The Junior Market rose modestly during the past week while the Main Market slipped marginally to close out the week, resulting in ICTOP10 stocks delivering mixed results with the Junior Market recording some solid price increases and just three declines while the ICTOP10 Main Market stocks had just one price decline with three stocks recording notable price increases.
Market activity resulted in three new additions to the Junior Market ICTOP10 and one in the Main Market. Returning to the Junior Market TOP10 are Consolidated Bakeries, Dolphin Cove and Lasco Distributors replacing Image Plus, Lasco Financial Services and Paramount Trading with the latter reporting lower profits and revenues in the first quarter ended August and Image Plus reporting sharply lower second quarter and half year results that pushed projected earnings for the year to 27 cents per share. In the Main Market, Caribbean Producers dropped out of the ICTOP10 and is replaced by Caribbean Cement.
The Main Market closed the week with Key Insurance jumping 16 percent to $2.68, Scotia Group rising 5 percent to $33.60 and Caribbean Producers popping 4 percent to close at $10.67.
The Junior Market produced gains of 17 percent for Paramount Trading which closed up $1.76 and 16 percent of four Caribbean Cream at $4.65 followed by Lasco Financial Services up 7 percent to $2.06, declining was Elite Diagnostic down 15 percent to $1.57 and five percent for Caribbean Assurance Brokers to close at $3.03.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 stands at 5.1, well below the market average of 12.2. The Main Market TOP10 is projected to gain an average of 328 percent, by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
A total of 14 of the most highly valued stocks representing 29 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 108, with an average of 30 and 20 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 22 for the top half and 16 excluding the stocks with overweight valuations.
The PE of the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 5.7, half of the market at 10.8. There are 11 stocks or 23 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 25, averaging 19 that are well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 15, possibly the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks currently, with the market projected to rise by 261 percent by May 2024.
The divergence between the average PE of the Main and Junior Markets and the overall market valuation are important indicators of the level of likely gains for ICTOP10 stocks.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market but not always. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings, allowing investors to focus on the most undervalued stocks and helping to remove emotions in selecting stocks for investments that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to the end of May 2024 and are ranked in order of potential gains, computed using projected earnings for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in weekly movements in and out of the lists. Revisions to earnings are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.
JFP dominates Junior Market trading
JFP limited traded over 46 million shares valued at $67.7 million to dominate trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Friday without a change in the stock price and pushed the volume of stocks traded up by 962 percent and the value 391 percent more than Thursday, following trading in 43 securities compared with 41 on Thursday and ended with 18 rising, 15 declining and 10 closing unchanged.
Investors traded 55,529,342 shares for $124,157,944 compared with 5,228,588 units at $25,295,195 on Thursday.
Trading averaged 1,291,380 shares at $2,887,394, compared with 127,527 shares at $616,956 on Thursday with the month to date, averaging 305,363 units at $710,261 compared with 192,899 stock units at $461,941 on the previous day. September closed with an average of 220,239 units at $459,425.
JFP Ltd led trading with 46.08 million shares for 83 percent of total volume followed by Main Event with 3.0 million units for 5.4 percent of the day’s trade, Mailpac Group chipped in with 2.84 million units for 5.1 percent market share and Dolla Financial with 1.19 million units for 2.1 percent of total volume.
