The Main Market and Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange rose moderately on Wednesday but with reduced volume and value of stocks traded but the JSE USD Index declined even as the volume and value in that market rose over that on Tuesday.
Trading ended after the JSE Combined Market Index popped 114.63 points to close at 345,682.27. The All Jamaican Composite Index rose 178.41 points to 369,782.50, the JSE Main Index fell 54.13 points to 333,991.90 but the Junior Market Index rose 18.04 points to 3,719.15 and the JSE USD Market Index dipped 3.55 points to settle at 236.38.
Shares in the preference segment of the Main Market not included in the TOP10 graphs ended with Jamaica Public Service 7% shedding $5 in closing at $85.
At the close, investors exchanged 15,209,895 shares in all three markets, sharply down from 41,256,345 units on Tuesday, with the value of stocks trading amounting to $104.96 million up from $187.5 million on Tuesday. Trading on the JSE USD market resulted in investors exchanging 455,073 shares for US$31,454 up from 12,114 units at US$1,838 on Tuesday.
The market’s PE ratio ended at 17.2 on 2022-23 earnings and 11.5 times those for 2023-24 at the close of trading.
Investors need pertinent information to successfully navigate numerous investment options in the local stock market. The ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and the more detailed daily report charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help decision-making.
Investors should use the chart to help make rational decisions when investing in stocks close to the average for the sector and not going too far from it unless there are compelling reasons to do so. This approach helps to remove emotions from investment decisions and put in on fundamentals while at the same time not being too far from the majority of investors. Investors who buy when the price of a stock is close to the average will find that they are not inclined to overpay for a stock.
The ICInsider.com PE ratio chart covers all ordinary shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and shows companies grouped on an industry basis, allowing easy comparisons between the same sector companies and the overall market.
The net asset value of each company is reported as a guide to assess the value of stocks based on this measure quickly. The chart also shows daily changes in stock prices and the percentage year to date price movement based on the last traded prices.
Dividends paid or payable and yields for each company are shown in the Main and Junior Markets’ daily report charts along with the closing volume pertaining to the highest bid and the lowest offer for each company.
The EPS & PE ratios are based on 2021 and 2022 actual or projected earnings, excluding major one off items. The PE Ratio is the most popular measure used to determine the value of stocks.
Trading plunged on JSE USD Market
Trading activity plunged sharply on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Tuesday, with a 93 percent fall in the volume of stocks changing hands and a 97 percent decline in value from Monday, resulting from trading of five securities, compared to six on Monday with one rising, none declining and four ending unchanged.
On Tuesday, a mere 12,114 shares were traded for just US$1,838 compared with 169,789 units at US$62,331 on Monday.
Trading averaged 2,423 units at US$368 from 28,298 shares at US$10,388 on Monday, with a month to date average of 32,045 shares at US$1,846 compared with 33,920 units at US$1,939 on the previous day. April ended with an average of 394,241 units for US$22,357.
The US Denominated Equities Index popped 0.89 points to conclude trading at 239.93.
The PE Ratio, a measure used to compute appropriate stock values, averages 9.2. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded prices divided by projected earnings forecasts done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close, Margaritaville advanced 1 cent and ended at 11 US cents with 4 shares crossing the market, Proven Investments ended at 17 US cents in an exchange of 202 units, Sygnus Credit Investments remained at 10 US cents as investors traded 11,012 stocks and Transjamaican Highway ended at 1.3 US cents and closed after 530 stock units were traded.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group 5.75% remained at US$1.90 after a transfer of 366 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading jumps on JSE USD Market
Trading climbed sharply on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended on Monday, compared with Friday, with the volume of stocks changing hands up by 41 percent with a 1,079 percent surge in value, resulting in the trading of six securities, similar to Friday and closed, with two rising, two declining and two ending unchanged.
A total of 169,789 shares were traded for US$62,331 compared with 120,088 units at US$5,287 on Friday.
Trading averaged 28,298 shares at US$10,388 versus 20,015 shares at US$881 on Friday, with the month to date averaging 33,920 shares at US$1,939 compared with 34,382 units at US$1,245 on the previous day. April ended with an average of 394,241 units for US$22,357.
The US Denominated Equities Index dipped 0.44 points to 239.04.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.1. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price of each stock divided by projected earnings forecasts done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows two stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close, Proven Investments dipped 0.59 of a cent in closing at 17 US cents with investors transferring 89,437 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments remained at 10 US cents in an exchange of 3,970 stock units. Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share advanced 0.1 of a cent to 12 US cents with an exchange one share and Transjamaican Highway increased 0.04 cents to close at a record high of 1.3 US cents with 39,148 units clearing the market.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group 5.75% declined 10 cents to end at US$1.90 after 2,033 shares crossed the market and JMMB Group 6% ended at US$1.21 with 35,200 stocks changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Transjamaican in ICTOP10, CAB jumps 44%
The release of company results and some sharp price movements shook up the ICTOP10 listing this week, resulting in several changes in the top 10. Caribbean Assurance Brokers (CAB) topped the week, reporting record first quarter profit cheered by investors who pushed the price up by 44 percent to $2.88 and cleared the market of just about all supplies under $3. The stock sits in the number 7 spot, with potential for gains of 250 percent over the next twelve months.
