JSE majors retreat on Tuesday

September 27, 2016 by

Scotia Group dropped by $1 on the JSE on Tuesday.

Scotia Group dropped by $1 on the JSE on Tuesday.

Stocks on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange mostly declined at the close of trading on Tuesday with four digit losses in the main indices as declining stocks inched over advancing stocks.
At the close of the market, prices of 12 securities gained out of a total of 38 trading, while 15 declined in the overall market, including 7 stocks rising and 4 falling, in the junior market.
Caribbean Cement was the star performer with a dive of $4.40 to close at $29.50 during the day and closed with 67,176 shares changing hands while Carreras exchanged 1,349,963 shares at $65 with a loss of 25 cents.
At the close 3,375,381 units valued at $114,125,679, changed hands, compared to the 3,502,355 units valued at $25,804,167 changing hands on Monday. The junior market accounted for 494,666 units valued at $2,264,166 of the stocks traded.
ICI JSE sum 27-09-16The market index ended with sizable losses, with the JSE Market Index all Jamaica Composite Index dropping 1,595.99 points to close at 179,931.64 and the JSE combined index falling 1,108.42 points, to end at 174,438.21.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 14 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 with lower offers.
In market activity, Cable & Wireless fell 5 cents and closed at 90 with 42,413 units changing hands. Grace Kennedy fell 50 cents and closed with 16,908 shares changing hands at $42, Jamaica Broilers had just 2,130 shares changing hands and dropped 95 cents to end at $14.55. Jamaica Stock Exchange ended at $28 with 14,727 units trading, JMMB Group traded 4,808 units and rose 60 cents to close at $10.90, ICI JSE fn qt 27-09-16Margaritaville Turks traded 48,100 shares to close at 23 US cents after easing by 1 cent, National Commercial Bank fell 5 cents to $40.20 with 19,860 shares changing hands. Pan Jamaican Investment traded 19,860 shares to close $23.31 after falling 68 cents, 138 Student Living ordinary share traded at $4.80 while with 512,500 shares changing hands, Portland JSX closed at $11 after trading 24,700 shares, Radio Jamaica traded 95,519 shares and lost 9 cents to land at $1.31. Sagicor Group rose 19 cents in trading 602,900 shares to close at $23.51, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 49,223 shares to close with at $10.20, Scotia Group lost $1 and closed at $29 with 40,289 shares changing hands and Supreme Ventures lost 5 cents to close at $4.80 with 14,000 shares

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JSE resumes rally – Monday

September 26, 2016 by

Carib Cement jumped $3.90 to end at $33.90 on Monday.

Carib Cement jumped $3.90 to end at $33.90 on Monday.

Stocks on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange mostly rose at the close of trading on Monday with four digit gains in the main indices as advancing stocks surged well over declining stocks more than 2 to 1.
At the close of the market, prices of 19 securities gained out of a total of 40 trading, while 8 declined in the overall market, including 7 stocks rising and 5 falling, in the junior market.
Caribbean Cement was the star performer with a jump of $3.90 to close at $33.90 during the day, but closed with 19,780 shares traded and JPSCo 7% preference share traded at a new high of 45 cents with a gain of 4 cents with just 1,278 shares changing hands.
At the close 3,502,355 units valued at $25,804,167, changed hands, compared to the 3,969,447 units valued at $48,456,543 changing hands on Tuesday. The junior market accounted for 1,873,272 units valued at $10,709,100 of the stocks traded.
ICI JSE sum 26-09-16The market index ended with moderate losses, the JSE Market Index rose 1,135.08 points to end at 163,359.75. The all Jamaica Composite Index climbed 1,269.42 points to close at 181,527.63 and the JSE combined index gained 1,119.65 points, to end at 175,546.63.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 15 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 1 with a lower offer.
In market activity, Barita Investments traded 17,844 shares and rose 40 cents to close at $4.05, Berger Paints gained 1 cent to close at $5.11 with 13,263 units changing hands, Cable & Wireless closed at 95 with 14,700 units changing hands. Carreras exchanged 11,114 shares at $65.25 with a loss of 25 cents, Grace Kennedy closed with 6,564 shares changing hands at $42.50, Jamaica Broilers had 38,501 shares changing hands and gained 50 cents to end at $15.50. Jamaica Producers ended at $8.40 with 1,600 units trading,ICI JSE fn qt 26-09-16 JMMB Group traded 9,754 units and rose 30 cents to close at $10.30, Margaritaville Turks traded 31,000 shares to close at a 52 weeks’ high of 24 US cents after rising by 2 cents, National Commercial Bank rose 14 cents to $40.25 with just 800 shares changing hands. Portland JSX closed at $11 after trading 8,400 shares. Radio Jamaica traded 13,572 shares and lost 3 cents to land at $1.40, Sagicor Group rose 1 cent in trading 90,934 shares to close at $23.51, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 49,223 shares to close with at $10.20, Scotia Group closed at $30 with 7,620 shares changing hands. Proven Investments traded 238,280 shares to close at 19.99 US cent and JMMB Group 7.50% preference share traded 500,000 units at $1.10.

