
The market closed with 44 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 16 stocks advancing, 17 declining and 11 securities trading firm. Main Market activity ended with 41 securities accounting for 6,350,098 units valued at $68,445,442, in contrast to 79,915,162 units valued at $130,493,189 from 41 securities on Thursday.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 1.5 million shares for 23.3 percent of total volume followed by Trans Jamaican Highway with 1.1 million units for 17.6 percent of the day’s trade and Supreme Ventures with 583,782 units for 9.2 percent of the market’s volume.
The Market closed with an average of 154,880 units at $1,669,401 for each security traded, in contrast to 1,949,150 units valued at an average of $3,182,761 on Thursday. Trading in April resulted in an average of 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows eleven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and eight stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14, while the Main Market ended at 14.2 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments shed 40 cents and closed at $53.45, with an exchange of 2,367 units, Berger Paints closed 50 cents lower to $13, in trading 2,000 units, Eppley climbed $1.50, with a transfer of 1,030 units at $15. Eppley Caribbean Property Fund lost 50 cents to end at $35.50, after swapping 1,070 units, Jamaica Producers gained 43 cents to settle at $18.93, in transferring 16,450 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange fell $1.40 to $21.60, after exchanging 1,819 units. JMMB Group declined to $33, with a loss of 99 cents trading 360,765 shares, Mayberry Jamaican Equities closed $1.60 lower to $8.20 trading 4,411 units, NCB Financial Group closed at $145, with gains of $2 after swapping 85,918 shares. PanJam Investment gained 60 cents to close at $77, with 56,155 shares changing hands, Proven Investments shed 99 cents with a transfer of a mere 20 units and closed at $36.01, Sagicor Real Estate Fund gained 64 cents to settle at $7.75, in swapping 10,864 stock units. Scotia Group closed 50 cents higher at $44, in trading 56,801 shares and Supreme Ventures gained 90 cents to end at $15.90, trading 583,782 shares.

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

JSE Main Market ends April on a high

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market closed on Thursday and April positively with advances on the Composite, JSE Market and Financial Indices. The market closed 16,708.18 points down on the March close, with Bank of Jamaica’s suspension of banking dividends, knocking 19,422.69 points off the All Jamaican Composite Index.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index increased 1,822.62 points to 399,394.72, the JSE Market Index gained 1,640.98 points to close at 364,045.96 and the JSE Financial Index rose 0.61 points to 97.97.
The market closed with 45 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 23 stocks advancing, 11 declining and 11 trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 41 securities accounting for 79,915,162 units valued at $130,493,189 in contrast to 7,206,423 units valued at $124,023,333 from 37 securities on Tuesday.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 60 million shares for 75 percent of total volume followed by Trans Jamaican Highway, with 17 million units, for 21 percent of the day’s trade and Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 752,103 for one percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 1,949,150 units valued $3,182,761 for each security traded, in contrast to 194,768 units valued at an average of $3,351,979 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security changing hands, compared to 1,033,414 units valued at $3,863,268 previously. Trading in March resulted in an average of 1,146,245 units valued at $7,550,295 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows eleven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14, while the Main Market ended at 14.3 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita advanced 85 cents to finish at $53.85 with a transfer of 2,750 stock units, Caribbean Cement closed 99 cents lower at $45 with an exchange of 113,500 units, Cigarette distributors, Carreras rose 20 cents to end at $6.50 in trading 95,773 units. Eppley gained 50 cents to end at $13.50 after exchanging 4,885 units, Grace Kennedy jumped $1.80 in swapping 157,328 units to end at $57, Jamaica Producers added 50 cents to settle at $18.50, with 104,351 shares changing hands. Jamaica Stock Exchange gained $2.20 to end at $23 after trading 418,016 units, Key Insurance jumped 50 cents, pushing it to a record high to $7, with a transfer of 14,750 stock units. Mayberry Equities climbed $1.30 to $9.80 trading 12,100 units, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy dropped $2 to $147 after just 261 units crossed through the exchange. NCB Financial Group shed $3 in closing at $143, trading 56,094 shares, PanJam Investment closed $1.40 higher at $76.40, in exchanging 243,133 stock units, Proven Investments gained $1.90 to finish at $37, with 2,385 stock units changing hands. Sagicor Real Estate Fund lost 64 cents exchanging 20,018 units to settle at $7.11, Salada Foods climbed $2.50 to $28.50 after trading 1,900 units, Scotia Group rose $2.50 to $43.50, after transferring 54,471 stock units. Seprod picked up $1.50 to close at $45, in trading 13,743 shares and Wisynco Group lost 54 cents to end at $17.36, with 48,127 units crossing the exchange.

