The Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market closed on Friday, with the volume of stocks traded declining 43 percent having a 23 percent greater value than on Thursday and resulting in eight securities changing hands, similar to Thursday, with prices of one rising, none declining and seven ending unchanged.
The market closed with an exchange of 147,586 shares for US$21,362 compared to 257,793 stock units at US$17,324 on Thursday.
Trading on Friday averaged 18,448 shares at US$2,670 compared with 32,224 stocks at US$2,166 on Thursday, with trading month to date averaging 37,587 shares at US$2,359 compared with 38,643 units at US$2,342 on the previous day and March that ended with an average of 49,394 units for US$3,593.
The US Denominated Equities Index rose 0.34 points to 237.88.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.6. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price divided by projected earnings done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending and or around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close, Margaritaville ended at 10 US cents in an exchange of 58 shares, Productive Business Solutions remained at US$1.59 with investors trading just two shares, Proven Investments advanced 1.02 cents in closing at 14.67 US cents with an exchange of 44,924 shares.
Sygnus Credit Investments ended at 8.79 US cents with 464 stock units clearing the market and Transjamaican Highway closed at 2.03 US cents after an exchange of 100,000 shares.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group US 8.5% preference share remained at US$1.20 after trading 1,000 stock units, Sygnus Credit Investments US 8% ended at US$10.60 with an exchange of 300 units and Sygnus Credit Investments E8.5% ended at US$10.20 with 838 stocks crossing the market.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
One stock rose on JSE USD market as 7 held firm
Trading drops on the JSE USD market
Trading closed with a big drop in the volume and value of stocks changing hands on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Monday, with the volume plunging 86 percent with a 77 percent lower value than on Friday and resulting in trading in nine securities, compared to eight on Friday with prices of three rising, two declining and four ending unchanged.
The market closed with an exchange of 119,368 shares for US$11,630 compared to 880,808 units at US$49,826 on Friday.
Trading averaged 13,263 shares at US$1,292 down from 110,101 units at US$6,228 on Friday, with a month to date average of 37,077 shares at US$2,335 compared with 38,941 units at US$2,417 on the previous trading day and March that ended with an average of 49,394 units for US$3,593.
The US Denominated Equities Index climbed 4.33 points to wrap up trading at 242.03.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.4. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price divided by projected earnings done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending and or around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows seven stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, AS Bryden remained at 22.49 US cents after an exchange of 434 shares, First Rock Real Estate USD share dipped 0.05 of a cent to 4.5 US cents with investors transferring 15,951 stocks, Margaritaville ended at 10 US cents and closed after 1,228 shares changed hands. Productive Business Solutions ended at US$1.59 with investors dealing in 100 stock units, 
Proven Investments popped 0.75 of one cent to 14.75 US cents, with 40,160 shares crossing the exchange, Sterling Investments lost 0.2 of a cent and ended at 1.5 US cents with traders dealing in 4,200 stock units. Sygnus Credit Investments popped 0.28 of one cent to close at 8.25 US cents in an exchange of 50,407 units and Transjamaican Highway climbed 0.17 of a cent to finish at 2.17 US cents with investors trading 6,858 stock units.
In the preference segment, Sygnus Credit Investments E8.5% remained at US$10.70 with an exchange of 30 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Profits continue to send mixed signals
Early profit results for the first 2024 quarter show some positives, with the Montego Bay-based Knutsford Express reporting b revenue growth and profit for the quarter and the nine months to February, followed by positive results for AMG Packaging and Express Catering, but there were also some disappointing ones.
Knutsford Express
The directors of Knutsford Express stated that “strong and steady demand for our courier services complemented our passenger services have combined in delivering year to date profit of $268 million, up 27.1 percent from $211 million at the end of February 2023. We, therefore, recorded a 20.9 percent growth in our total revenue in this quarter moving to $565 million from $468 million in the comparative period in 2023. Similarly, our nine-month year-to-date revenue has increased by 19.5 percent from $1,281 million in 2023 to $1,530 million in 2024.”