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RJR & General Accident in Top 5

September 25, 2016 by

JM indxPrices on the Jamaica Stock Exchange are on the move again as the last quarter of the year approaches. As prices rise so does the PE ratio. The top PE in the main market is at 17 while in the junior market is around 18.
Charts of both markets show them in a bullish state, with the markets hitting higher lows and higher highs, a strong indication that they will be moving higher. More than 50 percent of main and junior market stocks are priced below the markets average PE of 9.5 and 10.4 respectively.
Against this background, IC Insider’s Top 5 selection has one new listing in the main and junior market list as Grace Kennedy and Jetcon Corporation are replace by Radio Jamaica and General Accident in position 5 and 4 respectively. Jetcon hit new highs during the week and closed at $4.70 up from $4.35 at the start of the week. Radio Jamaica earnings have been upgraded to 25 cents per share with increased revenues and cost cutting. General Accident is not without risk but earnings for 2016 are up 155 percent against a battered first half of 2015 and 2016 should better the 31 cents earned for the 2015 financial year.
AMG Packaging remains at the top of the junior market list even as the price moved up while JMMB Group is atop the main market with Caribbean Cement drops to 4th with a rise of $4 during the week. Investors attempted to trade Carib Cement at $34 but market breaker stop it from standing the stock which closed at $30 traded as high as $32. There are just six offers in the market starting at $34 and worth keeping an eye on this one for more gains this week. Barita Investments traded up to $4 during the past week and could well end back at this level during the days ahead as supply declines and demand increases.
Top 5 stks 24-9-16Watch these stocks for action this week – Access Financial Services with the bid at $18.50 with no stock on offer, Blue Power with a wide gap between bid and offer, Cargo Handlers with the bid moving away from the last sale price of $86.10 with the offer at $100. Caribbean Cream with increasing demand, Caribbean Producers gaining support after poor full year results, Derrimon Trading and General Accident with bids getting stronger, Jetcon Corporation with supply and increasing interest, Medical Disposables and tTech with supplies.
From the main market the main action could come from the following, Barita Investments, Caribbean Cement, Jamaica Stock Exchange, JMMB Group, Radio Jamaica, Sagicor Group, Scotia Group, Seprod and Sterling Investments.

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JSE majors retreat again – Friday

September 23, 2016 by

Investors traded Carib Cement at $34 but the trade was cancelled and the stock closed at $30 after officially going as high s $32.

Investors traded Carib Cement at $34 but the trade was cancelled and the stock closed at $30 after officially going as high s $32.

