Juniors start 2016 at new high

January 4, 2016 by

Lasco Financial traded at a new 52 weeks' high high of $3.90

Lasco Financial traded at a new 52 weeks’ high high of $3.90


The junior market started 2016 with the index gaining 23.73 points to end at 1,814.78 for a new record high. The market closed with 13 securities trading 6 of which advanced, 2 declined with 4 closing at a new 52 weeks high and one at an intraday high. A volume of 1,707,388 units changed hands, valued at $6,741,784.
At the close, 1 security ended with no bids to buy and 8 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 2 stocks closed with bids higher than their last traded prices while 1 closed with a lower offer.
In trading, Access Financial Services closed at $16 with 8,510 units changing hands, C2W Music closed with a gain of 1 cent as 256,277 units changed hands to a new 52 weeks’ high of 40 cents, Caribbean Cream ended with 500,000 shares changing hands at $4.08, Caribbean Flavours traded 45,000 units to close with a loss of 44 cents at $9. Caribbean Producers traded 3,340 units to close with a gain of 5 cents, at $5.50, Consolidated Bakeries gained 4 cents to end at $1.49 with 111,500 units changing hands, ICI -JM 04 -01-16General Accident traded 5,600 shares to close at $2.05, Honey Bun rose 3 cents, to end at a 52 weeks’ high of $6.18 with 120,000 units changing hands. Jamaica Teas ended at $5.05 with a loss of 5 cents while 28,634 units traded, KLE Group ended at $1.87 with 17,920 shares changing hands, Lasco Distributors closed with 389,944 shares changing hands at $5.50, but traded at an intraday 52 weeks’ high of $5.55. Lasco Financial closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $3.90, with a rise of 20 cents with 50,001 shares changing hands and Lasco Manufacturing closed at $3.58 with 170,662 shares trading, for an 8 cents rise.

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

BUY RATED top Carib markets with 830%

January 4, 2016 by
The JSE stock racked up huge gains in 2015

The JSE stock racked up huge gains in 2015

IC BUY RATED stocks were top of the Caribbean markets in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago for 2015, with Jamaica Stock Exchange share, chalking up a massive gain of 830 percent since IC Insider elevated it to BUY RATED status.Caribbean Cement followed with gains of 640 percent, Caribbean Cream with 444 percent and Trinidad Cement with a 299 percent increase on the Trinidad market.
While it was easy to make money in Jamaica, with profits rising and interest rates falling, developments in Trinidad went in the opposite direction, with interest rates rising and profits under pressure with the economy ended in recession.
At the beginning of 2015 of the 14 junior market selections, few recorded gains and only Knutsford Express with a 17 percent increase reflecting any meaningful positive movement. Losses were large, with AMG Packaging down 39 percent, Blue Power 31 percent, Caribbean Cream 23 percent, Jamaica Teas 28 percent, Lasco Financial 37 percent and Lasco Manufacturing 32 percent. What a difference a year can make? By the end of 2015, gains were all over the place with the list having 17 companies with two being dropped. There were no losing stocks in the list that had a new addition, tTech which could be listed this week. Honey Bun was added to the listing in November and gained 9 percent since. Eight stocks have more than doubled, four gained 40 percent to 91 percent. Caribbean Cream jumped 292 percent to be the top selection in this market, followed by Lasco Distributors up 274 percent. Blue Power was removed from the list in July with a small gain.
In the JSE main market, at the start of 2015, Hardware and Lumber was the best performing stock with gains of 62 percent followed by Cable & Wireless with 47 percent and Jamaica Broilers had the worst performance with a loss of 24 percent. In all, 7 of the 15 selections were lower than at the time they were BUY RATED.
By year-end, all selections in the JSE main market were up, with Scotia Investments having a mere 15 percent increase, being the poorest performer. This stock is being moved to Market Watch as the 2015 profit performance was far too disappointing to warrant buying now, while Hardware and Lumber remains a hold. The rest, present opportunities for continuing profit making. BUY Rated fn 12-15JMMB Group ended with just 28 percent gain, but seems undervalued at the current price. While the list had a few lousy performers, the same can’t be said about a 640 percent gain in Caribbean Cement and 830 percent increase for Jamaica Stock Exchange share. In all, 9 stocks posted gains in excess of 100 percent and 4 below 100 percent but with a 50 percent increase and more.
There were 13 selections in the Trinidad market with Trinidad Cement being the best performer with gains of 150 percent, the next was Point Lisas with 11 percent at the start of 2015. Five stocks suffered losses with the highest being 22 percent and the next 18 percent. For 2015 the price of Trinidad Cement is up 299 percent followed by National Flour with a 59 percent gain.
Looking ahead, the junior stocks should continue to grow, with several of the companies actively expanding resulting in profits climbing at a fast pace. There are a few stocks to be cautious of just now. Lasco Distributors selling at almost 16 times 2016 March earnings. Growth should be strong but unless investors have a long term objective they should be careful buying at current price level, the same applies to Lasco Financial that is selling at 15 times earnings. Dolphin Cove remains a hold at this time.
The Trinidad market needs to be watched at this stage, with the country needing to adjust to the lower price of oil and the recession now being endured.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Company News, Stocks to watch Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

