Trading picked up on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Tuesday, with the volume of stocks changing hands jumping 2,626 percent valued at 2,164 percent more than on Monday and resulting in the trading of eight securities, compared to three on Monday with three rising, one declining and four ending unchanged.
Overall, 102,487 shares were traded, for US$9,725 compared to 3,759 units at US$430 on Monday.
Trading averaged 12,811 units at US$1,216, up from just 1,253 shares at a mere US$143 on Monday, with the month to date averaging 18,949 shares at US$1,604 compared with 20,276 units at US$1,688 on the previous day, well off November with an average of 249,102 units for US$14,204.
The US Denominated Equities Index shed 1.87 points to 221.96.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 10.2. 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 three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with a lower offer.
At the close, Margaritaville remained at 11 US cents with an exchange of 1,672 units, Proven Investments popped 0.45 of one cent and ended at 13.52 US cents with 51,684 stocks changing hands, 
Sterling Investments lost 0.01 of a cent to end at 1.58 US cents while trading 5 shares. Sygnus Credit Investments ended at 8.71 US cents after an exchange of 23,000 stock units, Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share gained 0.11 of a cent to close at 6.71 US cents, with 81 shares clearing the market and Transjamaican Highway ended at 1.72 US cents while exchanging 25,969 units.
In the preference segment, Eppley 6% preference share rose 19.33 cents to end at US$1.4683 with investors transferring 70 stocks and JMMB Group 5.75% remained at US$2 in an exchange of 6 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading jumps for JSE USD Market
Sharp drop in JSE USD Market trades
Trading dropped sharply on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Monday, with a 93 percent fall in the volume of stocks changing hands at 87 percent lower value than on Friday, resulting from trading in just three securities, down from eight on Friday and closed with the price of one rising, two declining and none trading unchanged.
A mere 3,759 shares were traded for just US$430 down from 57,458 units at US$3,210 on Friday.
Trading averaged 1,253 units at US$143, versus 7,182 shares at US$401 on Friday, with a month to date average of 20,276 shares at US$1,688 compared with 21,954 units at US$1,825 on the previous day and well off November with an average of 249,102 units for US$14,204.
The US Denominated Equities Index dropped 6.78 points to close at 223.83.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 10.2. 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 five stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close, First Rock Real Estate USD share declined 0.03 of a cent to 4.37 US cents as investors exchanged 1,887 stocks, Margaritaville increased 0.11 of a cent to end at 11 US cents after a transfer of 1,774 units and Productive Business Solutions fell 10.77 cents in closing at US$1.55, with 98 shares crossing the exchange
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Shakeup of ICTOP10
The Main and Junior Markets closed the week lower, resulting in three new entrants into the top 10 listings and some notable price movements, with the two markets without a clear direction, but the Main Market is showing signs of bottoming out with a big breakout not seeming far away.
Some emerging signs of potential moves higher are emerging for some stocks, with a sharp decline in the volume of some select stocks being offered for sale, setting the stage for sharp upward push in prices of some stocks in the coming weeks. Scotia Group is one such, as it approaches the release of full year results and an announcement on dividend, but buying interest is currently low keyed. The stock trades at an extremely low PE of 5.7 times projected 2023 earnings. AMG Packaging trades at 6.5 times 2024 earnings with only 58,816 shares on offer at the close on Friday and so is Jamaica Teas, with offers now generally above $2.53, with buyers mostly at $2.30, Access Financial is yet another, but buying is weak, Caribbean Cement also has limited stocks on offer.
Four Junior Market stocks gained 6 percent and over and two ended with big losses, while the Main Market had two stocks with worthwhile gains and two with moderate losses of 4 and 6 percent.
The Main Market ICTOP10 ended with Palace Amusement rising 15 percent to $1.29, Key Insurance popped 10 percent to $2.20, while Margaritaville declined 6 percent to $16 and Caribbean Producers lost 4 percent to close at $9.08.
The Junior Market ended with Caribbean Cream jumping 19 percent to $3.69, AMG Packaging climbed 12 percent to $2.89 while Jamaica Teas rose 7 percent to $2.55, Iron Rock Insurance jumping 20 percent to $2.65 and Honey Bun rose 6 percent to $6.44. The losers were Iron Rock Insurance down 22 percent to $2.06 and Lasco Distributors with a fall of 12 percent to 3.61.
