Trading in the overall market ended with 13 securities changing hands on Thursday with 2 stocks gaining, 3 declining and 8 traded with the price unchanged. A total of only 110,408 shares traded, valued at $1,254,117.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index fell 0.10 points to close at 1,155.60, the All T&T Index advanced by 0.30 points to 1,965.11 and the Cross Listed Index loss 0.07 to 45.41.
Gains| In trading, One Caribbean Media ending with a gain of 39 cents while trading 3,645 shares changing hands at $22.40 and Unilever Caribbean with 353 units changing hands at a new 52 weeks high of $66.76 and gained 8 cents.
Declines| Clico Investment Fund stock price lost 5 cents to $22.50 with 9,540 shares trading at a value of $2,758,458, National Commercial Bank traded a mere 500 shares 1 cent at $1.66 and Trinidad Cement lost 2 cents while trading 45,974 shares.
Firm Trades| First Citizens Bank with 20,179 shares traded valued at $506,226 to close at $35.70, Flavorite Foods traded 606 units at $4.80, Guardian Media had 1,872 units changing hands at $19.76, National Enterprises closed with 1,361 shares trading at $17.20. Republic Bank ended with just 4 units trading at $114.99, Sagicor Financial with 4,125 units trading closed at $6, Scotiabank traded 2,005 units and closed at $62.31 and West Indian Tobacco closed with 300 shares changing hands at $125.40.
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 3 stocks with offers that were lower.
Trading volume low on TTSE
Profit up 171% for National Enterprises
“Your Board’s strategic decisions to pursue a diversification strategy by seeking new investments and strengthening management has also started to produce results” Kenny Lue Chee Lip, Chairman of the company stated in a release to the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange recently.
Trinidad Telecom produced higher results of $85 million, up from a loss of $226 million and Trinidad Nitrogen Company $157 million versus $192 million in 2014 and $29 million. National Flour Mills in which NEL owns 51 percent also reported improved earnings, this company is listed on the Trinidad Stock Exchange.
NEL expects dividend income of $318 million compared to $305 million in 2014. NEL received the first full year earnings from its investment in a 10 percent shareholding in Powergen yielding $11.5 million in dividends, as well as dividends from the investments in First Citizens Bank and Clico Investment Fund. An investment in November, 2014 in Pan West Engineers LLC (the owner of 10 percent of Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited) as a member of a consortium produced dividends of $9.8 million.
A final dividend of 27 cents is proposed which when added to the interim dividend of 23 cents gives a total dividend of 50 cents for the year (2014: 46 cents).
The value of each of the 600 million issued shares is $5.67 each and the stock last traded on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange at TT$17.21.
Scotiabank reports trades after 6 months
Little things sometimes mean a lot. The latest reported insider trades at Scotiabank in Trinidad may not be considered large but they are important. The posting of the trades on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange website of inside trades is not a refreshing development in the capital markets within the Caribbean.
According to the stock exchange they received notice from “Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago (SBTT) that a senior officer of purchased 1,177 shares on January 23rd, 2015 and 899 shares on January 26th, 2015,” the notice was posted on June 29th, 2015.
Someone seems to have messed up here. The major reason for disclosure of such trades is to let investors know what insiders are doing with the shares of the company. Such actions can help determine if the fortunes of the company is changing one way or the other. To publish the information 6 months after they took place is unacceptable in what should be a modern capital market system.
The trades were important signal of financial development with the banking group that reported an 18 percent jump in profit for the April quarter and ought to have been reported much, much earlier.
Some big Buy Rated gains more ahead
Blue Power is now removed based on flat sales for the year to April and no immediate signs of a pickup. Dolphin Cove that was added in May last year and gained 48 percent is being moved to hold as revenues in the other half of the year to December is unlikely to grow to justify market out performance. The company had only a 6 percent increase in first quarter revenues down from 13 percent in 2014 and profit fell 10 percent to $133 million. Hardware and Lumber with buy out talks to acquire majority ownership with a maximum price of $18.50 and Scotia Investments are shifted to hold while JMM Group is moved from Buy Rated to Watch or accumulate based on the current price of $7.50.
