Trading closed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Tuesday, with 13 percent more stocks traded and a 17 percent rise in the value, over that on Monday as 43 securities trading versus 44 on Monday with 19 rising, 17 declining and seven closing unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index climbed 25.80 points to settle at 4,099.01.
The PE Ratio, a measure used to compute appropriate stock values, averages 12.7. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks incorporate ICInsider.com projected earnings for companies with financial year end that falls between November this year and August 2023.
A total of 9,168,150 shares were traded for $36,711,654 compared to 8,135,173 units at $31,415,140 on the Monday. Trading averaged 213,213 shares at $853,759 versus 184,890 shares at $713,980 on Monday, with the month to date, averaging 236,550 units at $980,523 compared to 239,285 units at $995,375 on the previous trading day. May closed with an average of 376,907 units at $1,638,631.
Mailpac Group led trading with 1.07 million shares for 11.7 percent of total volume followed by Indies Pharma with 1.01 million units for 11.1 percent of the day’s trade and Express Catering with 940,863 units for 10.3 percent market share.
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, AMG Packaging gained 24 cents to close at $3.94 in trading 13,615 shares, Blue Power increased 9 cents to $3.79 after trading 151 units, CAC 2000 climbed 20 cents to close at $7.60 with traders snapping up 678,371 stocks, following the release of strong second quarter results on Monday. Cargo Handlers lost $1.04 to end at $11.06 in exchanging 1,357 stock units, Derrimon Trading fell 9 cents in closing at $2.70, with 324,143 units clearing the market, Dolphin Cove shed 24 cents to close at $15.21 in an exchange of 19,356 stocks. EduFocal dropped 60 cents in ending at $2.14, with 538,308 shares changing hands, Elite Diagnostic declined 9 cents to $3.21 while exchanging 2,198 stock units, Express Catering rallied 39 cents to $5.99 after exchanging 940,863 stocks. Fosrich rose 93 cents to $28.23 with an exchange of 93,045 shares, Future Energy Source advanced 10 cents in ending at $5.90 after switching ownership of 572,671 stock units, Indies Pharma popped 42 cents to close at $3.52, with 1,013,500 units crossing the market after the company release robust second quarter results. Iron Rock Insurance gained 30 cents to $3.30 after just 2 shares were exchanged, Jamaican Teas popped 10 cents to end at $3.07 and closed with an exchange of 381,683 units, KLE Group rose 29 cents in closing at $2.28 while exchanging 251 stock units. Knutsford Express dropped $1.49 in closing at $7.01, with 3,398 stocks crossing the exchange, Lasco Manufacturing shed 20 cents to $4.80 with the swapping of 5,799 shares, Limners and Bards lost 10 cents to close at $2.80 after exchanging 189,951 units. Mailpac Group declined 7 cents to end at $2.72 with an exchange of 1,074,382 stock units, Paramount Trading fell 15 cents to $1.75 after trading 14,714 stocks, Spur Tree Spices shed 8 cents to end at $3.47, with 262,932 stock units crossing the market. SSL Venture increased 58 cents in ending at a 562 weeks’ high of $2.77, with 824,288 stocks crossing the market, Tropical Battery lost 18 cents in closing at $2.52, with an exchange of 252,143 shares and tTech gained 9 cents to close at $3.69, with 1,874 units changing hands.
In the preference segment, CAC 2000 9.5% preference share dropped 14 cents to $1.02 in trading just one stock unit.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
3 new ICTOP10 listings
The old stock market adage of sell in May and go away continued to influence the market this past week, helped by funds tied up in the Dolla Financial IPO, but most investors should get full refunds early this coming week, as well as the likelihood of the trading commencing in the stock in the latter part of the week.
The week ended with three new listings in the TOP10, as declining stocks dominated the Junior and Main Market.
In the Junior Market, the only worthwhile gain was a 14 percent rise by Paramount Trading to $2. Access Financial shed 6 percent to close at $20.45, stocks that declined by 5 percent each are Lasco Financial to $3.43, Jetcon Corporation to $1.26 and Medical Disposables to $7.45.
For the TOP10 Main Market stocks, Caribbean Cement gained 7 percent to $70 after the company reported a proposed $1.50 dividend payment in August. VM Investments lost 10 percent to $5.30, Berger Paints slipped 3 percent to $11, JMMB Group down 5 percent to $42 and Sygnus Credit Investments dipped 5 percent to $14.11.
Lasco Distributors and Paramount Trading dropped out of the Junior Market TOP10. They were replaced by Dolphin Cove, with the price dropping to $15.40 and Stationery and Office Supplies (SOS).
SOS got an earnings upgrade to $1.70, with first quarter revenues 24 percent ahead of 2019, the previous best quarter before the negative impact of Covid-19, with the full reopening of the economy after, suggesting revenues should be running even further ahead of 2019 for the second quarter onwards. Dolphin Cove is benefitting from a resurgence in the tourism industry that is delivering increased revenues compared to 2021. The increased income and cost reduction contribute to a substantial profit increase that will carry over into the first half of 2023. It will enjoy increased revenues since the tourism recovery was not at full force in the first half of this year.
