National Commercial Bank

Market makes small correction

May 4, 2015 by IC Insider.com

Grace gained 41 cents to end at $64.01 on Monday

Activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of 11 stocks rising, 8 declining as 30 securities changed hands, ending in 11,765,592 units trading, valued at $$29,091,872, in all market segments. There were 4 dominant trades, with Caribbean Cement accounting for $14,785,112 of the total value of trades, Grace Kennedy $13,881,820, National Commercial Bank $107,075,098 and Scotia Group with $30,890,865.
Although there were more stocks rising than falling, declines in the prices of National Commercial Bank and Scotia Group were the main reason behind the fall. At the close, the JSE Market Index lost 606.45 points to 95,482.64,

the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 678.03 points to close at 105,472.32 and the JSE combined index dropped 514.59 points to close at 97,418.36.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 11 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and only 2 with offers that were lower.
In trading, Cable & Wireless ended with 899,126 shares trading at 48 cents, Caribbean Cement closed with 3,506,670 units trading 20 cents higher to $4.20, but the stock traded as high as $5. Trading was halted in the stock when it initially hit $5, that price, exceeded 15 percent permitted initially, but on resumption after an hour and minutes before trading closed, the trade at the high, went through. Carreras finished with 8,160 units as the price slipped 32 cents to $47.18, Grace Kennedy finished trading with 216,915 units and put on 41 cents to close at $64.01. JMMB Group concluded trading with just 10,465 shares and closed with a gain of 30 cents at a new 52 weeks’ high of $8.30,

Mayberry Investments traded 264,418 units to close higher by 14 cents higher at $2.79 for a new 52 weeks’ high. National Commercial Bank finished trading with 3,569,062 shares but the price dropped by 51 cents to $29.99 after trading as high as $30.50, Sagicor Group had dealings in 34,220 units to close with a gain of 47 cents, to a new 52 weeks’ closing high of $12. Scotia Group contributed 1,236,023 units with a decline of 49 cents to $25, Scotia Investments ended with 19,550 shares trading lower by $2.72 to $24.28, Supreme Ventures closed with 31,377 shares trading with a gain of 1 cent to a new 52 weeks’ closing high of $3.51 and Proven Investments finished with 22865 units to end at 21 US cents.

Filed Under: JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: C&WJ, Caribbean Cement, Carreras, Grace Kennedy, JMMB, Mayberry, National Commercial Bank, NCB, Proven, Sagicor, Scotia, Scotia Investments, Supreme Ventures

JSE off to tamer start than Friday

May 4, 2015 by IC Insider.com

Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange stared off the week on a calmer note, than it did last Friday but there have been a few sizable trades so far.
The larger trades in the first hour of trading are, Caribbean Cement with 300,000 changing hands at $4.08, Grace Kennedy 215,470 shares at $64, National Commercial Bank 3,512,412 shares at $30 and Scotia Group first traded 690,287 shares at $25 and then added more at $24.50 and a 1,390 units traded at $25, to bring the total to 714,543 units. The bulk of the National Commercial Bank shares were crosses done by NCB Capital Markets and that of Scotia Group were crosses done by Scotia Investments as well as purchased from other brokers. Thirteen stocks have traded so far amounting to 4.99 million units with four coming from the junior market.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 712.88 points to 95,376.21, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index jumped 797.02 points to close at 105,353.33, just below the level reached on November 11, 2011 and the JSE combined index leaped 679.81 points to close at 97,253.14.

Filed Under: JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Caribbean Cement, Grace Kennedy, National Commercial Bank, NCB, NCB Capital Markets, Scotia, Scotia Investments