As much as stocks with high gains may be view as already providing rich returns, there are much more gains left to be made. Carib Cement should report earnings in the $1 region this year with reduced cost, increased sales and the future should be even brighter as the local economy moves slowly into growth and lower interest rates will help boost building construction. Caribbean Cream has more than doubled this year in price but with lower input cost and increased sales should earn around 60 cents per share this year, at the present price of $1.60, there is room for growth. Jamaica Stock Exchange has had a phenomenal run this year with increased revenues and profit. Profit this year could reach $1.20 which should lift the stock some more and 2016 could be an even bigger year for it. Paramount Trading at $6 is still about 50 percent undervalued based on 2015 earnings and even more based on 2016 projected earnings. Lasco Manufacturing is yet to deliver in price movement but the 78 percent jump in the March quarter profits is a development that investors should be paying attention to.
Over in Trinidad, investors keep on ignoring Trinidad Cement but they should not, even with the 190 percent gain in the stock price. IC Insider sees higher profits flowing from increased sales, cost reduction including interest cost on loans. National Flour which we added in May is now up 21 percent still has more room to grow. The Trinidad market is likely to experience slow growth this year as such, many of the listings may not deliver much in the short term but investors should keep their eyes on Scotiabank that produced a nice lift in second quarter profits.
TCL trades big on Friday on TTSE
At the close of the market, the Composite Index fell 0.21 points to close at 1,159.46, the All T&T Index declined by 0.40 points to 1,969.53 and the Cross Listed Index was unchanged at 46.37.
Gains | Massy Holdings trading 5,165 shares to close 4 cents higher at $64.34, National Enterprises had 2,300 shares changing hands, climbed 1 cent to end at $17.21 and Unilever Caribbean ended trading with 254 shares to close at a new 52 weeks’ high of $66.42 after adding 3 cents.
Declines| West Indian Tobacco traded 2,500 shares to close at $125.35 with a loss of 65 cents.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, ANSA McAl with 1,346 shares changing hands and ended at $67.25. First Citizens Bank with 19,349 shares carrying a value of $691,727 trading, closed at $35.75, Flavorite Foods traded 192,070 units with a value of $921,936 and ended at $4.80, Prestige Holdings traded at $9.89, with 900 units changing hand, Republic Bank closed with 6,354 shares traded with a value of $730,710, to end at $115. Sagicor Financial closing with 3,000 shares to end at $6.27 and Trinidad Cement traded 622,000 shares valued at $1,803,800 and closed at $2.90.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 2 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 3 stocks with offers that were lower.
4 stocks rose on TTSE
Trading on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange picked up a bit on Thursday with 15 securities changing hands of which 4 advanced, 3 declined, 8 traded firm, with a total of 378,246 units valued at $3,700,929 changing hands, more than twice Wednesday’s volume of 150,955 shares.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index declined by 2.31 points to close at 1,159.67, the All T&T Index lost 0.68 points to 1,969.93 and the Cross Listed Index fell 0.53 point at 45.84.
Gains| In trading, ANSA Merchant Bank ended with 1,000 shares changing hands at $38.95, to gain 4 cents, CLICO Investment Fund ended with 28,320 units changing hands, valued at $640,315 and closed 1 cent higher at $22.61. Grace Kennedy added 21,385 shares, 10 cents higher at $3.60 and Massy Holdings trading 88 shares to close at $64.30 and gained 1 cent.