26 stocks rose over 100%

January 2, 2016 by

The Jamaica stock market ended a momentous 2015 with the overall market doubling, aided by a 160 percent in the junior market to land the Jamaican market as the leader in the world in 2015. At the close, all three main market indices made huge gains to reach new record highs.
Top 15 - 2015r stksThe JSE combined market index recorded gains of 102 percent for the year, the all Jamaica composite up 99 percent with the JSE Market Index climbing 97 percent.
In a year when just about anyone could use a dart to pick winning stocks out of the 51 securities that rose with gains ranging from a low of 1 percent to a high of 1,086 percent. Five stocks fell up to 17 percent and one ended with the price unchanged. A total of 25 securities rose by 103% or more and 16 between 50% and 95 percent.
After nearly 11 years passed, with the market not rising above the record set in 2005, the record was finally broken in the second half of 2015 as an announced takeover offer for the shares of Desnoes and Geddes helped push the market to new highs, but it was more than that. Treasury bill rates peaked at 9 percent in March 2014, falling to 6 percent by the end of 2015 was a major catalyst in igniting prices higher, aided by some strong increases in profit of a wide range of companies. The top 15 performing stocks for 2015 are those in the table. The Jamaica Stock Exchange delivered a stunning 1,085 percent gain for investors that were invested in the stock from the start of the year, followed by Pulse Investments with 757 percent and Caribbean Cement with 726 percent.

JSE stock gained 1,085% in 2015

JSE stock gained 1,085% in 2015

The top performing junior market stock is Caribbean Cream with 444 percent, followed by Caribbean Flavours with 302 percent.
With the level of gains in 2015, the PE ratio of the market rose sharply to an average around 10 times 2015 earnings. Some stocks are selling above the average. Interest rates on Treasury bills are around 6 percent but that should fall in 2016 and will result in higher PE ratios as stocks become more attractive as an investment means than before. The local economy grew 1.5 percent in the September quarter, much higher than the previous two quarters, suggesting potential for higher growth levels in 2016, if so corporate profits should continue to grow, hence 2016 should be seeing continuation of the market growing.
With data going back to the start of the Jamaica stock market, indicating that on average only 2 out of the top 10 stocks in a year repeat that performance in the subsequent year, investors should be looking outside the top 10 performing stocks for big winners in 2016. Of the top ten ones that could do very well are Pulse, Caribbean Flavour, Honey Bun. Jamaica Stock Exchange should continue to see attractive gains, with increased stock market activities in 2016. That should mean more revenues and profits, but it will be difficult to see them in the top 10. With the company paying a high level of dividends, investors could see the stock as very attractive for income and thus drive the price higher than profits may suggest is possible.