Stocks on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange the gave up more ground by the close on Friday even as advancing stocks edged out declining stocks, once more.
At the close of the market, prices of 15 securities gained out of a total of 38 trading, while 14 declined in the overall market, including 5 stocks rising and 5 falling, in the junior market.
Caribbean Cement was the star performer with a jump to $32 during the day, but it closed with an overall gain for the day of $2 to $30 with 396,000 shares traded. Three trades totaling 3,000 shares at $34 were actually put through but were cancelled as they were effected after mid-day with less than an hour of trading left. Under the stock exchange rules, if the price exceeds 15 percent for the day the circuit breaker comes into effect and the stock is frozen from trading for an hour. Where it would be frozen for the rest of trading session the trades that trigger the freeze are cancelled.
ICI JSE sum 23-09-16At the close 3,969,447 units valued at $48,456,543, changed hands, compared to the 3,134,827 units valued at $54,491,555 changing hands on Tuesday. The junior market accounted for 1,372,103 units valued at $6,508,601 of the total traded on Thursday.
The market index ended with moderate losses, the JSE Market Index declined 521.12 points to end at 162,224.67. The all Jamaica Composite Index fell 582.79 points to close at 180,258.21 and the JSE combined index slipped 359.99 points, to end at 174,426.98.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 11 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.
In market activity, Barita Investments traded 204,156 shares and fell 35 cents to close at $3.65, Berger Paints gained 5 cents to close at $5.10 with 37,462 units changing hands, Cable & Wireless lost 3 cents to close at 95 cents, with 84,754 units changing hands. Carreras exchanged 10,982 shares at $65.50 to gain 50 cents, Ciboney closed at 17 cents with 116,600 units trading after losing 2 cents, Grace Kennedy closed with 8,698 shares changing hands at $42.50, Jamaica Broilers had 112,000 shares changing hands to end at $15. Jamaica Producers ended with a rise of 4 cents to $8.40 with 90,434 units trading, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 50 cents to end at $28 while trading 88,183 shares, JMMB Group traded 152,927 units to close at $10. National Commercial Bank rose 5 to $40.11 with 9,214 shares changing hands, ICI JSE fn qt 23-09-16 Pan Jamaican Investments closed at $23.99 after trading 5,000 shares, Radio Jamaica traded 19,066 shares and gained 1 cent to land at $1.43. Sagicor Group lost 15 cents in trading 18,124 shares to close at $23.50, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 12,000 shares to close with at $10.20 with a loss of 15 cents, Salada Foods had 1,565 units changing hands at $7.90, Scotia Group fell 11 cents to close at $30 with 579,383 shares changing hands. Sterling Investments traded 26,600 shares and fell 45 cents to close at $13.80, Supreme Ventures gained 18 cents and ended at $4.98, with 492,100 units changing hands, JMMB Group 7.50% preference share traded 100,000 units at $1.10 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 17,151 units and rose 3 cents to end at $2.13.

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JSE majors give up 1,200 points – Thursday

September 22, 2016 by

Palace jumps $25 to close at $195 on Thursday.

Palace jumps $25 to close at $195 on Thursday.

Stocks on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange the gave up a near 1,200 points by the close, in the all Jamaica Composite Index to end down 400 points loss at the end after it had gained close to 800 points by midday. At the close advancing stocks still edged out declining stocks.
At the close of the market prices of 14 securities gained out of a total of 38 trading, while 12 declined in the overall market, including 7 stocks rising and 3 falling, in the junior market. Palace Amusement was the star performer with a jump of $25 to a new record high of $195 but with only 500 shares trading. National Commercial Bank dropped $1.94 to close at $40.06 with 595,832 shares changing hands.
At the close, 3,134,827 units valued at $54,491,555 changed hands, compared to the 4,442,113 units valued at $19,544,716 changing hands on Wednesday. The junior market accounted for 1,015,005 units valued at $5,213,760 of the total traded on Thursday.
The market index ended with mild declines, with the JSE Market Index declined 370.31 points to end at 162,745.79. The all Jamaica Composite Index fell 414.14 points to close at 180,841.00 and the ICI JSE sum 22-09-16 JSE combined index slipped 122.56 points, to end at 174,786.97.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 11 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.
In market activity, Barita Investments traded 44,500 shares to close at $4, Berger Paints gained 35 cents to close at $5.05 with 69,980 units changing hands, Cable & Wireless rose 3 cents to close at 98 cents, with 234,552 units changing hands. Caribbean Cement jumped 46 cents, to close at $28 with 72,577 units changing hands, Ciboney closed at 19 cents with 35,200 units trading, Grace Kennedy lost 30 cents, with 40,932 shares changing hands at $42.50, Jamaica Broilers had 20,064 shares changing hands and slipped 6 cents to end at $15. Jamaica Producers ended with a loss of 14 cents to close at $8.36 with 46,452 units trading, ICI JSE sum 22-09-16rJamaica Stock Exchange gained 50 cents to end at $27.50 while trading 147,245 shares, JMMB Group traded 12,100 units and fell 25 cents to $10. Mayberry Investments traded 11,000 shares to close at $3.60, after rising 4 cents, Pan Jamaican Investments fell 1 cent and closed at $23.99 after trading 56,728 shares, Sagicor Group rose 63 cents in trading 17,213 shares to close at $23.65, Salada Foods had 10,525 units changing hands at $7.90. Scotia Group closed at $30.11 with 101,400 shares changing hands, for a loss of 40 cents, Proven Investments ordinary share traded 416,425 units at 19.99 US cents, JMMB Group 7.50% preference share traded 130,000 units at $1.10 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 51,617 units at $2.10.