Honey Bun and Elite Diagnostic dropped out of Junior Market ICTOP10 and are replaced by Tropical Battery and Stationery and Office Supplies. Sygnus Credit Investments drop out of the Main Market TOP10 with Pulse Investments coming in to replace it.
Indications of where stock prices could be by May 2024 can be seen from stocks with the highest values in the Main and Junior Markets.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 5.3, well below the market average of 12.8. The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 287 percent by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings and now provides better values than the Junior Market.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, a total of 15 of the most highly valued stocks representing 31 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 108, with an average of 29 and 19 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 23 for the top half and 20 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
The PE of the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 6.9, over half of the market, with an average of 13.2. There are 16 stocks, or 33 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 49, averaging 20 that are well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 18, possibly the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks currently, with the market projected to rise by 200 percent on or around May 2024.
Of great significance 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 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.
6 stocks fall on the JSE USD Market
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended on Friday, with a 57 percent drop in the volume of stocks changing hands valued 92 percent less than on Thursday, resulting in trading of eight securities compared to three on Thursday with two rising, six declining and no ending unchanged.
A total of 57,458 shares were traded for US$3,210 compared to 134,274 units at US$39,564 on Thursday.
Trading averaged 7,182 units at US$401 compared with 44,758 shares at US$13,188 on Thursday, with a month to date average of 21,954 shares at US$1,825 compared to 26,499 units at US$2,262 on the previous day. November ended with an average of 249,102 units for US$14,204.
The US Denominated Equities Index dipped 0.42 points to lock up trading at 230.61.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 10.2. 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 five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, First Rock Real Estate USD share declined 0.04 of a cent in closing at 4.4 US cents after a transfer of 1,000 stocks, Margaritaville fell 0.15 of a cent to 10.89 US cents with 1,000 units crossing the exchange, Proven Investments skidded 1.93 cent and ended at 13.07 US cents with a transfer of 1,000 shares. 
Sterling Investments popped 0.01 of a cent to end at 1.59 US cents after investors ended trading 1,493 stock units, Sygnus Credit Investments lost 0.29 of a cent to close at 8.71 US cents as investors exchanged 1,000 shares and Transjamaican Highway gained 0.04 of a cent to close at 1.72 US cents after trading 51,418 stock units.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group 5.75% dropped 10 cents to end at US$2 with shareholders swapping 450 stocks and Productive Business Solutions 9.25% preference share shed US$1.49 in closing at US$10.01 after 97 units passed through the market.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading rises but prices fall on JSE USD Market
The Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market slipped back at the end of trading on Wednesday, following a 15 percent rise in the volume of stocks changing hands carrying a valued that was 50 percent more than on Tuesday, resulting in trading of six securities , compared to five on Tuesday with one r ising, four declining and one ending unchanged.
Overall, 228,802 shares were traded, for US$5,310 up from 198,410 units at US$3,547 on Tuesday.
Trading averaged 38,134 units at US$885, versus 39,682 shares at US$709 on Tuesday, with a month to date average of 24,118 shares at US$837 compared with 19,171 units at US$821 on the previous day, down sharply from November with an average of 249,102 units for US$14,204.
The US Denominated Equities Index shed 1.45 points to lock up trading at 226.16.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 10.2. 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 four stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, Margaritaville dipped 1.21 cents in closing at 11.04 US cents with investors transferring 1,532 stock units, 
Productive Business Solutions advanced 10.77 cents to US$1.6577 after an exchange of just one unit, Proven Investments lost 1.65 cents to end at 13 US cents with investors dealing in 9,389 shares. Sygnus Credit Investments ended at 9 US cents in an exchange of 724 stock units, Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share fell 1.6 cents and ended at 6.6 US cents, with 6,113 shares crossing the market and Transjamaican Highway skidded 0.12 of a cent to 1.6 US cents with a transfer of 211,043 stocks.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
The JSE USD Market rose on Tuesday
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market closed on Tuesday, with the volume of stocks changing hands rising 121 percent, valued 55 percent lower than on Monday, and resulting in five securities being traded, compared to six on Monday with two rising and three declining but the market outperform the rest of the Jamaica Stock Exchange markets that plunged at the close of trading.