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

JSE Main Market month-end rally

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main market closed ahead of the month-end on a positive note with the market index rising after NCB Financial Group put on $8 to recover some of its recent losses.

NCB Financial bounced $8 on Wednesday and helped to lift the JSE market index.

At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index 4,251.05 points to 397,572.10, the JSE Market Index dropped 3,892.00 points to close at 362,404.98 and the JSE Financial Index rose 1.87 points to 97.36.
The market closed with 44 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 12 stocks advancing, 22 declining and ten securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 37 securities accounting for 7,206,423 units valued at $124,023,333, in contrast to 96,137,935 units valued at $316,661,417 from 36 securities on Tuesday.
Trans Jamaican Highway led trading with 1.9 million shares for 26.5 percent of total volume followed by QWI Investments with 995,244 units for 13.8 percent of the day’s trade and Pulse Investments with 851,165 units for 12 percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 194,768 units valued $3,351,979 for each security traded, in contrast to 2,670,498 units valued at an average of $8,796,150 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 1,033,414 units valued at $3,863,268 for each security changing hands, compared to 1,073,044 units valued at $3,888,297 for each security traded. Trading in March resulted in an average of 1,146,245 units valued at $7,550,295 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows eleven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and six stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 13.8, while the Main Market ended at 14.1 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Caribbean Cement gained 99 cents to close at $45.99, with a transfer of 27,975 stock units, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund advanced by $2.99 to $36, in trading 808 units, First Rock Capital closed 75 cents lower to $11.25, after exchanging 11,226 units. Grace Kennedy fell $1.69 swapping 9,077 units to end at $55.20, Jamaica Broilers finished at $25, with a loss of $1.10 in transferring 275,520 shares, Jamaica Producers shed 75 cents to settle at $18, with 132,079 shares changing hands. Key Insurance raked in 95 cents to reach a record high of $6.50, with a transfer of 25,094 stock units, Mayberry Investments lost 30 cents trading 3,413 units and closed at $5.50, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy climbed $2 to $149, after swapping 420 units. NCB Financial Group recovered $8 of the recent losses to close at $146, trading 437,464 shares, PanJam Investment closed $1 lower at $75, in exchanging 317,961 shares, Proven Investments declined $2.40 to finish at $35.10, with 44,783 stock units changing hands. Scotia Group fell $2 to $41, after transferring 33,448 stock units, Seprod picked up $1.50 to close at $43.50, in trading 8,215 units and Stanley Motta gained 30 cents to end the day at $5, with 15,000 units crossing the exchange.

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

BOJ dividend ban slaps JSE Main Market

Bank of Jamaica’s decision, to slap a ban on the payment of dividends for the rest of 2020 by financial banking groups, took another big bite out of the local stock market on Tuesday. Investors continue to react negatively to the decision by more selling of stocks in the banking sector with all four falling, taking the market index down with by another day of big losses following the slide on Monday.  
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index declined 11,964.17 on Monday, fell a further by 13,352.19 points to close at 393,321.05. The JSE Market Index dropped 12,250.06 points on top of the 10,830.61 points fall on Monday to 358,512.98 and the JSE Financial Index lost 4.24 points to 95.49. The losses pushed the year to date loss to 30 percent, for main market stocks and ahead of the Junior Market that is down by 28 percent for the year.
The market closed with 39 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 11 stocks advancing, 24 declining and 4 securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 36 securities accounting for 96,137,935 units valued at $316,661,417, in contrast to 18,718,741 units valued at $83,219,012 from 40 securities on Monday.
Radio Jamaica led trading with 66.7 million shares for 69.4 percent of total volume followed by Trans Jamaican Highway with 14.7 million units for 15.3 percent of the day’s trade with the price ending at a record closing high of $1.40. Wigton Windfarm followed with 6.6 million units for 6.9 percent market share. The only other stock trading more than one million units was Jamaica Stock Exchange with 3.9 million units.
The Market closed with an average of 2,670,498 units valued at an average of $8,796,150 for each security traded, in contrast to 467,969 units valued at an average of $2,080,475 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 1,073,044 units valued at $3,888,797 for each security changing hands, compared to 996,058 units valued at $3,638,209 for each security traded. Trading in March resulted in an average of 1,146,245 units valued at $7,550,295 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and six stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 13.9, while the Main Market ended at 14.1 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments ended the day’s trade at $53, having lost $1.90 exchanging 4,872 units, Berger Paints closed 40 cents lower to settle at $13.50, in trading 8,147 units, Caribbean Cement lost $1 trading 163,854 shares to close at $45. Grace Kennedy shed 61 cents in transferring 14,047 stock units and closed at $56.89, JMMB Group fell by $1 to $34, with 290,970 shares changing hands, Key Insurance added 35 cents to finish at a 52 weeks’ high of $5.55, after swapping 91,058 shares. Kingston Properties ended at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.50, with a loss of $1.50 after a transfer of 56,639 stock units, Mayberry Investments gained 60 cents trading 28,831 units and closed at $5.80, NCB Financial Group fell $2 to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $138, with an exchange of 276,121 shares. PanJam Investment closed 50 cents higher to $76 after 482,161 shares changed hands, Proven Investments declined to $37.50, after losing $1.35 transferring 359 units, Sagicor Group closed $1 lower to $45, in swapping 73,341 shares. Scotia Group traded $2 lower to end at $43, with an exchange of 255,788 shares and Seprod ended with a loss of $2.60 to close at $42, in trading 101,200 shares.