At the close, the Junior Market Index gained 19.41 points to land above the 3,900 points level that it has struggled to maintain in recent weeks, to end at 3,914.92.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 10.8, based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows nine stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial increased $1.21 to end at $29.65 in an exchange of 1,540 shares, AMG Packaging dipped 23 cents to $2.28 trading 43,914 stocks, after reporting a slight drop in full year earnings to August, Caribbean Cream popped 25 cents and ended at $4.65 with stakeholders exchanging 59,380 units. Dolla Financial rose 7 cents in closing at $2.47 with investors transferring 1,189,617 stock units, EduFocal advanced 10 cents to $1.35 in an exchange of 36,398 shares, Elite Diagnostic declined 20 cents in closing at $1.57 after exchanging 156,663 stocks, Everything Fresh rallied 18 cents to close at $1.58 with an exchange of 116 stock units. Fontana climbed 20 cents to end at $11.70 after trading 7,490 units, 
Future Energy gained 17 cents and ended at $3.58 in switching ownership of 55,512 stock units, Honey Bun rallied 59 cents to $6.60 after a transfer of 2,172 stocks, ISP Finance skidded $7.85 in closing at $30 with investors dealing in 7,818 units. Lasco Financial rose 30 cents and ended at $2.06, with 2,400 shares changing hands, Lumber Depot climbed 11 cents to $2.50 with investors exchanging 500 stocks, Mailpac Group fell 9 cents to close at $2, with 2,840,330 units crossing the exchange, Main Event dropped $1.34 to end at $14.11 after an exchange of 3,000,363 shares. MFS Capital Partners advanced 9 cents to $2.09 with shareholders swapping 58,850 stock units, 
Stationery and Office Supplies shed 7 cents in closing at $1.71 with 52,046 stock units clearing the market and tTech popped 9 cents to end at $2.19 after 10 stocks passed through the market.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Most Junior Market stocks drop Wednesday
Stocks mostly declined at the close of trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Wednesday, with the volume of stocks traded declining 52 percent and the value 57 percent lower than Tuesday with 43 securities trading compared with 43 on Tuesday and ended with 11 rising, 23 declining and nine closing unchanged.
Investors traded 5,987,770 shares for $12,559,771 down from 12,574,790 units at $28,994,764 on Tuesday.
Trading averaged 139,250 shares for $292,088, compared to 292,437 shares at $674,297 on Tuesday with the month to date, averaging 200,876 units at $443,025 compared with 209,920 stock units at $465,177 on the previous day. September closed with an average of 220,239 units at $459,425.
Mailpac Group led trading with 2.25 million shares for 37.6 percent of total volume followed by Fosrich with 635,971 units for 10.6 percent of the day’s trade and iCreate with 505,004 units for 8.4 percent market share.
At the close, the Junior Market Index climbed 18.93 points to 3,875.73.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 10.9, based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 11 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial rallied $3.50 and ended at $27.50, with 5,512 shares passed through the market, AMG Packaging climbed 10 cents to close at $2.40 after 78 units crossed the exchange, Cargo Handlers lost 50 cents to end at $14 in trading 1,541 stock units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers rose 6 cents to close at $3.06 after a transfer of a mere 500 stocks. Caribbean Cream skidded 35 cents in closing at $3.61 after exchanging a mere 100 shares, Dolphin Cove shed 18 cents to end at $16.20 with traders dealing in 801 stock units, Fontana fell 9 cents and ended at $11.69, with 14,138 units crossing the market, Future Energy popped 29 cents to close at $3.59 in switching ownership of 369,993 shares. 
GWest Corporation declined 9 cents in closing at 90 cents in an exchange of 500 shares, Honey Bun advanced 6 cents to $6.15 with shareholders swapping 3,854 stock units, Jetcon Corporation dropped 13 cents to 88 cents with 99,954 stocks clearing the market, Lasco Distributors dipped 6 cents in closing at $4.20 after 4,255 units changed hands. Lasco Financial skidded 7 cents to close at $1.93 while exchanging 7,377 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing dropped 13 cents and ended at $4.50 with investors dealing in 111,803 stocks, Lumber Depot shed 10 cents to end at $2.42, with 5,284 units crossing the market, Mailpac Group dipped 7 cents and ended at $2.03 in an exchange of 2,250,400 shares. Main Event fell $1.45 to close at $14.05 in trading 10,749 shares, MFS Capital Partners declined 10 cents in closing at $2 after an exchange of 109,607 stocks, Stationery and Office Supplies gained 7 cents to end at $1.81 with a transfer of 120,990 units, 
Tropical Battery fell 9 cents to $1.90 and closed with 76,098 stock units changing hands and tTech declined 10 cents to close at $2.10 with investors transferring 450 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Falling stocks sink JSE Junior Market
More stocks fell versus those that rose at the close of trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Monday and resulting in the volume of stocks traded rising 28 percent and the value 22 percent lower than Friday with trading in 42 securities compared with 40 on Friday and ended with prices of 15 rising, 19 declining and eight closing unchanged.
