The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange recorded solid gains during the past week as the Main Market declined, resulting in three solid gains for the ICTOP10 Junior Market stocks and just one notable move in the performance of the ICTOP10 Main Market as General Accident added 18 percent to its value to be the best performing stock for the week.
General Accident selling supply of stocks is down sharply.
The Junior Market had one change in the TOP10 as Honey Bun moved out for a second time in weeks with a rise of 8 percent, allowing Dolla Financial to come in at number 10. Dolla is likely to enjoy a doubling in profit for the current year, having expanded the loan portfolio dramatically since taking on the billion dollar loan. Investors in the stock can look forward to healthy gains in the stock price during the year.
Main Event, one of the previous week’s top performers that exited the Top 10 with a 6 percent gain to close at $12.95, keeps on rolling on and climbed another 13.5 percent this week to $14.70, up 63.5 percent for the year to date as investors continue to applaud the company’s performance by buying up the stocks as they see more profits to come this year, with the economy fully opened up for entertainment.
The other major price movements during the week were a 9 percent rise for Lasco Distributors, that ended at $2.36 and Honey Bun, up 8 percent to $6.57. There are only two stocks with losses of two percent or less.
In the Main Market, only three stocks recorded declines, but Berger Paints was the only stock with a meaningful move, gaining 8 percent to $8.30.
Interest rates on Bank of Jamaica CDs dipped again at this past week’s auction that, which saw the average rate slipping to 8.21 percent from 8.41 percent at the previous week’s auction. Over the past five months, inflation has been running at less than one percent per annum, which has set the stage for BOJ to act quickly to slash interest rates, a positive development for the market.
The Junior Market’s long history of rising around a month before the release of quarterly results and declining shortly after results are released seems to be starting with a rise of 108 points in the market index this past week, with the supply of some stocks falling sharply.
Honey Bun’s fall from the TOP10 Junior Market list is not the end of the road for this outstanding performer with increased investors’ interest with an expected jump in revenues and profits for the first quarter with the Easter coming at the beginning of April versus the 17th of April last year as well as improvement of gross profit margin that slipped previous year. ICInsider.com expects the price to increase by up to 200 percent this year.
At the end of the week, the average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 is 5.5, well below the market average of 13.7, while the Junior Market Top 10 PE sits at 5.9 compared with the market at 11.6. The differences are important indicators of the level of likely gains for ICTOP10 stocks. The Junior Market is projected to rise by 246 percent and the Main Market TOP10 by an average of 273 percent, by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
The Junior Market has 13 stocks representing 27 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 27, averaging 19, well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 16, suggesting this may be the current lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks.
The 16 highest valued Main Market stocks are priced at a PE of 15 to 114, with an average of 31 and 21 excluding the highest PE stocks and 20 for the top half excluding the stocks with the highest valuation.
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 will likely deliver the best returns up to the end of May 2023 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, resulting 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.
A total of 9,481,950 shares were traded for $117,605,489 versus 20,316,713 units at $95,105,433 on Thursday.
The PE Ratio, a formula used to compute appropriate stock values, averages 13.7 for the Main Market. The JSE Main and USD Market PE ratios are computed based on the last sale prices of stocks and earnings forecasted by ICInsider.com for companies with the financial year ending between November 2022 and August 2023.
Massy Holdings lost $2.75 to close at $85.25, with 214,948 shares clearing the market, Pan Jamaica Group advanced $3.79 to end at $56.79 with investors trading 2,692 stocks, Proven Investments gained 66 cents in closing at $26.50 after an exchange of 1,150 shares, Seprod fell $1 to $69 in swapping 4,703 stocks, Supreme Ventures rallied 89 cents to end at $27.89 with investors transferring 50,497 units and Sygnus Real Estate Finance rose 70 cents in closing at $10 with an exchange of 2,000 stock units.
In the preference segment, Jamaica Public Service 7% gained $3.35 after ending at $39 as investors exchanged 1,000 shares and Jamaica Public Service 9.5% dipped $150 to close at $2850 in trading 15 stock units.
Overall, 1,282,434 shares were exchanged for US$220,084 compared with 131,288 units at US$26,722 on Thursday.
Margaritaville gained 1.47 cents to end at 11.47 US cents after 8 stock units were swapped, Proven Investments gained 0.12 of a cent in closing at 16.2 US cents after 1,273,352 stock units were traded, Sterling Investments popped 0.01 of a cent in ending at 2.01 US cents in exchanging 474 units and Transjamaican Highway fell 0.01 of a cent to end at 1.29 US cents, with 5,000 stock units changing hands.