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

JSE down early Thursday trading

December 31, 2015 by

The JSE main market suffered reversal of the big gains recorded on Wednesday, as Scotia Group pulled back from the closing price of $31.49 to $30, helping to knock 1,006 points off the all Jamaica composite index and pushing the other main market indices down sharply as well. The junior market inched up a bit as trading volumes are light on the final trading day of 2015.
JSE intra 31-12-15The all Jamaica Composite Index declined by 1,006.49 points to 165,379.60 the JSE Market Index declined 900.62 points to 148,917.14, the JSE combined index fell by 843.70 points to 156,609.79 and the junior market index is up 0.75 points to 1,792.90.
A total of 23 securities traded amounting to 423,132 units changing hands with 13 rising, while 4 declined.
Interesting trades include, Gleaner Company with just a small volume at $1.30 but now has a bid to buy 16,000 units at $2 with the offer at $2.50, this comes after shareholders in Radio Jamaica and the Gleaner voted on Wednesday to approve the merger of the Gleaner’s media business with Radio Jamaica. Pan Jamaican Investment traded just 4,140 shares at $94 for a $1 gain, Sagicor Group traded only 424 shares at $18.51 but has a bid at $19 which is 49 cents higher than they last sale price with only one offer at $20.05 to sell a mere 2,000 shares and Scotia Group traded 95,636 units with the last transaction at $30.

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

Strong profit gains at Broilers

December 31, 2015 by

JBG ChickChicken meat and feed processors, Jamaica Broilers recorded an impressive 297 percent increase in net profits attributable to shareholders for the quarter ending October 2015 amounting to $408 million and earnings per share of 33.8 cents according to the interim financial results.
For the six months, profit rose a very strong 242 percent to hit $740 million with earnings per share of 61 cents. IC Insider forecast earnings for the full year at $1.30 and $1.70 for the 2017 fiscal year. Broilers generated $1.76 billion in gross cash flows from operating activities during the half year.
The stock last traded on The Jamaica Stock Exchange at $10 for a PE of 7.7 times this year’s earnings, leaving room for moderate growth based on 2015/16 results and current valuation of stocks.
Sales revenue for the October quarter rose 6 percent to $9.17 billion, compared to $8.68 billion in 2014 and by 9 percent for the half year to $18.1 billion. Gross profit for the quarter increased 30 percent to $2.28 billion, from $1.75 billion of the corresponding quarter last year and grew by 31 percent for the six months to $4.56 billion.
The “US Operations performed as expected with respect to the sale of our main product –fertile eggs for the broiler industry. The year to date segment results amounted to $538 million. Our presence in the markets remains strong, with a broad customer base and we are seeing the benefits of the US dollar hard currency earnings. We expect steady growth in other product lines in this segment. We are recording increased sale volumes in poultry and feed products, consequent on targeted marketing strategies,” the company’s management stated in their report to shareholders.
“In the Other Caribbean Operations, Haiti Broilers SA has increased production and sale of table eggs to 14% of the market, compared to 12% at the end of the second quarter last year. The positive effect of this volume growth has however been neutralized by significant increases in operating costs due to the continuing depreciation of the Haitian Gourde against the US dollars”, the management report went on to state.
JB 10-15Cost overall climbed with some increasing much faster than revenues. Distribution and selling cost rose in line with revenues with an increase of 9 percent in the quarter and year to date with cost of $260 million in the quarter and $508 million for the half year. Administrative costs, tripled the growth in revenues in the October quarter to be up by 19 percent to $$1.4 billion and increased by 18 percent for the six months to $2.9 billion. Finance cost fell in the quarter and grew slightly or the half year while interest income rose strongly.
Cash and short-term investments totalled $2.36 billion, Current Assets amounted to $11.4 billion and current liabilities at $6.8 billion, shareholders’ equity stands at $12 billion and borrowings at $6.3 billion, down from $7 million in 2014.

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

New junior record up 151% in 2015 – Tuesday

December 29, 2015 by

KLE closed at a 52 weeks' high in closing at $1.83 on Tuesday.

KLE closed at a 52 weeks’ high in closing at $1.83 on Tuesday.

