Main Market surge failed to ignite ICTOP10

The All Jamaica and the Junior Market indices closed the week higher than the previous week but with the Junior Market trading at its lowest since early June this year. The Main Market index which includes overseas companies, slipped back during the week. Stocks measured by the All Jamaica Index recorded gains of 4,565 points from the end of October in the past week and traded at a near two months high and have been flashing bullish signals with a sharp breakout looking very likely.
Some positives are visible in the market, with a sharp decline in the volume of some stocks being sold. Scotia Group is one such stock, as it approaches the release of full year results and an announcement on dividends, but buying interest is currently low keyed. The stock trades at an extremely low PE of 5.7 times projected 2023 earnings. AMG Packaging trades at 6.5 times 2024 earnings with a very limited supply of stocks on offer.
Even as the Main Market index rose in the past week, winners were hard to find the Main Market ICTOP10, with the highest riser up just 3 percent as Key Insurance dropped 20 percent to $2, followed by Palace Amusement down 14 percent to $1.12 and Sygnus Credit Investments declining 7 percent to $11.11.
The Junior Market has 6 stocks gaining, with Iron Rock Insurance jumping 20 percent to $2.65, Express Catering rallying 7 percent to $4 and AMG Packaging rising 4 percent to $2.59 while Caribbean Creamfell 16 percent to $3.10.
There was just one new addition to the ICTOP10 with a listing for the Junior Market with Access Financial dropping out of the list and replaced by Honey Bun, with projected earnings per share of 70 cents for the fiscal year ended September and $1 for 2024.
Indications of where stock prices could be by May 2024 can be seen from stocks with the highest values in the Main and Junior Markets.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 5, well below the market average of 12.9. The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 302 percent by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings and now provides better values than the Junior Market.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, a total of 15 of the most highly valued stocks representing 31 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 108, with an average of 29 and 19 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 23 for the top half and 20 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
The PE of the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 6.9, over half of the market, with an average of 13.1. There are 15 stocks, or 30 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 49, averaging 20 that are well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 18, possibly the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks currently, with the market projected to rise by 200 percent on or around May 2024.
Of import is that the averages of both markets are now converging around a PE of 20 for close to a third of the market, as the year is coming to a close and with more information available on the full year’s earnings.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market, but this is not always so. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings, allowing investors to focus on the most undervalued stocks and helping to remove emotions in selecting stocks for investments that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks will likely deliver the best returns on or around May 2024 and are ranked in order of potential gains, computed using projected earnings 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.

JSE Main Market bounced on Friday

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market ended on Friday, with gains to start the final month of 2023 positively but advancing stocks were overrun by those declining as the volume of stocks traded declined 62 percent and the value 44 percent lower than on Thursday, with 54 securities changing hands compared with 59 on Thursday and ended with 15 rising, 27 declining and 12 ending unchanged.
Trading slipped to a mere 6,383,376 shares being exchanged for just $32,170,003 down from 16,736,165 units at $57,402,800 on Thursday.
Trading averaged 118,211 shares at $595,741 versus 283,664 units at $972,929 on Thursday compared with November that  averaged 275,587 units at $2,488,949.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 3.55 million shares for 55.7 percent of total volume followed by Palace Amusement that ended with 799,934 units for 12.5 percent of the day’s trade and Transjamaican Highway with 559,854 units for 8.8 percent market share.
The All Jamaican Composite Index rose 1,439.55 points to wrap-up trading at 351,375.40, the JSE Main Index rose 521.37 points to close at 315,669.00 and the JSE Financial Index advanced 0.17 points to finish at 68.57.
The Main Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 12.9. The JSE Main and USD Market PE ratios are based on the last traded prices and earnings forecasts by ICInsider.com for companies with the financial year ending around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows nine stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and six with lower offers.
At the close, AS Bryden rallied 60 cents to a 52 weeks’ closing high of $30.10 with an exchange of 242 shares, Barita Investments rose 62 cents to $70.92, with 6,634 units changing hands, Caribbean Cement advanced $4.90 to end at $58.89 with stakeholders exchanging 18,748 shares. Eppley Caribbean Property Fund popped $3.50 to close at $39.50 after 221 stock units crossed the market, First Rock Real Estate gained 49 cents and ended at $7.99 with an exchange of 11 shares, GraceKennedy declined $1.05 to $74.75 and closed with an exchange of 102,295 stock units. Guardian Holdings lost $15 in closing at $405 in trading 375 stocks, Kingston Properties skidded 70 cents to end at $7 after a transfer of 308 units, Mayberry Investments fell 50 cents to close at $7.50, with 5,100 shares crossing the exchange. NCB Financial dropped $1.20 and ended at $68 with investors dealing in 21,192 units, 138 Student Living climbed 30 cents to $4.21 in an exchange of 293 stocks, Pan Jamaica increased 70 cents to close at $49.70 with shareholders swapping 10,324 stock units. Proven Investments shed $1.48 to end at $22.01 in an exchange of 15,848 shares, Sagicor Group popped 95 cents in closing at $41.95 with traders dealing in 175,260 units, Scotia Group gained $1.14 and ended at $33.99 after an exchange of 5,240 stocks. Seprod dipped $3.89 to $74, with 27,420 stock units crossing the market, Supreme Ventures rose 49 cents in closing at $26.99 in switching ownership of 11,913 shares and Sygnus Credit Investments fell 64 cents to end at $11.11 after exchanging 20,349 units.
In the preference segment, Jamaica Public Service 7% shed $1 to close at $45, with 198 stocks clearing the market and JMMB Group 7% preference share lost 36 cents and ended at $2.04 with a transfer of 3,435 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Trading plunges on JSE USD market

Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended, with a 95 percent plunge in the volume of stocks changing hands valued 83 percent lower than on Thursday, as the final month of the year commenced trading on a dovish tone, resulting from trading in six securities, compared to five on Thursday with three rising, two declining and one ending unchanged.
Overall, 37,877 shares were traded, for US$2,504 compared with 826,627 units at US$14,407 on Thursday. Trading on Friday averaged 6,313 units at US$417, versus 165,325 shares at US$2,881 on Thursday down from November with an average of 249,102 units for US$14,204.
The US Denominated Equities Index dropped 1.01 points to wrap-up trading at 226.85.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 8.8. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price divided by projected earnings done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending and or around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close, Proven Investments fell 1.4 cents to 13.6 US cents with an exchange of 3,503 shares, Sterling Investments ended at 1.6 US cents after trading 12,626 shares and Transjamaican Highway popped 0.02 of a cent to end trading at 1.71 US cents with stakeholders exchanging 21,144 units.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group 5.75% dipped 10 cents in closing at US$2.10 in trading 8 stocks, JMMB Group 6% rose 8 cents to close at US$1.08 after an exchange of 519 shares and Productive Business Solutions 9.25% preference share climbed 1 cent to US$11.51 with investors dealing in 77 stocks.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Main market ends November with gains

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Trading ended November with gains on the final trading day as the market closed the month lower than October’s close on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market on Thursday, with the volume of stocks traded rising 68 percent but with a 79 percent drop in value than on Wednesday, following trading in 59 securities compared with 55 on Wednesday and closed with prices of 25 rising, 15 declining and 19 ending unchanged.
Trading ended after 16,736,165 shares were traded for $57,402,800 compared to 9,982,907 units at $279,360,313 on Wednesday.
Trading averaged 283,664 shares at $972,929 compared with 181,507 units at $5,079,278 on Wednesday. Trading month to date averaged 275,587 units at $2,488,949 compared with 275,178 units at $2,565,792 on the previous day above October with an average of 214,410 units at $1,325,907.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 9.16 million shares for 54.8 percent of total volume followed by Transjamaican Highway with 2.94 million units for 17.6 percent of the day’s trade and Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 1.0 million units for 6 percent of the day’s trade.
The All Jamaican Composite Index jumped 2,968.81 points to 349,935.85, the JSE Main Index climbed 1,982.67 points to conclude trading at 315,147.63 and the JSE Financial Index rose 0.40 points to end trading at 68.40.
The Main Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 12.7. The JSE Main and USD Market PE ratios are based on the last traded prices and earnings forecasts by ICInsider.com for companies with the financial year ending around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 15 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
At the close, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund declined $3.50 to close at $36 in an exchange of 434 stocks, First Rock Real Estate increased 80 cents to $7.50 with investors dealing in 1,004 units, JMMB Group fell 99 cents and ended at $25.39 in switching ownership of 125,951 shares. Key Insurance lost 25 cents in closing at $1.95 with traders dealing in 1,446 stock units, Kingston Wharves climbed $1.95 to end at $28.45 after an exchange of 505 shares, Margaritaville dipped 40 cents to $17 after 25 stocks were traded. Massy Holdings rose $1.40 to end at $90 with an exchange of 1,574 units, NCB Financial advanced $1.20 in closing at $69.20 with, 38,317 stock units changing hands, 138 Student Living shed 31 cents to close at $3.91 in trading 12,055 shares. Pan Jamaica popped $3.75 and ended at $49, with 64,091 stock units crossing the exchange, Proven Investments gained 99 cents to close at $23.49 after a transfer of 873 stocks, Seprod rallied $5.79 and ended at $77.89 while exchanging 60,013 units. Supreme Ventures popped 50 cents in closing at $26.50, as 120,308 stocks passed through the market and Wisynco Group rallied 31 cents to close at $20 as investors exchanged 327,965 shares.
In the preference segment, 138 Student Living preference share rose 51 cents to end at $107, with 10,581 stock units clearing the market.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Increased trading for Trinidad Exchange