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

BOJ dividend halt hits Main Market

Bank of Jamaica’s decision for banks to halt dividend payments hit the Jamaica Stock Estate Main Market hard on Monday. NCB Financial dropped to the lowest level in more than a year to $131 during the morning session as declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones two to one with the three largest financial companies stock suffering losses.

NCB Financial hits a new 52 weeks’ low of $31.

At the close of trading, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index plunged 11,964.17 points to 406,853.24, the JSE Market Index dived by 10,830.61 points to 370,763.04 and the JSE Financial Index fell by 3.79 points to 99.73.
The market closed with 45 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 10 stocks advancing, 23 declining, with 13 securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 40 securities accounting for 18,718,741 units valued at $83,219,012, in contrast to 15,595,657 units valued at $80,717,216 from 38 securities on Friday.
Trans Jamaican Highway led trading with 9.6 million shares for 51 percent of total volume, followed by Wigton Windfarm with 2.2 million units for 12 percent of the volume traded and Pulse Investments with 1.7 million units for 9.1 percent market share. Sagicor Select Financial Fund is the other security trading more than one million units, ending with 1.5 million units.
The Market closed with an average of 467,969 units valued $2,080,475 for each security traded, in contrast to 410,412 units valued at an average of $2,124,137 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 996,058 units valued at $3,638,209 for each security changing hands, compared to 1,025,936 units valued at $3,731,907 for each security traded. Trading in March resulted in an average of 1,146,245 units valued at $7,550,295 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows seven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14.1, while the Main Market ended at 14.3 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Carreras fell 23 cents to close at $6.50, in transferring 44,100 shares, Eppley declined $1.50 to $13, in trading 17,619 units, Grace Kennedy shed 50 cents to end at $57.50, in swapping 4,773 stock units. Jamaica Broilers exchanged 149,658 shares at $26, after losing 99 cents, Jamaica Producers lost $1.49 to end at $19, with a transfer of 20,180 stock units, JMMB Group closed at $35, with a loss of $1 swapping 152,052 shares. Key Insurance gained 30 cents after exchanging 46,773 stock units and closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $5.20, Mayberry Investments shed 35 cents to settle at $5.20, with a transfer of 202,000 shares. NCB Financial Group plunged $12 to end at $140, in trading 163,821 shares in reaction to the suspension of dividend payments by banks, mandated by Bank of Jamaica. PanJam Investment fell $1.85 to $75.50, with 1,760 units changing hands, Sagicor Group closed $3.37 lower in reaction to the suspension of dividends announced by Jamaica Central Bank and finished at $46, after trading 101,069 shares. Scotia Group also reacted negatively to the dividend suspension dropping $2 lower to end at $45, with 66,944 stock units crossing the exchange, Seprod fell $3.20 to $44.60, in transferring 2,255 units and Sygnus Credit Investments closed at $15.99, shedding 95 cents trading 23,433 stock units.