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JSE stocks in sharp 3 day jump

September 21, 2016 by

JSE building Stocks had a bullish day on Wednesday on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, as advancing stocks had a near 2 to 1 advantage over declining ones. The market indices climbed sharply as the all Jamaican Composite Index jumping nearly 2,000 points, but trading resulted in much less volumes passing through the market compared with Tuesday.
At the close of the market prices of 21 securities gained out of a total of 46 trading, while 12 declined in the overall market, including 6 stocks rising and 5 falling, in the junior market.
At the close, 4,442,113 units valued at $19,544,716, changed hands, compared to the 7,614,266 units valued at $192,616,632 changing hands on Tuesday. The junior market accounted for 635,440 units valued at $2,690,732 of the total traded on Wednesday.
The market index ended with good gains, with the JSE Market Index climbing 1,733.79 points to end at 163,116.10. The all Jamaica Composite Index jumped 1,938.97 points to close at 181,255.14 and the JSE combined index surged 1,432.39 points, to end at 174,909.53.
ICI JSE sum 21-09-16 IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 12 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.
In market activity, Barita Investments traded 47,767 shares and gained 50 cents to close at $4, Berger Paint lost 35 cents to close at $4.70 with 11,300 units, Cable & Wireless continues to garner more support and rose 1 cent to close at 95 cents, with 22,766 units changing hands. Caribbean Cement jumped $1.54, to close at $27.54 with 126,265 units changing hands, Carreras fell 50 cents and closed at $65 with 17,705 units trading, Grace Kennedy rose 31 cents, with 3,196 shares changing hands at $42.80, Jamaica Broilers had 107,149 shares changing hands and gained 6 cents to end at $15.06. Jamaica Producers ended with a gain of 20 cents to close at $8.50 with 22,250 units trading, Jamaica Stock Exchange fell 40 cents to end at $27 while trading 11,327 shares, JMMB Group traded 359,924 units and rose 26 cents to $10.25. Kingston Wharves traded 7,500 shares to close at $17.10, after rising 10 cents, National Commercial Bank traded 3,182 shares and closed with a gain of $1 at $42,ICI JSE fn qt 21-09-16 Pan Jamaican Investments gained 5 cents and closed at $24 after trading 11,100 shares. Radio Jamaica ended with 72,000 units trading at $1.42, Sagicor Group traded 6,400 shares to close at $23.02. Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 1,044 shares to close with at $10.35 with a 15 cents rise, Scotia Group gained 1 cent to close at $30.51 with 29,975 shares changing hands, Scotia Investments had 8,090 units changing hands at $26, for a loss of 10 cents. Seprod closed at $21 with 3,764 shares trading, Sterling Investments fell 75 cents to close at a new high of $14.25 with 16,963 units changing hands. Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.25% preference share traded 20,000 units at $2.40, JMMB Group 7.50% preference share traded 2,341,500 units at $1.10 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 549,576 units at $2.10.

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Stock split who is next?

September 21, 2016 by
Paramount with the stock priced at $17.50 with virtually no supply seems a candidate for a stock split.

Paramount with the stock priced at $17.50 with virtually no supply seems a candidate for a stock split.

Companies on the Jamaican Stock Exchange have either announced or effected stock splits or bonuses this year, to loud applause by investors who have driven the stocks sharply upwards in response to the news.
The first to do so was Jamaican Teas with the price doubling after the announced split. Honey Bun followed with the price climbing sharply after the announcement as well as after the split. RJR did both a split and a bonus. GraceKennedy and Pan Jamaican that have seen their stock struggling for a long time at very low levels, finally getting the lift with the announcement of a stock split. Jamaica Producers effected a bonus with a similar price movement. Cargo Handlers and Jamaica Stock Exchange announced stock splits and the investors immediately responded positively to them by driving the prices up. If the trend seen with other splits holds, the prices of the stocks of the latest announcements will rise further after the split takes place.
Stock bonuses were a regular feature of the market for years until the government removed the tax incentive for them. Only the three Lasco companies split their stocks to create greater liquidity in 2014. With mostly 20 percent of junior market companies’ shares in the wider public’s hands and with some of the twenty percent closely held, supply is not always easy to come by. Splitting the stock encourages increased valuation of the companies and allows for some to be sold to the wider market, thus increasing liquidity.