Another record close for the junior market pushed the market for emerging companies to sit atop of 151 percent gain for 2015 with two trading days to go. On Tuesday the index put on 25.22 points to end at a record high of 1,726.06 as the market sets it sights on the 2,200 mark the next major point of resistance.
Trading ended with 12 securities trading of which 7 advanced and 1 declined with 3 closing at a new 52 weeks high. Volume changing hands amounted to 986,076 units, valued at $3,374,729.
At the close there was 1 security ending with no bid to buy and 5 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 4 stocks closed with bids higher than their last traded prices while none closed with a lower offer.
In trading, Access Financial closed with 6,490 units changing hands at $16, Caribbean Cream slipped 8 cents with 44,600 shares changing hands at $3.80, Caribbean Flavours closed at $9.44 with 18,938 shares changing hands, Caribbean Producers rose 42 cents in trading 52,000 units to close at $5. Dolphin Cove ended with 1,092 shares changing hands at $15.62 by gaining 12 cents, General Accident gained 20 cents with 1,000 shares trading close at $2.08. Jamaican Teas ended up by 55 cents with only 2,529 shares trading, JM Trde Sht 29-12-15KLE Group ended at $1.83 with 10,000 shares changing hands to record a gain of 28 cents, Lasco Distributors rose by 5 cents and closed with 157,804 shares changing hands at $5 for a 52 weeks’ high, after trading earlier at an all-time high of $5.50. Lasco Financial rose 17 cents to close at a new 52 weeks’ high of $3.70, with 26,998 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing closed at $3.50 with 264,625 shares trading, the stock traded earlier as low as $3.10 and Derrimon Trading preference share ended with 400,000 shares trading at $2.10.

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

Juniors hits new record on Monday

December 28, 2015 by

The junior market closed at an all-time high on Monday.

The junior market closed at an all-time high on Monday.

The junior market advanced on Monday to reach another milestone of crossing the 1,700 points mark. At the close of trading the index put on 20.43 points to end at a record high of 1,700.84, as the market for emerging companies, sits just 3 percent below gaining 150 percent for 2015.
Trading ended with 12 securities trading of which 6 advanced and 1 declined. Volume changing hands amounted to 9,625,941 units, valued at $21,462,981.
At the close there was 1 security ending with no bid to buy and 5 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 7 stocks closed with bids higher than their last traded prices while one closed with a lower offer.
In trading, AMG Packaging closed with 1,000 units changing hands at $7, Caribbean Cream gained 8 cents with 211,685 shares changing hands at $3.88, Caribbean Producers rose 1 cent in trading 40,000 units to close at $4.58, Consolidated Bakeries rose 10 cents with 38,000 shares changing hands at $1.30, Derrimon Trading ended with 100,000 shares changing hands at $3.80. JM Trde Sht 28-12-15General Accident lost 2 cents with 8,576,273 shares trading valued at $17,143,022 to close at $1.88. Knutsford Express ended at $9.60 with 970 shares changing hands. Lasco Distributors rose by 5 cents and closed with 283,883 shares changing hands at $4.95 for a 52 weeks’ high, after trading earlier at an all-time high of $5.08. Lasco Financial rose 3 cents to close at $3.53, with 22,000 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing gained 10 cents, to close at $3.50 with 259,030 shares trading, Medical Disposables closed with 9,100 shares trading at $3.55 and Eppley 9.5% preference share ended with 84,000 shares trading at $6.

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

4 new highs for juniors – Thursday

December 24, 2015 by

Lasco Distributors closed at a new high of $4.90 on Thursday.

Lasco Distributors closed at a new high of $4.90 on Thursday.

Three stocks closed at 52 weeks’ highs and one at an intraday high as trading returned to normal on the junior market with the absence of any major trade. The junior market index advanced 36.17 points to 1,680.41.
The market closed with 14 securities trading of which 7 advanced and 4 declined. Volume amounted to 1,752,229 units, valued at $12,898,901 changing hands.
At the close there was 1 security ending with no bid to buy and 7 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 4 stocks closed with bids higher than their last traded prices while none closed with a lower offer.
In trading, Blue Power closed with 1,490 units changing hands to close at $13.10, Caribbean Cream gained 10 cents with 1,000 shares changing hands at $3.80, Caribbean Flavours rose 44 cents in trading 13,000 units to close at $9.44, Derrimon Trading ended with 20,767 shares changing hands at $3.80. Dolphin Cove closed at $15.50 after dropping 50 cents with 54,900 shares trading, General Accident lost 5 cents with 46,544 shares trading to close at $1.90. Honey Bun gained 11 cents with 1,500 shares changing hands, to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $6.11, KLE Group closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $1.55 with a gain of 35 cents as 6,000 shares changed hands, Knutsford Express rose 10 cents and ended at $9.60 with 910,117 shares changing hands.JM Trde Sht 24-12-15 Lasco Distributors rose by 30 cents and closed with 445,314 shares changing hands at $4.90 for a 52 weeks’ high, Lasco Financial lost 9 cents to close at $3.50, with 172,697 shares changing hands, the stock traded at $3.60 for an intraday high. Lasco Manufacturing gained 10 cents, to close at $3.40 with 67,000 shares trading, Derrimon Trading 11.75% preference share closed with a loss of 5 cents with 3,500 shares trading at $2.10 and Eppley 9.5% preference share lost 2 cents, to end with 8,400 shares trading at $6.