In the Main Market, Caribbean Producers is back, with upgraded earnings for the fiscal year to June 2023 of $2.30 per share that will flow from increased earnings for the year starting in July as it benefits from the recovery in the tourism sectors from which the bulk of its revenues is earned. QWI Investments has dropped out of the ten.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 ends the week at 6.2, well below the market average of 14.6, while the Junior Market PE for the Top 10, is 6 versus the market at 12.9. The Junior Market TOP10 is projected to gain an average of 235 percent to May 2023 and the Main Market 228 percent.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list may or may not include the best companies in the market. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings to highlight winners from the rest, allowing investors to focus on potential winning stocks and helping to remove emotional attachments to stocks that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks will likely deliver the best returns up to the end of May 2023. They are ranked in order of potential gains, based on the possible increase for each company, considering the earnings and PE ratios 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.
8 Junior Market stocks that should split
Stock splits and bonuses are two tools companies have in their tool kit to deliver value to their shareholders if used appropriately. Interestingly while the Scotia Group has used these tools repeatedly for the past several decades, Directors at NCB Group have frowned on the practice seeing no value to the group.
The critical point is that directors run a company for the benefit of shareholders not solely for the benefit of the company. Shareholders are kings and queens of the companies they own shares in and directors should not lose sight of that factor.
Some companies have split their stocks and investors love the results of these splits as they see where the values have mostly gone up, before and after the split. Some companies like the Lasco group have handled the split badly by overdoing it and creating too much liquidity that kills the value of the stock for years. The split is also an indication that a company’s profit is likely to grow short term which would cause the stock to struggle as the price gets more expensive without the split.
A look at the Junior Market shows 27 of the 45 companies listed trading below four dollars, with seven priced at more than twice $4. The price differential between the two groups suggests that a stock split is warranted if management is serious about the minority shareholders as well as creating the liquidity in the stock to maximize publicity from listing.
The seven companies are Access Financial, with only 270 million issued shares, with a stock split well overdue that will result in improved liquidity and build interest in it. Cargo Handlers at $11.50 has limited liquidity and needs a split to build back excitement into trading it. Dolphin Cove is the third one with the price at $15.25 and recently much higher, but the majority owner may not be so inclined to go the route of a split, but one never knows as local shareholders could well prevail on them to do so. Fosrich now trading around $27, is proposing a 10 to 1 stock split at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) this month. Honey Bun trading at $8.50 has the potential to move up to the $20 region later this year or early in 2023 and warrants a second split, having done one a few years ago.
Back in 2020, management of ISP Finance had indicated that a split was on the cards, but even with the stock at more than $22 and highly illiquid with less than 3 percent of shares freely available for regular trading action to split the stock is nowhere in sight. Main Event is just at the borderline at $8.20 so a split may be in the future when it has fully recovered from the loss in business, with the advent of the covid-19 pandemic. There are 300 million shares issued with the top 10 holdings accounting for 93.5 percent. Stationery and Offer Supplies hinted at a past AGM that they had looked at it but felt the time was not right. The time may well be very close with the price trading recently around the $12 region with record profits expected this year a split could well happen with the AGM coming up later this year. The company has only 250 million shares issued of which 90 percent are held by the Top10 shareholders. Medical Disposables trades at $7-8 region, with the price not yelling for a split just yet but if management is smart they would split the stock with only 263 million shares issued, a two for one basis as rising profit this fiscal year will probably put the price to around $5 after such a split when all is said and done.
One new entry to ICTOP10
Prices of several stocks rebounded this past week as the selloff to fund the Dolla Financial IPO receded, but the changes had little impact on changing stocks in the TOP10, with just one new entrant to the listing.
Following last week’s 330 points fall, the Junior Market index recovered 143 points by the end of the week, while the Main Market All Jamaica Index lost 211 points on top of the 5,954.55 points given up in the previous week.
This week’s market performance resulted in mostly gains for TOP10 stocks. In the Junior Market, Medical Disposables rose 12 percent to $7.85, while Access Financial gained 9 percent to close at $21.80 and Lasco Financial rallied 6 percent to $3.50, following the release of full year results to March, with profit doubling to $306 million for earnings per share of 24 cents. Elite slipped 6 percent in closing at $3.40 and Caribbean Cream fell 5 percent to $4.69.
For the TOP10 Main Market stocks, Productive Business Solutions gained 15 percent to US$1.15, VM Investments rose 13 percent to $5.87, Berger Paints rallied 6 percent to $11.30, followed by QWI Investments up 5 percent to 89 cents. Sygnus Credit Investments declined 5 percent to $14.80 and JMMB Group slipped 4 percent to $44 following the release of full year results.
Jetcon Corporation price dipped to $1.32 and squeezed out General Accident from the Junior Market TOP10.
Medical Disposables reported full year results to March, on Thursday, with profit before tax surging 938 percent to $143 million and profit due to the parent company shareholders before extraordinary gains in 2021 of $62 million, rising to $105 million, from $7.5 million, with revenues up 42 percent over the previous year.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 ends the week at 6.2, well below the market average of 15.1, while the Junior Market PE for the Top 10 is six versus the market at 13.4. The Junior Market TOP10 is projected to gain an average of 235 percent to May 2023 and the Main Market 228 percent.
Watch these stocks that are sitting just outside the TOP10, the list includes Key Insurance, followed by Caribbean Producers, Scotia Group and Sagicor Group from the Main Market and in the Junior Market, Dolphin Cove, General Accident and Iron Rock Insurance.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list may or may not include the best companies in the market. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings to highlight winners from the rest, allowing investors to focus on potential winning stocks and helping to remove emotional attachments to stocks 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, based on the possible increase for each company, considering the earnings and PE ratios 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.