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

Three IC TOP 10 changes

The Main and Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange lost more ground this past week as investors continued profit but left the vast majority of the IC Insider.com TOP 10 stocks holding on the lists.

General Accident is IC TOP 10 focus with an expected cut in MV claims.

The Main Market closed the week with two changes, resulting from down-grading of their earnings. Dropping from the list are PanJam Investment and Sagicor Group and replaced by Jamaica Broilers and Stanley Motta. Only Mailpac Group moved out of the Junior Market TOP 10 and replaced by Access Financial Services that fell to $24.01 on Friday.
The three top Junior Market stocks remain unchanged from last week with Caribbean Producers leading, followed by KLE Group and Lasco Financial with the potential to gain between 307 to 546 percent by 2021. In the Main Market, Radio Jamaica leads the pact, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group, with projected gains of 150 to 208 percent.
This week’s focus: General Accident is set to do very well. Last year’s earnings grew 48 percent from an increase of 22 percent in gross premium income and a 25 percent increase in net premium. The company acquired majority shares in the Trinidad based MotorOne Insurance that will add to revenues in 2020. One of the most critical development that investors seem to be ignoring is the likely sharp reduction in claims for motor vehicle accidents during the period of business disruption when there is far less traffic on the roads. Last year, claims amounted to $100 million per month. Historical trends show that the stock tends to remain fairly flat until the second half of a year.
Uncertainties exist in the economy and financial markets accordingly, and it is not possible to determine the exact impact on company earnings for the rest of the year. Actual earnings could vary materially from IC Insider.com’s forecast. Looking beyond the immediate fallout or benefits for companies can be useful in guiding investment decisions for above-average gains in the period ahead.
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, 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 12.8 and the Junior Market a mere 9, based on current 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a just 5.3 with the Main Market at a much higher level of 8.5.
The TOP 10 stocks now trade at a discount of 41 percent of the average for Junior Market and Main Market stocks trade at a discount of 34 percent to the overall market. The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 298 percent, for the Junior Market and 140 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. Earnings per share are revised on an ongoing basis when new information is received that affects earnings significantly.

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

JSE Main Market 7 days fall broken

The Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange rallied on the final day of the week, wiping out less than 1,500 points of the losses on the previous seven trading days as advancing stocks were outnumbered by decliners, on Friday.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index rose 1,331.58 points to close at 418,817, the JSE Market Index gained 1,205.42 points to close at 381,593.65 and the JSE Financial Index added 0.55 points to 103.52.
The market closed with 45 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 11 stocks advancing, 22 declining and ten securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 38 securities accounting for 15,595,657 units valued at $80,717,216, in contrast to 17,977,989 units valued at $167,027,485 from 43 securities on Wednesday.
Trans Jamaican Highway led trading with 11.3 million shares for 63 percent of total volume followed by Sagicor Group with 2.3 million units for 13 percent of the day’s trade and Wigton Windfarm with 1.1 million units for 6 percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 410,412 units valued at $2,124,137 for each security traded, in contrast to 418,093 units valued at $3,884,360 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 1,025,936 units valued at $3,731,907 for each security changing hands, compared to 1,060,899 units valued at $3,829,348 for each security traded. Trading in March resulted in an average of 1,146,245 units valued at $7,550,295 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven securities closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14.1, while the Main Market ended at 14.3 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Eppley fell 99 cents to $14.50, in trading 941 stock units, First Rock Capital added $1, in transferring 1,500 units and closed at $12, Grace Kennedy rose $1 and ended at $58, with 29,077 units changing hands. Jamaica Stock Exchange lost 37 cents to end at $20.63 after 11,170 shares passed through the market, JMMB Group dropped $1.44 and closed at $36, after exchanging 213,331 stock units, Mayberry Investments gained 32 cents trading 22,096 stock units and closed at $5.55.NCB Financial Group rose $2 to end at $152, with 47,023 units changing hands, PanJam Investment traded 1,465 and fell $2.35 to close at $77.35, Proven Investments jumped $2.79 to close at $38.79 after 9,478 shares changed hands. Pulse Investments lost 35 cents in exchanging 3,858,682 stock units at $2.05, Salada Foods dropped $2.90 to $26, in exchanging 5,901 units. Sagicor Group traded 38,531 and lost 38 cents to end at $49.37 and Scotia Group rose $2 after transferring 21,667 stock units to finish at $47.

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