Palace Amusement with a price tag of $170 and virtually no supply should be a prime candidate of a split.

Palace Amusement with a price tag of $170 and virtually no supply should be a prime candidate for a split.

There are more stock splits to come, so who are the likely candidates. One would expect that Eppley, with a $735 price tag and very limited trading activity, would be a good candidate and so would Palace, with a price of $170. Based on what has happened in the past don’t count on these two to take such action anytime soon, but the directors of these companies are going to be pressured into making a move. Management who are conscious of the valuation the market places on the stock would do the things that would boost investors’ confidence in the stock. With limited liquidity, the companies are losing out on one of the most important benefits of listing which is the constant publicity garnered from having the company’s name repeated publicly daily.
Other candidates ripe for a split include Paramount Trading, a stock that has limited supply, the company is yet to announce its annual general meeting and that seems a very good time for it to be approved. Blue Power now priced at $21 with very little supply is a prime stock for such action. Others that could well do it are Access Financial Services,

AMG Packaging with a new chairman who is stock market friendly could deliver a split sooner than later.

AMG Packaging with a new chairman who is stock market friendly could deliver a split sooner than later.

AMG Packaging with a change in chairmanship who is a stock market follower should land a split sooner than later and Knutsford Express in the junior market.
There appear to be few main market stocks that need to consider one but National Commercial Bank with the price struggling around $40 with good results could well do one to increase investors’ interest and so could Scotia Group and of course Montego Ice.
If stock splits are so popular in Jamaica, why is it not being used in Trinidad that only has limited trading taking place daily. Management is depriving their company of maximum exposure for the cost of listing and preventing their shareholders from enjoying a more liquid market in which to trade.

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JSE stocks make strong gains – Tuesday

September 20, 2016 by

$85 million of NCB's shares traded on Tuesday

$85 million of NCB’s shares traded on Tuesday

Stocks mostly rose on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Tuesday, with a slight deterioration compared to Monday, in the number of advancing stocks versus declining ones. The market indices climbed sharply but with much less volumes passing through the market on Monday.
At the close of the market, prices of 16 securities gained out of a total of 40 trading, while 13 declined in the overall market, including 5 stocks rising and 6 falling, in the junior market.
At the close, 7,614,266 units valued at $192,616,632, changed hands, compared to the 12,416,676 units valued at $159,207,495 changing hands on Monday. The junior market accounted for 907,063 units valued at $3,876,442 of the total traded on Tuesday. Carreras accounted for $66,047,705 and National Commercial Bank $85,057,375 of the value of stocks traded amounting to 78 percent of all trades.
The market index ended with good gains, with the JSE Market Index climbing 1,241.23 points to end at 161,382.31. ICI JSE sum 20-09-16The all Jamaica Composite Index jumped 1,388.13 points to close at 179,316.17 and the JSE combined index surged 1,067.23 points, to end at 173,477.14.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 15 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 7 with lower offers.
In market activity, Barita Investments gained 25 cents to close at $3.50 on Monday and seems set to rise further with the bid at $3.75 to buy 40,00 units, the stock is on offer at $4 to sell 47,767 shares at the close. Cable & Wireless continues to garner support in the mid 90 cents region and seems to be heading back over $1, but it shed 1 cent and closed at 94 cents, with 381,613 units changing hands, Caribbean Cement lost 60 cents, to close at $26 with 456,774 units changing hands. Carreras closed at $65.50 with 1,016,110 units trading, slightly less than the 1,137,767 shares traded on Monday, Grace Kennedy lost 1 cent, with 104,303 shares changing hands at $42.49, Jamaica Broilers had 88,541 shares changing hands and gained 45 cents to end at $15. Jamaica Producers ended with a loss of 20 cents to close at $8.30 with 175,143 units trading, Jamaica Stock Exchange fell 10 cents to end at $27.40 while trading 5,623 shares, JMMB Group traded 3,579 units and rose 18 cents to $9.99. Kingston Wharves traded 10,455 shares to close at $17, after falling 50 cents, ICI JSE fn qt 20-09-16 National Commercial Bank traded 2,083,020 shares and closed at $41. The price of 138 Student Living remained unchanged at $4.70, after 158,000 units changed hands, Pan Jamaican Investments gained 45 cents and closed at $23.95 after trading 7,185 shares.Portland JSX ended with 12,000 units trading at $11.39, Sagicor Group traded 103,169 shares and gained 21 cents to close at $23.02, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 21,100 shares to close with at $10.20. Scotia Group gained 49 cents to close at $30.50 with 7,349 shares changing hands, Scotia Investments had 133,013 units changing hands at $26.10, for a gain of 1 cent, Seprod fell by 50 cents to close at $21 with 2,724 shares trading, Sterling Investments gained 88 cents to close at a new high of $15 with 5,098 units changing hands, Supreme Ventures rose 20 cents to close at $4.90 with 1,874,873 units changing hands and Proven Investments closed at 19.99 US cents with 49,700 units trading.