Innovative Energy, formerly Ciboney reported no revenues in the February quarter and a loss of $4.4 million with the year to date, ending with $500,000 in income and a loss of $7.8 million.
AMG Packaging grew profit by 79 percent to $32 million from $18 million in 2023, better than the 72 percent rise in the first quarter. For the six months to February, profit was up by 79 percent to $84 million from $47 million in 2023.
Revenues climbed from US$6 million to US$7 million at Express Catering, up 17.6 percent in the quarter and increased by 23 percent from US$15 million to US$18.7 million, delivering a profit of US$2 million for the year to date and US$1 million for the latest quarter, compared with US$1.9 million for the nine months in 2023 and $1.15 million in the February 2023 quarter. Ian Dear, the company’s CEO confirmed that added cost in the third quarter would have been associated with new restaurants opened close to the quarter as such, some of the cost would not be fully covered by revenues.
The revenue at Margaritaville (Turks) rose just 5 percent to US$5.25 million for the current year, compared to US$4.98 million for the same period last year, with a net profit of US$521,909, earnings per share of 0.773 US cents compared with the similar period of 2023, with a net profit of US$1.18 million which includes non-recurring gains of US$658,000 for EPS of 1.749 US cents.
For the third quarter, revenues fell to US$1.9 million from US$2.2 million in 2023, delivering a profit of US$222,174 versus US$725,000 in 2023 including one time income of US$340,000.
Sygnus Real Estate Finance fell by 43 percent in the February quarter from $67 million in 2023 to $44 million in 2024. For six months revenues reached $88 million down 38 percent from $142 million in the prior year. The company incurred a loss of $187 million in the 2024 second quarter 45 percent worse than the $129 million and for the six months, a loss of $320 million was incurred marginally more than $302 million in 2023.
Paramount Trading is expanding into Chlorine and bleach processing.
Paramount Trading reported reduced revenues and profit for the third quarter and the nine months. Revenues in the February quarter declined 8.5 percent from $438 million in 2023 to $401 million in 2024. For the nine months, revenues fell 23 percent from $1.63 billion down to $1.266 billion with profits coming in at 40 percent lower at $18 million for the quarter from $30 million in 2023 and 44 percent to $100 million for the nine months of February this year from $179 million in the previous year.
One On One Educational Services reported revenues of $57 million in the February quarter down 12 percent from $73 million in 2023 and fell 27 percent to $111 million for the six months to February from $153 million in 2023.
A loss of $20 million million was incurred in the February quarter down from a profit of $6 million in 2023 and a loss of $41 million for the six months, down from a profit of $17 million in 2023 for the 6 months.
Robust gains for several ICTOP10 stocks
During the just-concluded trading week, the Main Market slipped from the previous week’s close, while the Junior Market closed with a marginal loss, with many notable price changes primarily in the Junior Market ICTOP10, but there was just one Main Market price change of note and one change to the TOP10 listing.
In market activity during the week, the only price movement of note in the Main Market is Margaritaville, up 10 percent to $15.53. On the other hand, the Junior Market ICTOP10 has 5 stocks with price changes of note. Iron Rock Insurance topped the list with a gain of 15 percent to $2.52 followed by AMG Packaging up 12 percent to $3.59. Caribbean Cream climbed 9 percent to $4.24, while Consolidated Bakeries popped 8 percent to $2.18 and Access Financial gained 6 percent to $21.12. Two declining Junior Market stocks suffered losses of 3 and 2 percent.
The price of Scotia Group closed the week at $44.88, with the stock returning to the Main Market TOP10 and pushed Jamaica Broilers out, with the price rising a mere one percent to $33.13.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 5.5, well below the market average of 13.2 and the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 7.4 over half of the market, with an average of 12.6.
The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 271 percent by May 2025, based on 2024 forecasted earnings, providing better values than the Junior Market with the potential to gain 178 percent over the same period.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, a total of 16 of the most highly valued stocks representing 31 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 105, with an average of 31 and 23 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 24 for the top half and 19 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
In the Junior Market IC TOP10 are 10 stocks, or 22 percent of the market, with PEs ranging from 15 to 44, averaging 21, well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 17, possibly the lowest fair value for stocks, currently.