NCB whips Alibaba in stock gains

May 3, 2015 by IC Insider.com

NCB stock beat Alibaba street and lane

One aspect of successful investment is not to go after every fad that’s out there. Since the US stock market bottomed after the 2007 collapse and started moving up and the FED kept pushing interest rates lower, the rage has been the gains to be made in this market.
But investors ought to note some elements of successful investments. Markets don’t go up or down for ever. The role interest rate plays in market movement don’t seem to be fully appreciated by many. This applies to real estate, stocks and bond investing alike.
Some feel that Jamaican real estate is cheap, because of crime but that is only a fraction of truth. The undervaluation is tied to high interest rates that require a higher rate of return on investment to compensate, hence a lower valuation of properties. The US stock market has been fueled a great deal by super low interest rates, not unlike what happened in the real estate boom prior to the fall in 2007.
When rates start reversing there is going to be some shake out. Rising interest rates and uncertainty drove down stocks value in Jamaica since 2013. Last year Interest rates started to fall and the local stock market started to respond by June last year, slowly at first, but it gradually gathered momentum and by October really started to move up and accumulating in a rise of 36 percent in the main market stocks since.
Jamaica has undergone a very long bear market, possibly the longest in history, having peaked in 2005, but more so since 2009, when the market fell in response to higher local interest rates. It was the sort of market that causes some investors to want to give up. On the other hand the US market gave the impression that one cannot go wrong by investing therein. The chart below tells why one should be careful when entering markets after several years of strong gains and to focus on investing in stocks that are severely undervalued instead. The payout in one, is highly risky and there are huge payoff for investing in undervalued ones. Its will just be a matter of time for the break out to take place.
Around November last year, an investors sold out National Commercial Bank shares to invest in the newest investing fad at the time – Alibaba. At the time Alibaba was around US$100 and NCB was sold around J$17. The chart below tells how wrong the investor was. NCB shot up 79 percent in Jamaican Dollar terms. Dividends payable adds to the NCB returns less the effect of devaluation of the Jamaican dollar which still leaves a huge gain. On the other hand, Alibaba is now at US$81 and looks like it may well head lower while NCB is definitely heading higher. the details above indicates that all that glitters is not gold, but it indicates how tough a lesson some investors have to learn to make money.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, Investment Tips Tagged With: Alibaba, National Commercial Bank

JSE on a gallop to 31/2 year high

May 1, 2015 by IC Insider.com

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As if to make up for lost time the Jamaica Stock Exchange is now on a gallop, putting in another day of outsized gains. The market unlike most of the past 5 days, shot out of the box with a number of trades within 5 minutes of opening. By the close the prices of 16 securities rose with 8 of them closing at 52 weeks’ high and pushing the market to its highest level since mid-November 2011.
The prices of only 2 stocks declined as 23 securities changed hands, ending in 3,992,674 units trading, valued at $35,124,269, in all market segments. Even the junior market that has been a laggard this year, moved up sharply on Friday and is now just 29 points away from its all-time high reached in 2013.
The JSE Market Index gained 2,824.66 points to 96,089.09, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index jumped 3,158.10 points to close at 106,150.35, just below the level reached on November 11, 2011 and the JSE Combined Index leaped 2,890.21 points to close at 97,932.95.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and with offers that were lower.
In trading, Cable & Wireless ended with 1,037,588 units to close lower by 4 cents at 48 cents, Caribbean Cement with 902,807 shares changing hands, closed higher by 15 cents to $4,in continued response to excellent Q1 results. Carreras finished with 8,774 shares trading with a gain of 42 cents to a new 52 weeks’ high of $47.50, Desnoes & Geddes finished trading with only 28,000 shares, gaining 47 cents to a new 52 weeks’ high of $6.49, Grace Kennedy concluded trading with 172,590 shares but the price dropped 39 cents to $63.60, Jamaica Broilers ended up trading 66,500 units to close with a gain of 35 cents to $5.10. Jamaica Producers finished trading with just 2,812 shares, with the price rising $1.25 to $18.50. There was dealing in 168,500 units of Mayberry Investments as the stock put on 5 cents to close at a new 52 weeks’ high of $2.65, National Commercial Bank contributed 433,054 shares to end with an increase of 42 cents to close at a new 52 weeks’ high of $30.50, the stock traded as high as $31. Sagicor Group ended with 212,335 units changing hands and put on 52 cents, to a new 52 weeks’ high of $11.53 after trading as high as $12.20. Scotia Group closed with 8,627 units and put on $2.26 to a new 52 weeks’ high of $25.49, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 140,900 units to end at $2.30 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share had 80,000 units changing hands at $3.20.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Caribbean Cement, Carreras, Desnoes & Geddes, Grace Kennedy, Jamaica Broilers, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50%, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75%, Jamaica Producers, Mayberry Investments, National Commercial Bank, Sagicor Group, Scotia Group

JSE jumps Thursday up 11% for April

April 30, 2015 by IC Insider.com

NCB closed at a new 52 weeks’ high at $30.08 and is up 77% from the low in summer last year.