Trading picked up on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange on Thursday and drove the market mildly higher to close November positively, with the volume of stocks traded rising 39 percent with a value 113 percent more than on Wednesday and resulted in the trading of 20 securities compared with 20 on Wednesday, with four stocks rising, eight declining and eight remaining unchanged.
Investors exchanged 176,605 shares for $1,382,075 up from 127,356 stock units at $650,155 on Wednesday.
An average of 8,830 units were traded at $69,104 compared to 6,368 shares at $32,508 on Wednesday, with trading month to date averaging 19,241 shares at $227,402 compared with 19,821 units at $236,222 on the previous day. The average for October amounts to 15,711 shares at $151,451.
The Composite Index rallied 1.09 points to close trading at 1,185.60, the All T&T Index increased 2.12 points to conclude trading at 1,792.10, the SME Index remained at 80.00 and the Cross-Listed Index remained unchanged at 75.11.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close, Agostini’s remained at $68, with 1,088 units clearing the market, Angostura Holdings ended at $21.50 closed with an exchange of 5 stocks, Calypso Macro Investment Fund ended at $22.76 40 shares crossing the exchange. First Citizens Group fell 1 cent to $49.10 with investors trading 2,766 stocks, FirstCaribbean International Bank ended at $7 after an exchange of 14,148 shares, GraceKennedy shed 5 cents to $4 with investors swapping 13,581 units. Guardian Holdings declined 80 cents to end at $18.10 in trading 1,152 stocks, Guardian Media lost 19 cents and closed at $2.01, with 652 stock units crossing the market, JMMB Group skidded 1 cent to close at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.34 with an exchange of 16,754 shares. L.J. Williams B share ended at $2.26 after investors traded 5 stock units, Massy Holdings rallied 1 cent to $4.45 after an exchange of 62,849 units, National Enterprises rose 1 cent in closing at $3.55, with 631 stocks crossing the market. National Flour Mills dipped 20 cents to end at $1.52 as investors exchanged 4,652 units, NCB Financial rose 15 cents to $3, with 8,617 stocks changing hands, Republic Financial remained at $120 in an exchange of 1,874 shares. Scotiabank ended at $69.90 with traders dealing in 3,998 stock units, Trinidad & Tobago NGL ended at $10.54 while exchanging 315 shares, Trinidad Cement dropped 14 cents to $2.86 in switching ownership of 40,568 units. Unilever Caribbean shed 16 cents to close at $11.29 with investors exchanging 10 stocks and West Indian Tobacco popped 25 cents and ended at $9.25 with a transfer of 2,900 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Trading climbed on JSE Main Market

Trading activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market ended on Wednesday, with the volume of stocks traded rising 95 percent and the value 554 percent more than on Tuesday, with 55 securities trading compared with 54 on Tuesday, with 23 rising, 18 declining and 14 ending unchanged.
Overall, 9,982,907 shares were traded at $279,360,313 compared with 5,126,354 units at $42,703,699 on Tuesday.
Trading averaged 181,507 shares at $5,079,278 versus 94,932 units at $790,809 on Tuesday and month to date, an average of 275,178 units at $2,565,792, compared with 279,823 units at $2,441,137 on the previous day. October closed with an average of 214,410 units at $1,325,907.
GraceKennedy led trading with 3.58 million shares for 35.8 percent of total volume followed by Wigton Windfarm with 2.82 million units for 28.2 percent of the day’s trade and Transjamaican Highway with 1.90 million units for 19 percent of the day’s trade.
The All Jamaican Composite Index shed 193.70 points to conclude trading at 346,967.04, the JSE Main Index gained 939.00 points to close at 313,164.96 and the JSE Financial Index advanced 0.70 points to 68.00.
The Main Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 12.8. The JSE Main and USD Market PE ratios are based on the last traded prices and earnings forecasts by ICInsider.com for companies with the financial year ending around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows seven stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven with lower offers.
At the close, Barita Investments rallied 30 cents to $70.30 while exchanging 2,230 stocks, Berger Paints increased 66 cents to end at $6.67 with 4,086 units clearing the market, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund climbed $3.50 in closing at $39.50 after an exchange of 881 shares. Guardian Holdings popped $20 to close at $420 with shareholders swapping just one stock unit, JMMB Group advanced 28 cents and ended at $26.38 in an exchange of 23,742 shares, Kingston Properties rose 49 cents to $7.49 after investors exchanged 63,164 units. Kingston Wharves declined $1.95 to close at $26.50 with stakeholders exchanging 2,398 stocks, NCB Financial gained $1 to end at $68 in trading 20,469 stock units, Pan Jamaica lost $4.30 in closing at $45.25, with 3,329 shares crossing the market. Proven Investments skidded $2.54 and ended at $22.50 after an exchange of 200 stocks, Seprod fell $3.23 to $72.10 in switching ownership of 1,243 units and Supreme Ventures dropped 50 cents to close at $26 as investors exchanged 151,520 stock units.
In the preference segment, Eppley 7.50% preference share rose 70 cents and ended at $6.20 after 87 shares crossed the market and 138 Student Living preference share rallied $17.21 to close at $106.49 after an exchange of 39 stocks.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Trading plunged on Trinidad Stock Exchange