Overall, 198,410 shares were traded, for US$3,547 compared to 89,619 units at US$7,899 on Monday.
Trading averaged 39,682 units at US$709, versus 14,937 shares at US$1,316 on Monday, with a month to date average of 19,171 shares at US$821 compared with 10,625 units at US$867 on the previous day. in contrast November ended with an average of 249,102 units for US$14,204.
The US Denominated Equities Index popped 3.47 points to stop trading at 227.61.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 8.7. 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 two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with a lower offer.
At the close, Margaritaville declined 1.75 cents to 12.25 US cents, with 74 stock units clearing the market, Proven Investments climbed 1.85 cents to 14.65 US cents in switching ownership of 1,319 units, Sterling Investments shed 0.02 of a cent to close at 1.58 US cents after trading of 1,420 shares. Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share dropped 2.2 cents and ended at 8.2 US cents with an exchange of 206 stock units and Transjamaican Highway rose 0.02 of a cent in closing at 1.72 US cents, with 195,391 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Main Market surge failed to ignite ICTOP10
The All Jamaica and the Junior Market indices closed the week higher than the previous week but with the Junior Market trading at its lowest since early June this year. The Main Market index which includes overseas companies, slipped back during the week. Stocks measured by the All Jamaica Index recorded gains of 4,565 points from the end of October in the past week and traded at a near two months high and have been flashing bullish signals with a sharp breakout looking very likely.
Some positives are visible in the market, with a sharp decline in the volume of some stocks being sold. Scotia Group is one such stock, as it approaches the release of full year results and an announcement on dividends, but buying interest is currently low keyed. The stock trades at an extremely low PE of 5.7 times projected 2023 earnings. AMG Packaging trades at 6.5 times 2024 earnings with a very limited supply of stocks on offer.
Even as the Main Market index rose in the past week, winners were hard to find the Main Market ICTOP10, with the highest riser up just 3 percent as Key Insurance dropped 20 percent to $2, followed by Palace Amusement down 14 percent to $1.12 and Sygnus Credit Investments declining 7 percent to $11.11.
The Junior Market has 6 stocks gaining, with Iron Rock Insurance jumping 20 percent to $2.65, Express Catering rallying 7 percent to $4 and AMG Packaging rising 4 percent to $2.59 while Caribbean Creamfell 16 percent to $3.10.
There was just one new addition to the ICTOP10 with a listing for the Junior Market with Access Financial dropping out of the list and replaced by Honey Bun, with projected earnings per share of 70 cents for the fiscal year ended September and $1 for 2024.
Indications of where stock prices could be by May 2024 can be seen from stocks with the highest values in the Main and Junior Markets.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 5, well below the market average of 12.9. The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 302 percent by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings and now provides better values than the Junior Market.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, a total of 15 of the most highly valued stocks representing 31 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 108, with an average of 29 and 19 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 23 for the top half and 20 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
The PE of the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 6.9, over half of the market, with an average of 13.1. There are 15 stocks, or 30 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 49, averaging 20 that are well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 18, possibly the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks currently, with the market projected to rise by 200 percent on or around May 2024.
Of 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 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.
First Rock trades 19m shares in JSE USD Market
Trading jumped sharply on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Wednesday, with the volume of stocks changing hands surging 16,744 percent valued 15,601 percent more than on Tuesday and resulting with trading of seven securities , compared to three on Tuesday with four rising, no declining and three ending unchanged.
Overall, 22,289,394 shares were traded, for US$1,286,713 compared to 132,328 units at US$8,195 on Tuesday.
Trading averaged 3,184,199 shares at US$183,816 compared with 44,109 shares at US$2,732 on Tuesday, with a month to date average of 252,426 shares at US$14,653 compared with 79,969 units at US$4,702 on the previous day. October ended with an average of 47,977 units for US$4,392.
The US Denominated Equities Index advanced 4.45 points to cease trading at 228.23.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 8.7. 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 none with a lower offer.