The Jamaica Stock Exchange, ended on another strong note, with the largest number of stocks gaining for a long time. The market closed out April with big gains for the month. At the end of March the all Jamaica Composite Index was at 92,415.82 and gained 10,576.43 points or 11.4 percent during April.
The strong market activity on Thursday, resulted in the prices of 23 stocks rising, 5 declining as 34 securities changed hands, ending in 7,695,548 units trading, valued at $109,643,238, in all market segments. The JSE Market Index gained 1,987.22 points to 93,264.43, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index jumped 2,221.80 points to close at 102,992.25 and the JSE combined index gained 2,133.14 points to close at 95,042.74. At one point during trading, the market recorded more than 3,000 points gain on the all Jamaica Composite index.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 13 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and only 2 with offers that were lower. This out turn indicates another strong day ahead for price movements.
The main stocks trading| Caribbean Cement traded only 100 shares, gained 55 cents to end at $3.85, but closed with the bid at $3.88, Carreras ended trading with 31,886 shares to close at a new 52 weeks’ high of $47.08, but ended with a bid at $47.49, followed by Desnoes & Geddes with only 500 units in closing at a new 52 weeks’ high of $6.02. Hardware & Lumber had only 480 units changing hands, gained 45 cents to end at $7.50,

Jamaica Broilers closed with 24,500 shares at $4.75, after falling by 35 cents, Jamaica Producers lost 25 cents with 60,000 shares to end at $17.25. JMMB Group gained 50 cents and closed at a new 52 weeks’ high of $8 with 13,250 shares changing hands, Kingston Wharves traded 16,105 units with the price declining 56 cents to $5.95. Mayberry Investments had 711,200 units changing hands a new 52 weeks’ high of $2.60, National Commercial Bank traded 3,066,787 shares between $29.50 and the closing price and closed with a gain of $1.58 at a new 52 weeks’ high of $30.08. Pan Jamaican Investment price fell $3 with only 885 units trading at $57, Sagicor Group had 290,390 shares and closed 21 cents higher for a new 52 weeks’ high of $11.01. Scotia Group traded 58,380 shares to gain 25 cents and end at a new 52 weeks’ high of $23.25, Scotia Investments traded just 910 units to gain $2.90 and closed at $27, Seprod had only 630 units trading, to end at $18.50 and Supreme Ventures traded 515,400 units to close at $3.50, but traded as high as $3.75, for a new 52 weeks intraday high.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Caribbean Cement, Carreras, Desnoes & Geddes, H&L, Jamaica Broilers, Jamaica Producers, JMMB Group, Kingston Wharves, Mayberry Investments, National Commercial Bank, Pan Jamaican Investment, Sagicor Group, Scotia Group, Scotia Investments, Seprod, Supreme Ventures

JSE now at 40 months’ high

April 30, 2015 by IC Insider.com

Carreras closed $2 higher, at a new 52 weeks’ high of $47 on Wednesday.

The Jamaica Stock Exchange had another robust day of trading with several stocks rising and few declining, with the index hitting a near 40 months high and with 9 stocks trading at new 52 weeks, high and 7 stocks closing at 52 weeks’ high.
Trading resulted in the prices of 15 stocks rising, 4 declining as 22 securities changed hands, ending in 2,104,274 units trading, valued at $19,545,760, in all market segments.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 1,419.14 points to 91,277.21, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index rose 1,586.66 points to close at 100,770.45 and the JSE Combined Index gained 1,533.53 points to close at 92,909.60. The market is at its highest since January 5, 2012 when it closed then at 101,108.42 on the all Jamaican Composite index.

IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 16 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 with offers that were lower.
Wednesday session closed with, Caribbean Cement gained 30 cents in trading 91,665 units at $3.30, Carreras having 4,200 units changing hands to end with a gain of $2, at a new 52 weeks’ high of $47, Gleaner closed with 295,600 shares being active to end at 95 cents, up by 5 cents. Grace Kennedy put on 51 cents with 198,238 shares traded, at $63.50, Jamaica Broilers traded 14,200 units at a new 52 weeks’ high of $5.10,for a 30 cents increase, JMMB Group traded 151,000 units at $7.50, Kingston Wharves
traded 66,666 shares at $6.51,as the price fell 46 cents. Mayberry Investments traded 200,000 units at a new 52 weeks’ high of $2.55, after putting on 30 cents on the price.

