Trading on Friday ended with 39 ordinary shares declining against just 27 that gained as the Jamaica Stock Exchange suffered declines in the Main Market and the Junior Market but the JSE USD market closed higher following a rise in the volume and value of stocks trading.
At the close of trading on Friday, the JSE Combined Market Index shed 1,100.91 points to close at 335,745.66, the All Jamaican Composite Index dropped 3,528.13 points to 359,937.89, the JSE Main Index lost 1,060.72 points and wrapped up trading at 322,697.93. The Junior Market Index fell 12.12 points to end at 3,780.14 and the JSE USD Market Index rose 4.38 points to 241.69.
At the close of trading, 16,067,798 shares were exchanged in all three markets, up from 10,635,206 units on Thursday,
with the value of stocks traded on the Junior and Main markets amounted to $60.18 million, up from $38.4 million on Tuesday and the JSE USD market closed after 13,643 shares were traded, for US$3,500 compared to 250,247 units at US$11,360 on Thursday.
Main Market trading was dominated by Transjamaican Highway with 3.35 million shares followed by Carreras with 2.22 million units, Wigton Windfarm with 1.32 million units and Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 1.17 million units.
In the Junior Market, One Great Studio led trading with 1.13 million shares followed by Dolla Financial with 727,676 units and Everything Fresh with 565,867 units.
At the close of the market, Main Market stocks rallying were Eppley Caribbean Property Fund climbing $1.02 and ended at $38.02. First Rock Real Estate popped $1.05 to end at $8, GraceKennedy gained $1.40 in closing at $79.40,
Declining Main Market stocks include Barita Investments with a loss of $2.01 to close at $71, JMMB Group declining $1.25 to $24.25, Sagicor Group dropping $5.39 and ended at $41.60, Scotia Group skidded $1.29 in closing at $38, while Sperod sank $8 to close at $77.
In the Junior Market rising stocks include Cargo Handlers with a gain of 92 cents in closing at $14 and the only stock with a sizable loss in this market was AMG Packaging down 70 cents in ending at $3.20.
In the preference segment, Productive Business Solutions 10.5 % preference share advanced $5 to end at $1,080.
The market’s PE ratio, the most popular measure used to determine the value of stocks, ended at 21.9 on 2022-23 earnings and 14 times those for 2023-24 at the close of trading. ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and the more detailed daily charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help decision-making.
The PE ratio chart covers all ordinary shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, grouped by industry, allowing for easy comparisons between the same sector companies and the overall market. The EPS & PE ratios are based on 2023 and 2024 actual or projected earnings, excluding major one off items.
Investors need pertinent information to navigate numerous investment options successfully in the stock market. The ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and the more detailed daily report charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help decision-making.
Investors should use the chart to help make rational decisions when investing in stocks close to the average for the sector and not going too far from it unless there are compelling reasons to do so. This approach helps to remove emotions from investment decisions and place them on fundamentals while at the same time not being too far from the majority of investors. Investors who buy when the price of a stock is close to the average will find that they are not inclined to overpay for a stock.
The net asset value of each company is reported as a guide to quickly assess the value of stocks based on this measure. The chart also shows daily changes in stock prices and the percentage year to date price movement based on the last traded prices.
Dividends paid or payable and yields for each company are shown in the Main and Junior Markets’ daily report charts, along with the closing volume pertaining to the highest bid and the lowest offer for each company.
QWI best performing listed fund
As of Friday, the worst-performing equity-based listed fund has the highest valuation relative to net asset value (NAV). The best performing fund is currently beating the performance of local stocks by a huge margin, following outperforming the market in 2019, but has the highest discount to NAV currently.
Since the start of the year, QWI Investments NAV outperformed the local stocks with the NAV down 16.5 percent while local stocks are down on average 31 percent, with investors marking the price down more than other equity funds. Mayberry Jamaican Equities NAV is down 38 percent from the start of the year, to underperform the market, but the stock is selling now selling at a moderate to the NAV. The NAV for Sagicor Select Funds – Financial is down 28 percent for the year so far, while the Manufacturing & Distribution fund is down 23 percent but the discount to NAV is far lower than QWI.
The disparities in valuing the stocks in the sector is a reminder that making money in stocks is not as difficult as many think, sometimes it requires observance, patience and a bit of logic and here history can be an excellent teacher.
Commodities such as stocks, currencies and other traded assets form patterns over time, persons following these patterns well can profit from them above the average.