Of great import is that the averages of both markets are now converging around a PE of 20 for close to a third of the market, as the year is coming to a close and with more information available on the full year’s earnings.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market, but this is not always so. 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 on or around May 2025 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.
Trading spreads on JSE USD Market
Investors participated in a wide selection of stocks in trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Thursday, resulting in trading in 11 securities, compared to 10 on Wednesday with prices of three rising, four declining and four ending unchanged, with the volume of stocks traded declining 93 percent with an 89 percent lower value than on Wednesday.
The market closed with an exchange of 66,053 shares for US$5,574 compared to 1,005,394 units at US$50,711 on Wednesday.
Trading averaged 6,005 units at US$507 versus 100,539 shares at US$5,071 on Wednesday, with a month to date average of 33,620 shares at US$2,132 compared with 36,785 units at US$2,318 on the previous day and March that ended with an average of 49,394 units for US$3,593.
The US Denominated Equities Index popped 1.69 points to culminate at 240.75.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.3. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price divided by projected earnings done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending and or around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows six stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with a lower offer.
At the close, AS Bryden lost 0.51 of one cent to 22.49 US cents after a transfer of 1,800 shares, First Rock Real Estate USD share gained 0.01 of a cent to close at 4.03 US cents in trading 9,001 units, Margaritaville remained at 10 US cents in switching ownership of 850 shares. Proven Investments rose 0.98 of one cent in closing at 14 US cents with investors trading 2,023 stock units, Sterling Investments dipped 0.19 of a cent to end at 1.51 US cents with 13,127 shares clearing the market, Sygnus Credit Investments rallied 0.04 cent to finish at 7.99 US cents after an exchange of 6,396 stock units.
Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share ended at 9 US cents after 221 stocks crossed the market and Transjamaican Highway fell 0.01 of a cent to end at 2.18 US cents as investors exchanged 30,867 units.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group US8.5% preference share ended at US$1.19 with 1,663 stocks crossing the market. JMMB Group 5.75% skidded 10 cents to US$2 with investors swapping 9 shares and Sygnus Credit Investments E8.5% ended at US$10.70 as 96 units passed through the market.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Big jump in trading for the USD Market
Trading surged on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended on Wednesday, with a 1,060 percent jump in the volume of stocks exchanged following a 244 percent pop in value compared with market activity on Tuesday and resulting in trading in 10 securities, compared to 12 on Tuesday with prices of three rising, three declining and four ending unchanged.
The market closed with an exchange of 1,005,394 shares for US$50,711 compared to 86,667 units at US$14,748 on Tuesday.
Trading averaged 100,539 units at US$5,071 versus 7,222 shares at US$1,229 on Tuesday, with a month to date average of 36,785 shares at US$2,318 compared with 29,371 units at US$1,998 on the previous day and March that ended with an average of 49,394 units for US$3,593.
The US Denominated Equities Index declined 3.55 points to end at 239.06.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.3. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price divided by projected earnings done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending and or around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close of the market, First Rock Real Estate USD share dipped 0.58 of one cent to end at 4.02 US cents closing, with 4,258 units being traded, Margaritaville ended at 10 US cents with 600 stocks crossing the market, Productive Business Solutions remained at US$1.59 after investors ended trading 36 shares. Proven Investments fell 1.68 cents to finish at 13.02 US cents with investors transferring 186,935 stock units, Sterling Investments remained at 1.7 US cents after 117 shares crossed the exchange, 
Sygnus Credit Investments gained 0.01 of a cent to close at 7.95 US cents with traders dealing in 5,475 stocks and Transjamaican Highway rose 0.08 of a cent to 2.19 US cents in switching ownership of 806,663 units.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group US8.5% preference share ended at US$1.19, with 700 stock units crossing the market, Productive Business Solutions 9.25% preference share declined 50 cents to close at US$11 in trading 250 shares and Sygnus Credit Investments E8.5% advanced 10 cents in closing at US$10.70, with 360 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
More funds enters JSE USD Market
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended on Tuesday, with a 43 percent decline in the volume of stocks changing hands after a 166 percent jump in value compared with Monday, and resulting from trading in 12 securities, compared to 10 on Monday with prices of five rising, four declining and three ending unchanged.