National Commercial Bank had 17,584 units changing hands for 50 cents higher to end at a new 52 weeks’ high of $28.50. Sagicor Group traded 6,755 shares at a new 52 weeks’ high of $10.80, after gaining 14 cents, Scotia Group exchanged 10,923 shares for a new 52 weeks’ high of $23, with an increase of 28 cents, Supreme Ventures gained 30 cents in trading 20,000 units, at a new 52 weeks’ high of $3.50. Proven Investments traded 55,171 ordinary shares at 20 US cents, for a 2 cents increase, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share, traded 185,000 units at $2.10 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 54,700 units at $3.20.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Caribbean Cement, Carreras, Grace Kennedy, Jamaica Broilers, Jamaica Money Market Brokers, JMMB Group, Kingston Wharves, Mayberry Investments, National Commercial Bank, Proven Investments, Sagicor Group, Scotia Group, Supreme Ventures

Why NCB deserved a look then?

April 29, 2015 by IC Insider.com

NCB closed at a new 52 weeks’ high on of $26.50 on Wednesday

National Commercial Bank (NCB) closed on the 28th of April at $28, that is up a strong 65 percent form the price of $17 in May last year. With the realisation that the stock was heavily undervalued, in June last year IC Insider had this to say about the stock.
The shares may not be trading in droves recently with the price tending to trade around $17 since early May but investors may be missing a great buying opportunity with a stock that is seriously undervalued.
In Trinidad the stock closed as low as TT$1.04 recently but has moved up to $1.10 on Friday and seems poised to go higher. The bid in Trinidad on Friday’s close was $1.10 (J$19.20) to buy 22,933 units with an offer of 26,000 units at $1.14. On Wednesday the stock traded 69,456 units at $1.08 and gained 2 cents in the process. On Friday 21,322 traded in Jamaica at $18.01 each and 1,396,013 on Thursday between $17 and $18.03. Wednesday saw 21,595 units being traded between $17.30 and $19. One important factor is that the stock is not in great supply.

But it’s the order book on the Jamaica Stock Exchange that is sending a strong message to buy coupled with is 2014 being a year when the results should help stimulate the stock price higher. There are only 280,000 shares on offer in the market but the buying interest is not particularly strong. With the pickup in trading in Trinidad, the price in Jamaica could get a lift and with third quarter results to June which are due in the last week in July, that could strengthen investor’s appetite for the stock and give it a badly needed push.
IC Insider forecasts earnings of $5 per share for the current year (2014), so far NCB reported earnings of $2.38 for the first 6 months of the fiscal year. Well NCB went on the report $4.73 per share for the year to September but it took a long time for the stock to rise. Like good cream, goods stocks will eventually rise. Not only has the stock posted strong gains, investors in it have had a very good payment with increased dividends. Interesting while all the potential was there, there are investors who sold around the $17 price level and moved into Alibaba, it being the rage then. The returns of the former speaks volumes about investing in what is known and buying undervalued stocks as Alibaba has gone nowhere since last year while NCB has grown and is heading higher yet.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Company News Tagged With: National Commercial Bank

5 stocks gained on TTSE

April 28, 2015 by IC Insider.com

Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange remains moderate but ended with 9 securities changing hands of which 5 advanced, none declined and 4 traded firm, with a total of 71,360 units, valued at $1,185,423.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index advanced by 0.59 points to 1,152.56, the All T&T Index rose 0.49 points to close at 1,968.41 and the Cross Listed Index increased by 0.09 points to close at 44.14.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Clico Investment Fund traded 7,480 shares valued at $168,674 with the price rising 1 cent to $22.56. First Citizens Bank traded just 33 shares to close at $35.69, up 1 cent. JMMB Group with 30,000 shares changing hands, closed 1 cent higher at 47 cents, Point Lisa traded 1,100 units to close 9 cents higher at $3.69, but the bid closed at $3.75 to buy 155,625 shares and Unilever had 140 units trading at $66.09 to gain 1 cent, for a new 52 weeks’ high.
Declines| No stocks declined at the end of trading on Tuesday.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, National Enterprises contributing just 10 shares at $17.30 while Praetorian Property Mutual Fund traded just 2,000 shares at $3.10, Sagicor Financial Corporation traded 11,000 shares at $5.90 and Scotiabank traded 4,500 shares valued at $280,485 to close at $62.33.
National Commercial Bank did not traded but closed with a bid of $1.50, the same price as the last sale to buy 24,859 units at $1.50.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: JMMB Group, National Commercial Bank, Point Lisa, Sagicor Financial Corporation, Scotiabank, Unilever

JSE powering up to break resistance

April 27, 2015 by IC Insider.com

JSE closed at a new 52 weeks’ high of $2.90 by posting a gain of 89 cents

The Jamaica Stock Exchange continued where it left off on Friday and posted another solid day of gains on Monday but with limited volume. The market ended with the prices of 13 stocks rising, 5 declining as indicated by the IC stock market indicator at the close on Friday.
Monday’s reading suggest a continuation of the bullish tone, although it suggest that there could be less stocks gaining in the main market than on Monday.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 13 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with offers that were lower.

Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 1,055.74 points to 88,470.49, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 1,180.37 points to close at 97,632.41 and the JSE combined index increased by 953.26 points to close at 90,100.14. In all, 28 securities changed hands, ending in 1,437,587 units trading, valued at $28,055,047, in all market segments and 4 stocks closed at new 52 weeks’ high.
In trading, Barita Investments closed with 130,500 shares trading at $2.07, for a 12 cents gain, Caribbean Cement had 26,500 units changing hands 20 cents higher at $2.70. Carreras closed trading with 12,563 shares at $45 but traded as high as $46.50 for a new 52 weeks’ intraday high but lost $1 at the end. Grace Kennedy put through 26,573 units to gain 43 cents and end at $62.99, Jamaica Broilers put on 20 cents with 11,628 shares trading, at $4.80. Jamaica Stock Exchange closed with 37,512 units trading at $2.90, after putting on 89 cents gain, to end at a 52 weeks’ high, National Commercial Bank traded at a new 52 weeks’ intraday high of $28, with 840,067

shares changing hands, the stock closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $27.01 with an increase of 29 cents. Pan Jamaican Investment traded just 500 shares to close with a gain of 75 cents at $56.03, Sagicor Group traded 34,338 units at $10.61, to record a gain of 6 cents, Scotia Group had 30,477 shares trading, to close at $22.66 for a 66 cents gain, to close at a 52 weeks’ high. Supreme Ventures closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $3.10 with just 20,000 shares changing hands and put on 23 cents and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 76,000 units at $3.07 as the price slipped by 13 cents.

Filed Under: JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Barita Investments, Caribbean Cement, Carreras, Grace Kennedy, Jamaica Broilers, Jamaica Money Market Brok, Jamaica Stock Exchange, National Commercial Bank, Pan Jamaican Investment, Sagicor Group, Scotia Group, Supreme Ventures

NCB post increased Q2 profit

April 23, 2015 by IC Insider.com

National Commercial Bank is reporting net profit for the three months ended March 2015 of $3.27 billion versus $3.05 billion in the 2014 period.
Changes in the manner the tax of the groups assets are now being treated with all amounts due being booked as expenses up front has distorted the results in the early months of the fiscal year which are front loaded with these cost. Normalising the expenses would result, according to NCB in net profit for the three months ended March 2015 of $3.34 billion, 20 percent or $563 million over normalised net profit for the December 2014 quarter of $2,778 million, and 12 percent or $349 million over the previously reported net profit for the three months ended March 2014 of $2.99 billion. For the six months to March the banking group reported profit of $5.4 billion or $2.19 per shares compared with $5.55 billion in 2014. The up-fronting of the asset tax, resulted in the lower 2015 profit compared to 2014. NCB should go on to earn around $7 billion in the second half of the year or around $5 per share for the full year.
For the six months to March 2015, operating income increased by 14 percent, or $2.9 billion, compared with the six months ended March 2014, mainly as a result of gain on foreign currency and investment activities, up by $1.5 billion. This was due to higher levels of foreign exchange income and gains from the sale of debt securities compared to the prior year, NCB said.
Also contributing to the increased profit is net fee and commission income, increasing by $652 million or 16 percent, mainly due to Payment Services fees related to card usage and transaction volumes, credit related fees from the growth in loans and greater corporate finance and unit trust fees booked in the current period, the banking group stated in its release to the Stock Exchange. Net interest income, increasing by 4 percent, or $542 million, primarily due to growth in the net loan portfolio.
Loans and advances, totalled $157.9 billion (net of provision for credit losses) at March 2015, grew by 5 percent, or $7.4 billion, compared to the loan portfolio as at March 2014.
NCB declared an interim dividend of 45 cents per ordinary stock unit which is payable on May 21 for stockholders on record as at May 8, 2015.