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Rising JSE’s stocks doubled – Monday

September 19, 2016 by

Supreme Ventures traded the most shares on Monday with 6.9m units

Supreme Ventures traded the most shares on Monday with 6.9m units

Stocks mostly rose on Monday with the number doubling the gains on Friday with losers up moderately. The market indices climbed sharply as advancing stocks beat out number declining stocks 2 to 1 but with much less volumes passing through the market compared to the heavy trading on Friday.
At the close of the market prices of 19 securities gained out of a total of 38 trading, with 11 declining, in the overall market, including 4 stocks rising and 5 falling, in the junior market.
At the close, 12,416,676 units valued at $159,207,495, changed hands, compared to the 56,335,591 units valued at $1,576,979,024 changing hands on Friday. The junior market accounted for 835,628 units valued at $4,086,204 of the total traded on Monday. The big trade of the day was Supreme Ventures with 6,871,362 units valued at $32,318,545 changing hands to close at $4.70 after falling 28 cents. Carreras traded over 1 million shares at a value of $73,955,605.
The market index ended with good gains, with the JSE Market Index climbing 892.01 points to end at 160,141.08. The all Jamaica Composite Index rose 997.57 points to close at 177,928.04 and the JSE combined index surged 1,128.53 points, to end at 172,409.91.
At the close, IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 16 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.
ICI JSE sum 19-09-16In market activity, Barita Investments rose 25 cents and ended with 61,030 units changing hands to close at $3.50, investors pushed the price of Cable & Wireless up by 15 cents to close at 95 cents and picked up 1,594,615 units as selling of the stock abates. Caribbean Cement rose 60 cents, to close at $26.60 with 10,315 units changing hands, Carreras traded 1,137,767 shares to close at $65.50, Investors traded 49,527 shares of 1834 Investments to close with a loss of 6 cents at $1.18, Grace Kennedy lost 50 cents, with 394,085 shares changing hands at $42.50. Jamaica Broilers had 678,683 shares changing hands and gained 5 cents to end at $14.55, Jamaica Producers ended with a gain of 10 cents to close at $8.50 with 108,851 units trading, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained $1 to end at $27.50 while trading 15,168 shares, JMMB Group traded 1,200 units and rose 1 cent to $9.81. Kingston Wharves traded 6,161 shares to close at $17.50, after falling 5 cents, Mayberry Investments had 12,000 shares changing hands, to close with a rise of 5 cents at $3.55, ICI JSE fn qt 19-09-16National Commercial Bank jumped by $1 with 321,588 shares trading and closed at $41, the price of 138 Student Living remained unchanged at $4.70, after 7,150 units changed hands. Pan Jamaican Investments lost just 1 cent and closed at $23.50 after trading 185,496 shares. Radio Jamaica rose 2 cents and closed at $1.42 after 8,000 shares changed hands, Sagicor Group traded 24,120 shares and fell 29 cents to close at $22.81. Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 38,153 shares to close with a gain of 8 cents at $10.20, Scotia Group gained 30 cents to close at $30.01 with 6,124 shares changing hands. Seprod gained 99 cents to close at $21.50 with 2,333 shares trading and Proven Investments gained 0.95 19.99 US cents.