Investors traded 5,477,776 shares for $11,276,077 compared with 4,285,226 units at $14,476,628 on Friday.
Trading averaged 130,423 shares at $268,478, compared with 107,131 shares at $361,916 on Friday with the month to date, averaging 195,727 stock units at $429,208 compared with 208,914 stocks at $461,663 on the previous trading day down sharply from an average of 220,239 stock units at $459,425 in September.
Derrimon Trading led trading with 2.03 million shares for 37 percent of total volume followed by Future Energy with 628,019 units for 11.5 percent of the day’s trade and EduFocal with 513,878 units for 9.4 percent market share.
At the close, the Junior Market Index dipped 5.78 points to finish at 3,874.56.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 10.7, based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by 
ICInsider.com for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows nine stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and eight with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial shed $5.88 to end at $23.82 with just 186 shares crossing the exchange, AMG Packaging lost 16 cents in closing at $2.35 after 7,186 units were traded, Blue Power rallied 20 cents to $2.90 after trading 50 stock units. CAC 2000 advanced $1.09 to $4.90 as 1,175 stocks passed through the market, Cargo Handlers dipped $1 to close at $13.50 while exchanging 2,904 shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers skidded 46 cents to close at $2.73, with 3,174 stocks crossing the market. 
Elite Diagnostic fell 9 cents to end at $1.76 with 18,431 stock units crossing the market, Express Catering rallied 22 cents and ended at $4.60, with 7,688 units changing hands, Fontana dropped 60 cents to $11.10 with investors transferring 46,212 stocks. Honey Bun declined 26 cents to $6.10 with investors dealing in 1,426 units, ISP Finance shed 50 cents to end at $43.50 in an exchange of a mere 3 stock units, Jetcon Corporation skidded 15 cents and ended at a 52 weeks’ low of 86 cents after a transfer of 1,264 shares. Knutsford Express popped 23 cents to end at $12.73 in switching ownership of 544 units, Lumber Depot dropped 13 cents in closing at $2.39 with traders dealing in 36,374 stocks, MFS Capital Partners climbed 38 cents to close at $2.38 in trading 78,399 shares.
Regency Petroleum declined 8 cents in closing at $2.10 after an exchange of 60,051 stock units and Tropical Battery fell 7 cents to $1.88 with a transfer of 314,525 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
New ICTOP10 listings
Stocks pulled back this past week from the month end Induced rally of the prior week on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulting in two new additions to the ICTOP10 stock, with mostly declining stocks dominating the ICTOP10.
Coming into the Junior Market TOP10 are Paramount Trading, with the price dropping to an appealing $1.50 and Everything Fresh dipping to $1.55. Leaving the Junior Market TOP 10 are Dolphin Cove and Lasco Distributors with modest price changes for the week. There are no changes to the Main Market TOP10.
The Main Market closed the week with Caribbean Producers rising 4 percent to close at $10.24, but Guardian Holdings dropped 13 percent to close the week at $440, followed by a 6 percent fall in Key Insurance and Scotia Group to $2.31 and $32 respectively.
There were no gains of worth in the Junior Market but One on One Educational Services fell 12 percent to $1.01, Caribbean Assurance Brokers fell 6 percent to $3.19 and Caribbean Cream slipped 4 percent to $4.
At the end of the week, the average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 stands at 4.9, well below the market average of 12.2. The Main Market TOP10 is projected to gain an average of 344 percent, by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
A total of 15 of the most highly valued stocks representing 23 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 108, with an average of 32 and 21 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 23 for the top half and 16 excluding the stocks with overweight valuations.
The PE of the Junior Market Top 10 sits at 5.7 just half of the market at 10.9. There are 11 stocks or 23 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 37, averaging 20 that are well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 15, possibly the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks currently and is projected to rise by 268 percent by May 2024.
The divergence between the average PE of the Main and Junior Markets and the overall market valuation are important indicators of the level of likely gains for ICTOP10 stocks.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners. The lists include some of the best companies in the market but not always. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings, allowing investors to focus on the most undervalued stocks and helping to remove emotions in selecting stocks for investments that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to the end of May 2024 and are ranked in order of potential gains, computed using projected earnings for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in weekly movements in and out of the lists. Revisions to earnings are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.