CAB has been at the top of the TOP10 for several weeks going back to mid-March and now sits at the number 6 spot in spite of the substantial price gains, with ICInsider.com raising EPS to 50 cents from 45 cents. Taking over the number one spot is baker Consolidated Bakeries with Image Plus, that is in demand at number 2.
At the same time, ICInsider.com’s projection for Transjamaican Highway puts the stock into the Main Market TOP10 with projected earnings of 31 cents and a targeted price in the $6 region by early 2024 and replaces NCB Financial that got an earnings downgrade following the release of half year results showing earnings falling behind that for 2022, with a sharp fall in foreign exchange trading gains and increase loan loss provision.
Transjamaican headed the Market Watch list on April 29 this year. Then the price was at $1.77, with ICInsider.com indicating projected earnings of 24 cents per share and a short term price target of $2.40 and now the stock price is $1.85. The company released first quarter results on Friday, with profit of US$6 million.
ICInsider.com has since adjusted earnings to 0.02 US cents per share or 31 Jamaican cents.
While the ICTOP10 Junior Market stocks had solid gains at the end of the week, the Main Market suffered several losses, with seven stocks declining.
Iron Rock Insurance jumped 22 percent to $2.29, Jamaican Teas rebounded from the previous week’s low by climbing 11 percent to $2.19 and dropped out of the TOP10 along with Everything Fresh having posted robust gains in revenues and profit for the March quarter, with investors welcoming the positive development by driving the stock up 14 percent to $1.89, with more to come. The company reported a profit of $35 million compared to just $7 million for the 2022 March quarter. IC Insider.com has since revised EPS for 2023, down to 25 cents from 30 cents previously, the combination of both of the above moves resulted in the stock moving out of the TOP10, but it still has more room for gains ahead. Lasco Distributors, one of the most undervalued stocks on the market, rose 4 percent to $2.68 but is trading at less than 6.4 times 2023 earnings of 42 cents per share and much lower based on earnings of 70 cents for fiscal 2024 has already started. After the March 2023 results are out, the EPS will switch over to the figure for 2024 and that would result in the stock holding the number 1 spot with likely gains above 400 percent. Image Plus rallied 4 percent to $2.20 and holds the number 3 spot on the TOP10.
Tropical Battery is the third stock to move out of the TOP10 with an earnings downgrade to 20 cents per share, following the release of half year results, showing a profit of $50 million, up from $30 million in the March quarter and from $87 million to $94 million for the half year. Dolla Financial, Edufocal and Dolphin Cove are this week’s new entrants to the Junior Market IC TOP10. Dolphin sits at the number 2 spot, with projected earnings of $3, following the 2022 full year results of 0.76 US cents or J$1.17 and will benefit from a sharp rebound in cruise ship arrivals, with the first 10 months last year being a fraction of what it was 2019 and the first quarter of 2020. This is in addition to increased stopover arrivals that will be greater than last year for a large part of the year.
The price of Main Market listed Key Insurance rose 8 percent to $3.40 to be the only stock of notable gains while Caribbean Producers dropped 8 percent in closing at $9.71, following release of nine months’ results that suggest that full year earnings from ongoing operations should end up around J$1.30 per share. Jamaica Broilers slipped 5 percent to $33.95 and Berger Paints fell 4 percent to $8.
Stocks are being prepped to rally, with signals that interest rates will be declining across the board sooner. Interest rates fell below eight percent on BOJ CDs and Treasury bills this past week, paving the way for a cut in the Bank of Jamaica overnight rate. That will provide more invigoration for the Jamaica stock market, with the Junior Market posting gains for a third consecutive week, even as the Main Market suffered another week of a mild decline.
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 in the previous week with more this past week, with the supply of some stocks continuing to fall sharply.
At the end of the week, the average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 is 5.8, well below the market average of 13.5. The Main Market TOP10 is projected to have an average of 259 percent, by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
The 15 highest valued Main Market stocks are priced at a PE of 15 to 110, with an average of 27 and 19 excluding the highest PE stocks and 19 for the top half excluding the stocks with the highest valuation.
The Junior Market Top 10 PE sits at 5.8 compared with the market at 10.8. There are nine stocks, or 19 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 26, averaging 19 are well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 15, suggesting that this may currently be the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks. Junior Market is projected to rise by 248 percent to May 2024.
The differences between the average PE ratio of the Main and Junior Markets and the overall market valuation are important indicators of the 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 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.