Trading ended on the Junior Market, with a surge in the market index as it recovered a sizable portion of the amounts lost on Tuesday as investors exchanged 62 percent fewer securities than on Tuesday.
At the close, the Junior Market Index rose 43.57 points to 2,562.54, and the average PE Ratio of the Junior Market ended at 10.8 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 2,599,966 shares with a value of $6,389,414 compared to 6,810,921 units at $19,386,503 on Tuesday, as 32 securities changed hands compared to 30 stocks on Tuesday, with the prices of 16 stocks rising, nine declining and seven remaining unchanged.
Mailpac Group led trading with 736,959 shares for 28.3 percent of total volume followed by Limners and Bards with 298,963 units for 11.5 percent of the day’s trade and iCreate with 245,467 units for 9.4 percent market share.
An average of 81,249 units traded at $199,669 for each security, in contrast to an average of 227,031 shares at $646,217 on Tuesday. An average of 306,642 units at $818,545, changed hands for the month to date, in comparison to an average of 321,956 shares for $873,181. Trading in June resulted in an average of 245,049 units trading at $689,955.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging carved out a loss of 10 cents to end at $1.70, with 10 shares passing through the market, CAC 2000 fell 10 cents in closing at $9.10 and finishing with 167 stock units changing hands, Caribbean Assurance Brokers gained 5 cents to settle at $2.15 with investors switching ownership of 12,565 units. Caribbean Cream rose 4 cents after closing at $3.84 and clearing the market with 93,726 units, Caribbean Flavours carved out a loss $1 to end at $10.50 clearing the market with 760 shares, Caribbean Producers declined 1 cent to settle at $2.35, with 134,399 shares passing through the market. Consolidated Bakeries advanced by 33 cents to close at $1.55 with investors switching ownership of 5,900 units, Derrimon Trading climbed 21 cents to close at $2.41 after 58,000 stock units passed through the market, Everything Fresh carved out a loss 4 cents to end at 62 cents while exchanging 165,129 shares. Express Catering increased 27 cents in ending at $4.32, with 4,162 units crossing the exchange, Fontana rose 1 cent to settle at $5.02 after 44,643 shares passed through the market, Fosrich added 7 cents to close at $3.74 in exchanging 26,694 stock units. General Accident ended rising 17 cents in closing at $6.97 after trading 49,193 stock units, Honey Bun shed 5 cents in ending at $5.50 while exchanging 4,662 units, iCreate increased 1 cent to close at 54 cents after trading 245,467 stock units. Jamaican Teas advanced 6 cents to $5.06 in exchanging 2,107 shares, KLE Group rose 20 cents to close at $1.55 while 10,000 shares changed hands, Lasco Financial added 6 cents in closing at $2.56 with investors exchanging 70,158 shares. Lasco Manufacturing gained 10 cents to end at $3.75 in an exchange of 71,824 units, Limners and Bards climbed 25 cents to settle at $2.70 with 298,963 shares changing hands, Lumber Depot increased 2 cents to close at $1.07 with an exchange of 56,079 shares. Mailpac Group fell 1 cent in ending at $2.02 and trading 736,959 units, Medical Disposables in rising 3 cents ended at $5.20 with 60,875 shares clearing the market. SSL Venture dropped 11 cents in closing at 78 cents while trading 100 stock units and tTech lost 55 cents to end at $5.95, with 27,500 units passing through the market.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Another IC Top 10 stock with big jump
A few weeks ago General Accident jumped the IC Insider.com Junior Market TOP 10, gaining 75 percent since late May. This past week, yet another IC top 10 listed stock made big gains, after the company posted a strong increase in its first-quarter profit.
Elsewhere, poor full-year profit results of $58 million versus $113 million in 2019, from Medical Disposables, hit with a big inventory write-off, resulted in a revised downward projection for the 2021 fiscal year results. Lumber Depot earnings for fiscal 2021, was revised to 12 cents per share, following released audited accounts, showing a profit of just 3 cents per share or $22 million for the nine months to April.
This week’s focus: Caribbean Cream posted a 31 percent rise in profit to $27 million, for earnings per share of 7 cents, saw investors responding strongly to them in driving the stock 28.5 percent higher at its recent peak on Friday, closed the week at $3.25, for an increase of 16 percent. The stock traded down to $2.47 at the beginning of July, those who bought at that price are laughing all the way to the bank with a nice 31 percent gain so far and the month is yet to end.
The company reported a 4 percent rise in sales, with cost kept to 2019 levels, even with a big hike in depreciation charges, while sales and market expenses declined. IC Insider.com is projecting 60 cents per share earnings for the current year as the company enjoys increase sales and lower raw material input cost with the price of milk solids falling on the world market, recently. There are just about six offers on the stock exchange board at the close on Friday with the lowest offer at $4.30 and the only large visible offer for 500,000 shares at $6.
The top three stocks in each market saw little change in the rankings, leaving the top three Junior Market stocks, with the potential to gain between 268 to 679 percent by March 2021 are Caribbean Producers, followed by Lasco Financial and Caribbean Cream in the third position. Lasco Financial came out with lousy audited profit to March but the results included a big $650 million loss provision for impaired loans. Excluding this provision, the profit would have spiked nicely for the year. Investors should watch the current year for early signs of profit recovery. Caribbean Cream’s latest results demonstrate how powerful recovery situations can be for investors.
The top three stocks in the Main Market, with expected gains of 189 to 210 percent are Radio Jamaica followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group that reported decent full-year March results.
During the early summer months, the local market tends to move sideways as trading recedes from more robust levels. Investors should keep their eyes on the market less they miss good opportunities, as is the case in the near 75 percent rise in the price of General Accident since May 7 and Caribbean Cream. No doubt, there will be others before summer ends.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results from now 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 15 and the Junior Market at just 11, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising and narrowing the gap on the Main Market as investors seem to see better profit opportunities in this sector. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.9 at just 54 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at 8.5 or 56 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 272 percent, for the Junior Market and 144 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication that there is the 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. The projected gain for each company’s stock is computed, by using the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. The ranking of stocks is in order of likely increases, with the highest-ranked, being the most attractive. 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.
NCB is out of IC Top 10
After entering IC Insider.com Main Market TOP 10 last week, NCB Financial Group is out of the top 10 and replaced by Victoria Mutual Investments. These two stocks are the only movement in and out of the TOP 10 for the week. There is no change to the Junior Market TOP 10.
Although the Main and Junior Markets declined during the week, the top three stocks in each market saw little change in the rankings. Accordingly, the top three Junior Market stocks, with the potential to gain between 292 to 666 percent by March 2021 as Caribbean Producers, followed by Lasco Financial and Lumber Depot in the third position. In the Main Market, the top three stocks are Berger Paints, followed by Radio Jamaica and JMMB Group, with expected gains of 195 to 208 percent.
During the early summer months, the local market tends to move sideways as trading levels recede. Investors should not keep their eyes off the market as excellent opportunities can bypass them. A good case is the near 75 percent rise in the price of General Accident since May 7 when the stock traded at $4.02.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on 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 15.2 and the Junior Market at just 10.6, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.5 at just 52 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at 8.4 or 55 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 293 percent, for the Junior Market and 146 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication that there is the 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. The computation of projected gains is based on earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year for each stock. The ranking of stocks is in order of likely increases, with the highest-ranked, being the most attractive. 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.