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

Juniors have 5 new highs on Wednesday

December 23, 2015 by

Cargo Handlers ended at a new 52 weeks' high of $37.50.

Cargo Handlers ended at a new 52 weeks’ high of $37.50.

4 stocks closed at 52 weeks’ highs and one at an intraday high as trading volumes returned to normal on the junior market with the absence of any major trade. The junior market index declined by 22.67 points to 1,644.24 as the market closed with 14 securities trading of which 7 advanced and 4 declined. Volume amounted to 1,962,619 units, valued at $7,767,219 changing hands.
At the close there was 1 security ending with no bid to buy and 6 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 5 stocks closed with bids higher than their last traded prices while one closed with a lower offer.
In trading, Cargo Handlers ended with 700 shares changing hands, for a gain of $1.50 and closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $37.50, Caribbean Cream had 1,029,160 shares changing hands at $3.70, Caribbean Flavours fell $1 in trading 17,700 units to close at $9, Caribbean Producers closed at $4.57 and lost 5 cents with 20,000 units changing hands. Derrimon Trading ended with 89,128 shares changing hands at $3.80. Dolphin Cove closed at $16 after dropping $1 with 3,100 shares trading, Honey Bun gained 8 cents with 10,000 shares changing hands, to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $6.08, Jamaican Teas rose 3 cents with 1,250 shares trading to close at $4.50. JM Trde Sht 23-12-15KLE Group closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $1.20 with a gain of 5 cents as 34,000 shares changed hands, Knutsford Express fell $1.15 and ended at $9.50 with 65,901 shares changing hands. Lasco Distributors closed with 225,870 shares changing hands at $4.60 after trading at an intraday 52 weeks’ high of $4.90. Lasco Financial rose 4 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $3.59, with 225,870 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing gained 30 cents, to close at $3.30 with 402,487 shares trading and Medical Disposables closed 30 cents higher at $3.55 with 500 shares trading.

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

Proven sells Knutsford shares

December 22, 2015 by

Proven Mb siggn Knutsford Express traded a big block of 20,000,002 shares at $10.65 with the price falling 65 cents, helping the junior market to lose ground on Tuesday. The record of the company showed Proven Investments as the holders of the exact amount traded, representing 20 percent of the shareholdings with their brokerage house being the seller with NCB Capital Markets being the brokers buying.
The junior market index falling by 24.27 points to 1,666.91 points as the market retreated from the all-time high reached on Monday. Trading ended with 14 securities trading of with 7 advanced and 2 declined with 20,742,505 units, valued at $215,634,789 changing hands as 2 stocks closed at 52 weeks’ highs.
At the close there was 1 security ending with no bid to buy and 6 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 2 stocks closed with bids higher than their last traded prices while one closed with a lower offer.
In trading, Access Financial Services closed at $16 with 2,646 units changing hands, AMG Packaging closed with 8,964 units changing hands at $7, Blue Power had 581 units changing hands to close at $13.10, Caribbean Cream gained 43 cents with 13,000 shares changing hands at $3.70. JM trde Sht-22-12-15Caribbean Flavours traded 450 units to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $10, by adding 97 cents, Caribbean Producers closed at $4.62 to gain 17 cents with 290,856 units changing hands, Consolidated Bakeries rose 10 cents while trading 35,000 shares at $1.20, Derrimon Trading ended with 27,247 shares changing hands at $3.80. General Accident closed at $1.95 with 4,500 shares trading, Honey Bun finished with 2,000 shares changing hands, to close at $6, Lasco Distributors closed with 80,000 shares changing hands at 25 cents higher at $4.60. Lasco Financial rose 43 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $3.55, with 241,631 shares changing hands and Lasco Manufacturing lost 55 cents to close at $3 with 298,484 shares trading.

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