Gains for Junior Market
Trading closed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Friday, with the volume of stocks traded declining 43 percent and the value 10 percent lower than on Thursday with 40 securities trading compared with 39 on Thursday and ended with 16 rising, 16 declining and eight closing unchanged.
Investors traded 4,285,226 shares for $14,476,628 compared with 7,562,096 units at $16,067,740 on Thursday.
Trading averaged 107,131 shares at $361,916, compared with 193,900 shares at $411,993 on Thursday with the month to date, averaging 208,914 units at $461,663 compared with 233,148 stock units at $485,413 on the previous day. September closed with an average of 220,239 units at $459,425.
Lasco Distributors led trading with 474,669 shares for 11.1 percent of total volume followed by Fosrich with 383,626 units for 9 percent of the day’s trade and One Great Studio with 348,944 units for 8.1 percent market share.
At the close, the Junior Market Index rallied 17.15 points to finish at 3,880.34.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 10.9, based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial popped $5.70 to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $29.70 with investors dealing in 4,852 shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers declined 9 cents to $3.19 after trading 50,833 units, Dolla Financial climbed 8 cents and ended at $2.26, with 111,178 stocks clearing the market. Express Catering fell 32 cents in closing at $4.38 after 27,918 stock units passed through the exchange, 
Fontana advanced 49 cents to end at $11.70 after 318,648 stocks were traded, Indies Pharma rose 16 cents to close at $2.96 with traders dealing in 252,415 stock units. Lasco Distributors increased 18 cents to $4.33 after 474,669 units were traded, Limners and Bards gained 6 cents in closing at $1.80 with 71,703 shares changing hands, Lumber Depot rallied 6 cents to end at $2.52, with 120,507 units crossing the exchange. MFS Capital Partners skidded 39 cents and ended at $2 with investors transferring 296,199 stocks, Paramount Trading shed 24 cents to a 52 weeks’ low of $1.50 in an exchange of 264,900 stock units, Stationery and Office Supplies lost 6 cents to close at $1.73 after a transfer of 35,087 shares. 
Tropical Battery gained 7 cents and ended at $1.95, with 44,633 units changing hands and tTech dropped 25 cents in closing at $2.20 after an exchange of 550 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading drops on the Junior Market
Trading closed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Tuesday, with the volume and value of stocks traded declining 52 percent respectively compared with Monday with trading in 44 securities compared with 43 on Monday and ended with 19 rising, 16 declining and nine closing unchanged.
Investors traded 7,403,059 shares for $14,802,391 down from 15,354,831 units at $30,576,301 on Monday.
Trading averaged 168,251 shares at $336,418, compared with 357,089 shares at $711,077 on Monday with the month to date, averaging 261,585 units at $521,594 compared to September with an average of 220,239 units at $459,425.
Dolla Financial led trading with 2.97 million shares for 40.1 percent of total volume followed by One Great Studio with 2.63 million units for 35.5 percent of the day’s trade and Mailpac Group with 360,221 units for 4.9 percent market share.
At the close, the Junior Market Index fell 9.14 points to finish at 3,898.32.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 10.6, based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows no stock ended with a bid higher than the last selling price and three with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial rallied $2.30 to $25.39 with stakeholders exchanging 4,590 shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers popped 10 cents and ended at $3.30 in an exchange of 1,020 units, Consolidated Bakeries fell 8 cents to end at $2.28 in an exchange of 83 stock units, Everything Fresh declined 15 cents to $1.55 as investors exchanged 1,500 stocks. 