Declines| Guardian Holdings had 7,475 units changing hands with a loss of 7 cents to end at $13.93, National Commercial Bank traded 12,862 shares and fell 9 cents to close at $1.70 and One Caribbean Media ended trading with 2,124 shares at $22 after shedding 40 cents, to close at a 52 weeks’ low.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Angostura Holdings trading 6,749 units at $13.90, Firstcaribbean International Bank with 54,375 shares trading, valued at $271,875 and closed at $5. First Citizens Bank ended trading with 51,376 shares carrying a value of $1,836,692, to close at $35.75, National Flour Mills with 8,890 shares changing hands and ending at $2.05, Point Lisas Industrial Port traded at $3.95, with 4,500 units changing hands. Republic Bank closed with only 25 shares being purchased at $115, Sagicor Financial closing with 1,700 shares to end at $6.27 and Trinidad Cement traded 177,377 shares valued at $514,393 and closed at $2.90.
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.
TTSE continues to mark time
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange after it closed on Friday for a public holiday ended with 8 securities changing hands of which advanced, declined and traded firm with a total of 140,193 units, valued at $4,558,611.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 0.19 points to close at 1,161.18, the All T&T Index fell by just 0.50 points to close at 1,968.22 and the Cross Listed Index increased by a mere 0.02 points to end at 46.48.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, ANSA Mcal with 60,125 shares trading, valued at $4,043,406 and gained 9 cents, to end at $67.25 and Scotiabank trading only 50 shares to close 1 cent higher at $62.16.
Declines| West Indian Tobacco was the sole stock to decline, falling 50 cents to end the day at $125.50 while trading only 23 units.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Grace Kennedy contributing just 2,000 shares to close at $3.53, while Guardian Holdings added 1,000 shares to end at $14. Guardian Media trading 126 shares closed at $19.76, Massy Holdings traded 50 shares close at $64.35 and Sagicor Financial Corporation traded 76,819 shares valued at $482,444, to close at $6.30.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 2 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
Scotiabank drops 40 cents on TTSE
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 0.64 points to close at 1,161.71, the All T&T Index fell by 1.29 points to close at 1,969.47 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 46.45.
Gains| The only stocks increasing in price at the close is National Flour trading 1,000 shares to close with a gain of 5 cents at new 52 weeks’ high of $2.05.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Ansa Merchant Bank with 150 shares trading to close down a cent at $38.94 and Scotiabank with 1,000 shares, declined 40 cents to close at $62.15.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Clico Investment Fund with 10,170 shares valued at $229,334 to close unchanged at $22.55, First Citizens Bank trading 4,532 shares valued at $162,290 to close at $35.81, Flavorite Foods had 27,676 units changing hands at $4.80, Massy Holdings trading 346 shares to close at $64.35 and Sagicor Financial Corporation trading 4,192 shares to close at $6.25.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 4 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 1 with the offer that is lower.
TTSE ends week in balance
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange ended on Friday with 13 securities changing hands of which 2 advanced, 2 declined and 9 traded firm with a total of 390,967 units, valued at $15,929,224.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index gained 0.15 points to close at 1,162.35, the All T&T Index rose by just 0.19 points to close at 1,970.76 and the Cross Listed Index increased by a mere 0.01points to end at 46.45.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, ANSA McAL with 202,907 shares changing hands for a value of $13,625,148 and closed with a gain of 7 cents at $67.15 for a new 52 weeks’ high and Sagicor Financial traded 6,668 shares to close with a gain of 2 cents at $6.25.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, One Caribbean Media lost 3 cents to close at $22.42 with 575 shares and Republic Bank with 1,478 shares trading closed down a cent at $114.96 for a new 52 weeks’ low.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Clico Investment Fund with 26,400 shares valued at $595,320 traded to end at $22.55, Flavorite Foods with a volume of 122,903 shares being traded for $589,934 close at $4.80, First Citizens Bank traded 3,004 shares and closed at $35.81. Grace Kennedy with 1,500 shares changing hands, closed at $3.53, Massy Holdings traded 10,230 shares, valued at $658,300, to close at $64.35, Praetorian Property Mutual Fund remained at $3.10 after trading 2,000 shares, Point Lisas had 2,416 units changing hands at $3.81and Prestige Holdings contributed 10,886 shares to end at $9.90.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 2 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 2 with offers that were lower.