The market closed with an exchange of 86,667 shares for US$14,748 compared to 152,339 units at US$5,545 on Monday.
Trading averaged 7,222 units at US$1,229 versus 15,234 shares at US$554 on Monday, with a month to date average of 29,371 shares at US$1,998 compared with 32,963 units at US$2,123 on the previous day and March that ended with an average of 49,394 units for US$3,593.
The US Denominated Equities Index gained 1.19 points to end the day at 242.61.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.5. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price divided by projected earnings done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending and or around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, AS Bryden climbed 0.51 of one cent in closing at 23 US cents after an exchange of 200 units, First Rock Real Estate USD share rose 0.58 of one cent to 4.6 US cents with investors transferring 1,080 stocks, Margaritaville remained at 10 US cents in an exchange of 80 shares. Productive Business Solutions ended at US$1.59, with 27 stock units changing hands, Proven Investments advanced 0.97 of one cent to close at 14.7 US cents in an exchange of 7,992 shares, Sterling Investments popped 0.19 of a cent to end at 1.7 US cents after trading 36 stock units. 
Sygnus Credit Investments rallied 0.34 of a cent in closing at 7.94 US cents with a transfer of 11,059 stocks, Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share ended at 9 US cents and closed after 65 units were traded and Transjamaican Highway declined 0.09 of a cent to finish at 2.11 US cents with an exchange of 59,749 stocks.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group US8.5% preference share shed 0.85 of one cent and ended at US$1.19, with 6,000 units crossing the market, Productive Business Solutions 9.25% preference share dropped 85 cents to close at US$11.50 with investors dealing in 259 shares and Sygnus Credit Investments E8.5% lost 10 cents to end at US$10.60, with 120 stock units crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading climbs on JSE USD Market
Trading jumped sharply on Monday over the miniscule amounts traded on Friday on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market, with the volume of stocks exchanged rising 1,470 percent after 223 percent more US dollars entered the market than on Friday, resulting in trading in 10 securities, compared to six on Friday with prices of one rising, seven declining and two ending unchanged.
The market closed with an exchange of 152,339 shares for US$5,545 compared to 9,705 units at US$1,717 on Friday.
Trading averaged 15,234 units at US$554 up from 1,618 shares at US$286 on Friday, with a month to date average of 32,963 shares at US$2,123 compared with 35,733 units at US$2,368 on the previous day and March that ended with an average of 49,394 units for US$3,593.
The US Denominated Equities Index sank 0.73 points to conclude trading at 241.42.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.2. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price divided by projected earnings done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending and or around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows seven stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, AS Bryden rose 0.47 of a cent to end at 22.49 US cents after an exchange of 2,250 shares, First Rock Real Estate USD share declined 0.08 of a cent in closing at 4.02 US cents after 1,946 stocks passed through the market, 
MPC Caribbean Clean Energy fell 1 cent to 61 US cents with an exchange of 16 shares. Productive Business Solutions remained at US$1.59, with one stock unit crossing the market, Proven Investments dipped 0.18 of a cent to end at 13.73 US cents in swapping 3,455 shares, Sterling Investments lost 0.09 of a cent to close at 1.51 US cents with 301 stocks clearing the market. Sygnus Credit Investments slipped 0.27 of one cent to 7.6 US cents with investors swapping 7,851 units, Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share ended at 9 US cents after a transfer of 540 stock units and Transjamaican Highway slipped 0.02 cent in closing at 2.2 US cents, with 135,904 shares changing hands.
In the preference segment, Sygnus Credit Investments E8.5% skidded 10 cents to finish at US$10.70 in an exchange of 75 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Scotia & Express Catering depart ICTOP10
In a week of the market ups and downs with Scotia Group and Express Catering dropping out of the ICTOP10 listing. Price movements in the TOP10 have been notable, with Express Catering at long last making a move higher in adding 10 percent, to close at $4.45, but the potential of the stock is held back by the company’s poor corporate governance practices highlighted by the fact that loan funding is used to on-lend to related group companies, with no benefit to the company’s to the company, with the company giving up more than US$1 million per year.