Investors traded 3,670,324 shares for $9,384,503 down from 6,971,908 units at $15,464,261 on Thursday.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 11.6. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks are computed using the last traded stock price in conjunction with ICInsider.com’s projected earnings for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
EduFocal climbed 14 cents to $2.19 in switching ownership of 3,000 units, Elite Diagnostic fell 6 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.40 with the swapping of 221,031 stock units, Honey Bun gained 32 cents in closing at $6.57, with 33,555 units crossing the market, Iron Rock Insurance increased 6 cents to end at $2.26 trading 3,932 stocks, Jamaican Teas rose 6 cents to $2.09 with investors transferring 132,792 shares, Lasco Financial lost 9 cents to close at $2.40 with an exchange of 2,247 stocks, Main Event increased 80 cents after ending at a record closing high of $14.70 with 51,499 shares changing hands, MFS Capital Partners climbed 23 cents to $3.19 after a transfer of 466,106 stock units, 
Stationery and Office Supplies gained 50 cents to close at $15 while exchanging 9,020 units and Tropical Battery rallied 6 cents to $1.94 after an exchange of 224,231 shares.
Trading ended with the JSE Combined Market Index rallying 448.42 points to 344,198.94. The All Jamaican Composite Index rose 1,723.12 points to 374,094.82, the JSE Main Index gained 275.40 points to conclude trading at 331,860.65, while the Junior Market Index climbed 20.92 points to 3,774.36 and the JSE USD Market Index popped 3.79 points to finish at 243.29. Shares in the preference segment of the Main Market that are not included in the TOP10 graphs had JPS 9.5 percent plummeting $150 to $2,850 while the JPS 7 percent rose $3.35 to $39.
The market’s PE ratio ended at 19.2 on 2022-23 earnings and 12.6 times those for 2023-24 at the close of trading.
Dividends that are payable and yields for each company are shown in the Main and Junior Markets’ daily report charts that also show the closing volume pertaining to the bids and offers for each company.
Response: “All shares held by investors at the JCSD are held under the account of a Broker Participant. To purchase or sell shares, an investor goes through their broker, the same applies if they desire to transfer their shares applies. Since the shares are held under the account of SSL, in this instance, the JCSD cannot transfer securities without their concurrence.”
A total of 20,316,713 shares were traded for $95,105,433 compared to 19,169,248 units at $107,354,551 on Wednesday.
the JSE Main Index climbed 275.12 points to close at 331,585.25 and the JSE Financial Index increased 0.15 points to settle at 76.24.
JMMB Group climbed 74 cents in closing at $31.48 with swapping of 37,477 stocks, Kingston Properties shed 84 cents to end at $6.51 in an exchange of 5,231 units, Kingston Wharves advanced $1.11 to close at $32.11, with 3,358 shares crossing the market, Massy Holdings lost $3 to end at $88 after exchanging 2,776 units, NCB Financial rallied $1 in closing at $72.50 with an exchange of 21,741 stock units, Pan Jamaica Group dropped 90 cents to close at $53 after an exchange of 176,780 stocks, Sagicor Group popped $1 to $50 in an exchange of 8,988 stock units, Seprod increased $3 after ending at $70 with a transfer of 4,187 stocks, Supreme Ventures gained 50 cents after ending at $27 with 9,242 shares crossing the exchange and
Wisynco Group increased 56 cents in closing at $17.34 while exchanging 20,623 units.
Investors exchanged a total of 6,971,908 shares for $15,464,261, compared to 11,018,178 units at $34,448,601 on Wednesday.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 11.5. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks are computed based on the last traded stock price and ICInsider.com’s projected earnings for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Fontana rallied 17 cents to end at $8.32 in trading 34,738 units. Fosrich dropped 9 cents in closing at $2.64 after trading 346,736 stocks, Honey Bun lost 7 cents to end at $6.25 in switching ownership of 2,208 shares, iCreate rose 7 cents to close at $1.59 after exchanging 165,128 shares. Knutsford Express rallied 69 cents after ending at $11.69 in an exchange of 12 units, Lasco Distributors climbed 21 cents to close at $2.40 as investors exchanged 12,727 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing increased 14 cents in closing at $4.14 in an exchange of 388 stocks. Limners and Bards declined 12 cents to end at $2.22, with 33,460 units crossing the market, Lumber Depot declined 8 cents after ending at $2.41 while exchanging 13,855 stocks, Main Event rallied 63 cents to $13.90, with 26,278 stock units changing hands. 
MFS Capital Partners dropped 35 cents to $2.96, with 874,948 shares crossing the exchange and Regency Petroleum shed 8 cents to close at $2.41 but only after hitting an intraday 52 weeks’ high of $2.58, with a transfer of 577,333 stocks.
A total of 131,288 shares were traded for US$26,722 compared with 1,049,056 units at US$18,330 on Wednesday.
At the close of trading the JSE Combined Market Index rose 466.19 points to close at 343,750.52, the All Jamaican Composite Index surged 2,484.10 points to 372,371.70, the JSE Main Index popped 275.12 points to 331,585.25, while the Junior Market Index rose 22.89 points to 3,753.44 and the JSE USD Market Index dipped 3.57 points to 239.50.
The market’s PE ratio ended at 18.9 on 2022-23 earnings and 12.4 times those for 2023-24 at the close of trading.
Dividends that are payable and yields for each company are shown in the Main and Junior Markets’ daily report charts that also show the closing volume pertaining to the bids and offers for each company.