When there are major variations from normal patterns, prices will move in one direction or the other and this is one way to make big gains for the keen observer. This is the situation now evident in the stocks of listed funds. When coupled with positive bullish technical signals for the Junior and Main Market, persons investing in some of these funds could do very well in the new few months. The same applies to equity-linked unit trust that declined in value, with the fall of local stock prices earlier this year.
Stocks trading at a valuation below the market or below the historical valuation usually indicate undervaluation and are candidates for gains. The reverse is also true, suggesting that investors should consider selling these if the situation exists.
The patterns shown by local listed funds makes for interesting reading suggesting there is money to be made by investing in some of them.
Mayberry Jamaican Equities is the worse performing listed fund in 2020,
QWI Investments announced its NAV per share as of November 20, at $1.06, a gain of 2 cents for the past week. At the same time, the stock closed at 72 cents, a discount of 32 percent to the net asset value. While the NAV increased, the stock price has fallen to stretch the already overly deep discount. A return of the stock price to NAV would provide a return of 41 percent on the current stock price.
Sagicor Select Funds – Financial NAV this week is 83.8 cents, with the stock at 64 cents on Friday, for a discount of 23.6 percent. At the end of September, the NAV was 83 cents and the stock price 60 cents for a discount of 28 percent. The NAV is at a discount of 12 percent for the Manufacturing & Distribution fund with NAV of 79.7 cents with the stock price on Friday closing at 70 cents, at the end of September, the stock traded at 70 cents with the NAV at 79 cents, with a discount of 12.4 percent.
Mayberry Jamaican Equities discount to NAV at November 18 is 12.8 percent with the NAV at $8.80 and the stock priced at $7.80, at the end of September the NAV was $8.30 and priced at par with the last traded price of $8.30.
The discount to net asset value for QWI narrowed in June, widened again in August but narrowed again in September and has now widened again, with the value rising and the price dropping. The average discount from the start in October 2019 is 21 percent with a low of 5 percent on March 27 and a high of 33 percent in July. The average discount from the start of trading is 18 percent up to the end of June, which is closer to the discount of the others.
SOS & tTech head IC MarketWatch
SOS anticipates maximising profits from every business line in 2019.
Second-quarter results are coming out but still, a number of them are due out over the next few days. Results released today throws up a few strong numbers and the stocks of these companies are worth watching.
First, out the block today was tTech an IC TOP 10 BUY RATED selection with possible gains of 167 percent. The company reported a 20 percent increase in revenues in the second quarter of $91 million and a 62 percent rise in profit to $16 million and 15 cents per share with flat profit of $17 million or 16 cents per share for the half-year. The stock climbed to $6.50 at the close on Thursday and seems headed higher.
Stationery and Office Supplies reported a strong 195 percent rise in profit fro the second quarter to reach $34 million compared to just $12 million in 2018 from a 23 percent rise in sales to $295 million. for the half-year profit rose 63 percent to $92 million from $56 million from a 23 percent revenue increase to $639 million. The company is on target to meet IC Insider.com’s forecast of 75 cents for the full year. Radio Jamaica is yet to release its first-quarter results but investors have sent to stock to a high of $1.90 on Thursday. 
Demand has built and supplies shrank sharply and that should help move the price higher.
Caribbean cement traded 3,770,741shares up to $85 and is worth watching with supply falling. Sagicor Select ETF Fund was listed on Thursday but demand resulted in the price exceeding the 30 percent limit permitted by the JSE with investors attempting to trade the stock as high as $1.90 but the stock closed with no trading and closed with bids amounting 12 million shares at $1.30 and 324,520 were the lowest offers at $1.85. Lasco Manufacturing could be moving higher in coming trading days as supply declines and demand rises.
Over 21,500 apply for Sagicor Select
Investors plunked down $6 billion in more than twenty-one thousand five applications, to buy the 5 billion shares recently offered by Sagicor Select Funds in an initial Public Offer, information reaching IC Insider.com confirmed.
The heavy subscription by retail investors strained the resources of Sagicor Investments in coming with the allocation within six business days specified by the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
In a release on the delay in the allocation, the broker for the issue advised that Sagicor Financial Select Fund are unable to submit the details and basis of allotment pursuant to its IPO that closed its subscription list on Tuesday, July 16th within the prescribed time. “The reason for the abovementioned delay is the unexpectedly high volume of applications received in the IPO which we estimate, as at the date of this letter, to be approximately twenty thousand.”
The broker advised that they continue to process applications and expects to be in a position to submit the details and basis of allotment by July 30, with refunds to applicants to be done by August 2.
At the same time investors in Limners and Bards share issue that closed on the same day of opening, last week had their account at the JCSD credited on Thursday, with the shares allocated to them.