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Buy stocks before the explosion

September 18, 2016 by

Image courtesy of suphakit73/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of suphakit73/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Stocks in the main market are hardly moving in any direction currently with prices up one day and down another and with the all Jamaica index gaining just 6 percent to date. That is not the case in the junior market, as investors seek out what they see as undervalued stocks and in the process drove up these stocks 27 percent for the near nine months of the year.
Both markets have some appealing choices that offer investors a great deal of potential upside. Investors have been making big mistakes by ignoring these opportunities. The errors keep showing in junior market stocks where many wait until prices start to move before trying to buy, at which time the volumes dry up and prices have to move steeply for sellers to be induced to dispose of stocks. Recent cases in point are, ISP Finance, the stock was available under $3 but there were very few buyers, now there are many buyers with bids in the $6 region, a level at which there has been no stock offered for sale since it traded nearly 23,000 units at $6, earlier in September. Jetcon Corporation is another case, with the stock trading below the $3 level for a long time until recently, even as the profit of the company is running at almost twice the pace of 2015, now they are more investors interested at the higher prices at a time when the supply has evaporated. Caribbean Cream is yet another, with IC Insider pointing to strong increase in profits for a long time, now buyers are in at much higher prices but supply is limited. tTech is yet another example with the stock trading for a long time in the $4 region now there is virtually no supply as interest in the stocks grows.
KremiIceCreamConesFREE280x150While some investors focus on trailing quarterly earnings as the basis for valuing stocks, they tend to miss out on companies with explosive growth in profits. There is also the tendency to ignore one off time items. The case of Caribbean Cement is an excellent one. A Brokerage house has the earnings at just over $2 for 2016, but the ongoing earnings are likely to be in the $5.50 region for 2016 and this is what they should be using to value the company. Investors seem to miss the main point. The company incurred cost for reducing labour which will show up as lower operating cost in future periods, but investors don’t seem to appreciate that fact, added to what now appears to be an economy that is growing and could grow even more making Cement, a huge buy. The same can be said for National Commercial Bank and Scotia Group that are having a great 2016.
An indication of where values could reach based on this year’s earnings can be gleaned from three stocks selling at PE ratios that are 16 to 17.5 times this year’s earnings with 11 out of the 29 junior listings having a PE of 10 times or more with, an average of 13.5. The average of the junior market is now at 10 times 2016 earnings with several stocks selling below. In the main market the top 11 stocks average PE is just over 15 with the overall average for the market at 9.
Based on close of the market on Friday the stocks to watch in the coming week are AMG Packaging that fell back sharply in the past week and is on IC Insiders top 5 junior market buys, Blue Power with limited supply. Cargo Handlers still in demand with the announcement of the 10 to 1 stock split and with the bid at $87.05 versus the last sale of $86.10. Caribbean Cream with limited supply and increased buying, Honey Bun with good demand and declining supply, but the price could be heavy with a PE of 17. The 2016 fiscal year ends this month, so investors may want to focus on the 2017 numbers as the main reason for buying. ISP Finance with no supply but with bid at $6.50 compared to last sale of $6 and with the success of the $150 million bond issue, could move if some supply appear.
Scotiabank with profit up 47% for the July quarter the stock could be very active this week.

Scotiabank with profit up 47% for the July quarter the stock could be very active this week.

Jetcon Corporation has seen increased demand come to buy with the stocks still in the IC Insider’s top 5 list. Knutsford Express, Lasco Financial, Medical Disposables, Paramount Trading with no stock on offer and tTech could all make positive moves. Keep an eye on Key Insurance that is set to fall with disappointing interim results reported recently, there is no bid to buy the stock which is offered for sale at $2.38.
Main market activity has been fluid, there are no indications from Friday’s trading, that there will be much change. Investors should keep an eye on Barita Investments, IC Insider’s Top stock in the main market, with bids at $3.51 at the close on Friday, compared with a last sale price of $3.25. There are currently only 5 offers on the board, amounting to 70,000 units and Scotia Group that is set to report earnings for 2016 in the region of $4 per share, after reporting a 47 percent jump in the July quarter. Investors may want to keep an eye out for Cable & Wireless that could well report decent profit for the 12 months to March next year. Note the company’s year end is set to change to December.

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