In a review of the ICTOP10, the earnings for the current year were confirmed at 45 cents for AMG Packaging, following the release of six months’ results on Friday, showing profit up 78 percent for the latest quarter and the half year while tTech earnings were projected for the current year at 30 cents per share pushing the stock in the TOP10.
In market activity during the week, Caribbean Cream climbed 9 percent to $3.90, but Iron Rock Insurance fell 12 percent to $2.20 followed by Edufocal, down 10 percent to an all time low of 93 cents while Consolidated Bakeries slipped 8 percent to $2.01. In the Main Market, Key Insurance rose 12 percent to $2.48 and 138 Student Living rose 6 percent to $4.18 while Margaritaville dropped 12 percent to $14.10.
tTech is a new addition to the Junior Market ICTOP10 with the increase in projected earnings for 2024, replacing Express Catering and in Main Market TOP10, Jamaica Broilers returns, edging out the undervalued Scotia Group. Jamaica Broilers another severely undervalued stock with good long term growth prospects returns to the TOP10.
It is worth noting that Honey Bun that was last in the TOP10 in the week ending March 8 and hit a 52 weeks’ high of $7.92 this week to be up 18 percent since it was added to the listing in mid-February at $6.69. The price should continue to increase throughout 2024.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 5.5, well below the market average of 13.2 and the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 7.4 over half of the market, with an average of 12.6.
The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 273 percent by May 2025, based on 2024 forecasted earnings, providing better values than the Junior Market with the potential to gain 191 percent over the same period.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, a total of 16 of the most highly valued stocks representing 31 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 107, with an average of 32 and 23 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 25 for the top half and 19 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
In the Junior Market IC TOP10 are 9 stocks, or 20 percent of the market, with PEs ranging from 15 to 44, averaging 22, well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 17, possibly the lowest fair value for stocks, currently.
Of great import is that the averages of both markets are now converging around a PE of 20 for close to a third of the market, as the year is coming to a close and with more information available on the full year’s earnings.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market, but this is not always so. 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.
ICTOP10 stocks will likely deliver the best returns on or around May 2025 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.
Falling prices dominates the JSE USD Market
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended on Monday, with a 38 percent drop in the volume of stocks being exchanged after a 68 percent fall in value from that of Friday, resulting in trading in nine securities, compared to eight on Friday with prices of one rising, five declining and three ending unchanged.
The market closed with an exchange of 130,853 shares for US$9,068 down from 209,773 units at US$28,768 on Friday.
Trading averaged 14,539 units at US$1,008 versus 26,222 shares at US$3,596 on Friday, with a month to date average of 34,790 shares at US$2,925 compared with 40,669 units at US$3,482 on the previous day and March that ended with an average of 49,394 units for US$3,593.
The US Denominated Equities Index increased 0.96 points to settle at 244.99.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.3. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price divided by projected earnings done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending and or around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows six stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, AS Bryden ended at 22.02 US cents in an exchange of 652 stocks, First Rock Real Estate USD share lost 0.48 of one cent to close at 4.02 US cents with investors dealing in 41,146 units, Margaritaville ending at 10 US cents in switching ownership of 500 shares.
Proven Investments slipped 0.02 of a cent in closing at 14.87 US cents as investors exchanged 3,890 stock units, Sterling Investments sank 0.05 of a cent and ended at 1.6 US cents after trading 11,335 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments ended at 8 US cents with 54,969 stocks clearing the market and Transjamaican Highway dipped 0.01 of a cent to 2.17 US cents after an exchange of 18,184 units.
In the preference segment, Productive Business Solutions 9.25% preference share gained 10 cents in closing at US$12.10 with 77 stock units crossing the market and Sygnus Credit Investments E8.5% fell 10 cents to finish at US$10.70 in an exchange of 100 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.