Express Catering advanced 17 cents to close at $4.77 with 6,424 stock units being traded, Fontana rose 34 cents to close at $10.99 with traders dealing in 42,106 units, Fosrich lost 11 cents to end at $2.35 after an exchange of 42,990 stocks, Future Energy climbed 15 cents and ended at $3.65, with 149,465 shares crossing the exchange. Honey Bun shed 44 cents to $6.35 with a transfer of 10,145 stock units, Indies Pharma gained 14 cents in closing at $3.14 after 1,002 stocks passed through the market, ISP Finance dipped $3.97 in closing at $30 after an exchange of 889 shares, Knutsford Express skidded 50 cents to $12, with 59,372 units changing hands. Lumber Depot increased 15 cents to end at $2.45 after 107,100 stocks crossed the market, Main Event increased $1.50 to close at $15 after trading of 60,400 units, 
MFS Capital Partners climbed 41 cents and ended at $2.50 with investors dealing in 129,159 shares and Tropical Battery popped 8 cents to end at $1.93 in switching ownership of 54,234 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
9 Junior Market stocks fall for 2 rising
Prices pulled back in trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday, following trading in 43 securities compared with 42 on Friday and ended with prices of just seven rising, 31 declining and five closing unchanged with the volume of stocks traded declining 41 percent and the value 55 percent lower than Friday.
Investors traded 15,354,831 shares at $30,576,301 versus 25,966,253 units at $67,322,180 on Friday.
Trading averaged 357,089 shares at $711,077 compared with 618,244 stocks at $1,602,909 on Friday, over September with an average of 220,239 units at $459,425.
One Great Studio led trading with 3.51 million shares for 22.9 percent of total volume followed by Mailpac Group with 3.51 million units for 22.8 percent of the day’s trade, Spur Tree Spices ended with 2.50 million units for 16.3 percent share of the market and ONE on ONE Educational with 1.03 million units for 6.7 percent of the total volume.
At the close, the Market Index dropped 51.88 points to settle at 3,907.46.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 10.7, based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows one stock ended with a bid higher than the last selling price and four with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial shed $2.41 and ended at $23.09 as investors exchanged 605 shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers dipped 18 cents to $3.20 with stakeholders exchanging 125,354 stock units, Derrimon Trading dropped 19 cents to close at $2.01 with traders dealing in 3,216 units. Dolla Financial skidded 12 cents in closing at $2.16 with 915,105 stocks changing hands, Dolphin Cove lost 34 cents to end at $16 with investors transferring 49,710 stock units, Fosrich declined 44 cents in closing at $2.46 after an exchange of 31,971 shares. Future Energy fell 50 cents to close at $3.50 after a transfer of 974,341 stocks, Image Plus dropped 10 cents and ended at $2.07 as 85,359 units passed through the market, 
Indies Pharma declined 15 cents to end at $3 after an exchange of 11,493 units. JFP Ltd fell 10 cents to $1.50 in trading 319,270 stocks, Knutsford Express dipped 8 cents and ended at $12.50 with investors dealing in 8,814 stock units, Lumber Depot lost 24 cents to end at $2.30 in an exchange of 21,555 shares. Main Event shed 67 cents to close at $13.50 while exchanging 5,000 stock units, ONE on ONE Educational skidded 14 cents in closing at $1.01 after the swapping of 1,028,049 units, Regency Petroleum fell 37 cents to $2.10 with a transfer of 319,239 shares. Spur Tree Spices dipped 10 cents in closing at $2.15, with 2,500,252 stocks crossing the market, 
Tropical Battery dropped 13 cents to end at $1.85 with shareholders swapping 74,586 stock units and tTech shed 27 cents to $2.21 after an exchange of 200 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
4 changes to ICTOP10 stocks
In a week with four changes to the ICTOP10 stock listings, the select list of stocks racked up some impressive gains to close out the past week and the ninth month of the year, following solid gains during the week for the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior and the Main Market. Junior Market rose more than 150 points and rose above the August close, while the Main Market index jumped 14,765 points for the week and the All Jamaica Index is up 12,156 points with both up modestly over the August close.
Top performing stock in the past week.
Coming into the Junior Market TOP10 are Lasco Financial, Dolphin Cove and Lasco Distributors, as Everything Fresh, General Accident and iCreate dropped out. General Accident replaced Caribbean Cement that fell out of the Main Market TOP10.
The Main Market closed the week with Caribbean Cement jumping 16 percent to close at $56.80, Guardian Holdings ran up 14 percent to close the week at $506.60, followed by a 10 percent increase in Jamaica Broilers to $34 and a 6 percent rise in JMMB Group to $29, all other price changes were 4 percent or less.