At the close, First Rock Real Estate USD share inched 0.2 of a cent higher to 4.44 US cents after an exchange of 19,350,000 units, Margaritaville rose 1.79 cent to close at 13.79 US cents after a mere one stock passed through the market, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy ended at 57 US cents with 1,187 shares changing hands, Proven Investments ended at 15 US cents after an exchange of 2,771,930 stock units, Sterling Investments advanced 0.1 of a cent to end at 1.6 US cents after 1,206 shares were traded, Sygnus Credit Investments remained at 8.71 US cents in an exchange of 65,266 units and Transjamaican Highway popped 0.01 of a cent to 1.56 US cents, with 99,804 stocks changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Strong performance in ICTOP10 stocks
The main market has been quietly rising since the start of November and closed the past week at the highest level since the start of the month while the Junior Market declined to the lowest level since early May this year but the performance of the ICTOP10 was mostly positive, with the Junior Market having 4 stocks gaining between 5 and 15 percent and two with declines of 6 and 7 percent. The Main Market had two stocks gaining 5 and 11 percent and two falling by 3 percent.
Against the above market movements, there was just one new addition to the ICTOP10 with listings for the Junior Market with Caribbean Flavours moving out with a 15 percent gain for the week to close at $1.39 and Access Financial taking its place. The other big action in the Junior Market, resulted in Paramount Trading gaining 12 percent to close at $1.68, Caribbean Cream rising 9 percent to $3.70 and Jamaican Teas adding 5 percent to end at $2.35. Lasco Manufacturing dropped 7 percent to $4.20 and Express Catering fell 6 percent to $3.75.
The Main Market closed the week with Key Insurance climbing 11 percent to $2.50, while 138 Student Living rose by 5 percent to $4.22.
Access Financial Services is enjoying a turnaround in its fortunes with profit for the second quarter to September surging 153 percent over the same period in 2022 to reach EPS of 51 cents even with allowances for credit losses rising to $89 million from $54 million in the 2022 period as revenues from interest climbed 25 percent to $556 million and revenues net of finance cost was up 9.5 percent to $567 million. 
For the half year, profit jumped 76 percent to $234 million as loan granted borrowers rose almost $600 million to $5.36 billion from $4.76 billion in September 2022 and the same amount since March this year. The company had more than $760 million available to lend plus cash flows from profit that should pushed lending up around 25 percent year over year and helped to swell profits for the year substantially above the six months levels.
Elsewhere, we upgraded Scotia Group’s earnings to $6 per share making it a more attractive IC TOP10 stock.
An indication of where stock prices could be by May 2024 can be seen from stocks with the highest values in the Main and Junior Markets.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 5, well below the market average of 13.1. The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 318 percent by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, a total of 15 of the most highly valued stocks representing 31 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 108, with an average of 29 and 19 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 23 for the top half and 20 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
The PE of the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 7, over half of the market, with an average of 12.9. There are 15 stocks, or 31 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 47, averaging 20 that are well above the market’s average of 12.9. The top half of the market has an average PE of 18, possibly the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks currently, with the market projected to rise by 260 percent on or around May 2024.
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 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 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.
Minor slippage in JSE USD Market
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended on Thursday, with the volume of stocks changing hands declining 6 percent, with a value marginally more than on Wednesday, resulting in trading of three securities, compared to six on Wednesday with one rising, one declining and one ending unchanged.
At the close of the market, 345,389 shares were traded, for US$6,537 compared with 368,630 units at US$6,490 on Wednesday.s
Trading ended with an average of 15,130 shares at US$2,179 versus 61,438 units at US$1,082 on Wednesday. Trading for the month to date average 78,208 shares at US$4,738 compared with 77,132 units at US$4,813 on the previous day. October ended with an average of 47,977 units for US$4,392.
The US Denominated Equities Index shed 0.87 points to lock up trading at 225.03.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 8.6. 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 three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, Margaritaville fell 0.3 of a cent to 12 US cents in switching ownership of 10,000 stocks, Proven Investments inched 0.01 of a cent higher to 15.01 US cents with investors trading 83 units and Transjamaican Highway ended at 1.6 US cents as 335,306 shares passed through the market .
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.