The Junior Market saw Everything Fresh jumping 28 percent to $1.75, followed by Caribbean Assurance Brokers leaping 20 percent to $3.38 as supply of the stock below this price has dried up and One-On-One Educational Services and General Accident are up a notable 15 percent to $1.15 and $6 respectively and finally, Image Plus rose 7 percent to $2.17.
Caribbean Producers reported full year earnings to June of J$0.90 per share, excluding one off item. ICInsider.com projects earnings of $1.70 for the current year, pushing the stock jumps to 6th position in the top 10 to number 7 on the list.
At the end of the week, the average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 is 4.9, well below the market average of 12.4. The Main Market TOP10 is projected to gain an average of 330 percent, by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
A total of 15 of the most highly valued stocks representing 23 percent of the Main Market are priced with a PE of 15 to 109, with an average of 29 and 19 excluding the highest PE ratios, with a PE of 23 for the top half and 16 excluding the stocks with the over weighted valuations.
The PE of the Junior Market Top 10 sits at 5.7 just half of the market at 11.2. There are 13 stocks or 27 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 28, averaging 19 that are well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 15, possibly the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks currently and is projected to rise by 255 percent down from 288 percent last week by May 2024.
The divergence between the average PE of the Main and Junior Markets and the overall market valuation are important indicators of the level of likely gains for ICTOP10 stocks.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market but not always. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings, allowing investors to focus on the most undervalued stocks and helping to remove emotions in selecting stocks for investments that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to the end of May 2024 and are ranked in order of potential gains, computed using projected earnings for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in weekly movements in and out of the lists. Revisions to earnings are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.
Rising stocks outpaced Junior Market decliners
Trading fell on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday, from Wednesday levels with a 27 percent drop in the volume of stocks traded while the value plunged 50 percent following trading in 41 securities compared with 43 on Wednesday and ended with prices of 20 rising, 10 declining and 11 closing unchanged.
Investors traded 8,864,793 shares for $19,070,025 compared with 12,103,115 units at $37,867,619 on Wednesday.
Trading averaged 216,214 shares at $465,123 compared to 281,468 shares at $880,642 on Wednesday with the month to date, averaging 195,469 units at $393,452 compared with 194,385 stock units at $389,709 on the previous day. August closed with an average of 183,001 units at $460,354.
One Great Studio led trading with 2.03 million shares for 22.9 percent of total volume followed by Future Energy Source with 1.63 million units for 18.4 percent of the day’s trade and Image Plus Consultants with 1.42 million units for 16 percent of the day’s trade.
At the close, the Junior Market Index increased 11.60 points to 3,846.67.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 10.4 based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close, Cargo Handlers increased 80 cents to end at $14.50 after investors traded 640 shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers rallied 10 cents to end at $2.98 with stakeholders exchanging 22,534 stocks, Dolphin Cove rose 34 cents to close at $16.34 after 863 stock units passed through the market, EduFocal popped 9 cents to $1.39 in an exchange of 1,235 units. Express Catering rose 10 cents in closing at $4.75, with 26,518 units crossing the exchange, Fosrich advanced 32 cents and ended at $2.39, with 491,784 stocks clearing the market, Future Energy Source gained 35 cents to $3.89 with traders dealing in 1,630,311 shares, Honey Bun rose 9 cents to close at $6.77 after 281 stock units changed hands. Image Plus Consultants shed 10 cents to end at $2 after a transfer of 1,417,977 stocks, 
Iron Rock Insurance climbed 20 cents in closing at $2.20, after 8 units crossed the market, KLE Group gained 20 cents to end at $1.70 with investors transferring 10,000 shares, Lasco Distributors dipped 8 cents to close at $4.25 with shareholders swapping 20,285 stock units. Lumber Depot popped 10 cents in closing at $2.40 after an exchange of 182,697 units, Main Event rallied $1.14 to $14.18 after 200 stock units changed hands, ONE on ONE Educational fell 9 cents and ended at $1.01 with a transfer of 13,062 stocks. Regency Petroleum gained 13 cents to land at $2.33 after investors exchanged 340,367 shares, Spur Tree Spices advanced 12 cents and ended at $2.17 in an exchange of 760,398 units, 
Tropical Battery popped 7 cents in closing at $1.92 with 13,850 stocks crossing the market and tTech declined 15 cents to end at $2.20, with 100 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.