Trading dropped sharply at the close of the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange on Wednesday, with a 68 percent decline in the volume of stocks traded with the value plunging 95 percent compared with market activity on Tuesday, resulting in trading of 20 securities similar to Tuesday, and ended with prices of six stocks rising, seven declining and seven remaining unchanged.
Investors traded 127,356 shares for $650,155, down sharply from 394,964 stocks at $12,948,709 on Tuesday.
Trading ended with an average of 6,368 shares exchanged for $32,508 compared to 19,748 units at $647,435 on Tuesday. Trading for the month to date ended with an average of 19,821 shares for $236,222 compared with 20,614 stock units at $248,241 on the previous day. The average trade for October amounts to 15,711 shares at $151,451.

The Composite Index dipped 5.56 points to wrap-up trading at 1,184.51, the All T&T Index declined 13.99 points to close at 1,789.98, the SME Index remained unchanged at 80.00 and the Cross-Listed Index popped 0.48 points to settle at 75.11.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
At the close, Agostini’s rallied 50 cents to close at $68, with 15 stock units passing through the market, Angostura Holdings skidded 64 cents to $21.50 in an exchange of 276 units, Ansa McAl fell $3 to $54 after 92 shares passed through the market. Endeavour Holdings ended at $15 after investors traded 10 stocks, First Citizens Group ended at $49.11 after 1,760 shares were exchanged, FirstCaribbean International Bank closed at $7 after 930 stocks were traded. GraceKennedy popped 15 cents to end at $4.05 with an exchange of 34,757 stock units, Guardian Media advanced 19 cents in closing at $2.20, with 20stock units crossing the market, JMMB Group remained at $1.35 in an exchange of 1,299 shares. L.J. Williams B share remained at $2.26 with investors dealing in 970 stocks, Massy Holdings rose 1 cent to $4.44 after a transfer of 8,005 units, National Enterprises dipped 1 cent to close at $3.54 in trading 67,451 stock units. NCB Financial ended at $2.85 after an exchange of 5,313 shares, One Caribbean Media gained 1 cent and ended at $3.53 with shareholders swapping 400 stock units, Point Lisas lost 4 cents and ended at $3.56 in switching ownership of 10 stocks. Prestige Holdings declined 50 cents to $10, with an exchange of 407 units, Republic Financial shed $1 in closing at $120 with traders dealing in 530 stocks, Scotiabank dipped 10 cents to $69.90 after an exchange of 166 units. Trinidad Cement increased 5 cents and ended at $3 with investors transferring 3,000 shares and Unilever Caribbean ended at $11.45, with 1,945 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Fall for JSE Main Market

Trading activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market ended on Tuesday, with the volume of stocks traded declining 23 percent but with a 14 percent higher value than on Monday, after trading in 54 securities compared with 58 on Monday, with 14 rising, 18 declining and 22 ending unchanged.
A total of 5,126,354 shares were traded for $42,703,699 compared with 6,629,759 units at $37,460,689 on Monday.
Trading averaged 94,932 shares at $790,809 versus 114,306 units at $645,874 on Monday and month to date, an average of 279,823 units at $2,441,137, compared with 289,287 units at $2,525,609 on the previous day and better than October with an average of 214,410 units at $1,325,907.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 1.73 million shares for 33.8 percent of total volume followed by Transjamaican Highway with 1.40 million units for 27.3 percent of the day’s trade and Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 377,890 units for 7.4 percent market share.
The All Jamaican Composite Index shed 3,930.88 points to end the day at 347,160.74, the JSE Main Index dropped 3,454.22 points to lock up trading at 312,225.96 and the JSE Financial Index shed 1.24 points to cease trading at 67.30.
The Main Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 13. The JSE Main and USD Market PE ratios are based on the last traded prices and earnings forecasts by ICInsider.com for companies with the financial year ending around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 10 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and eight with lower offers.
At the close, Caribbean Cement shed 98 cents to end at $54 as investors exchanged 4,401 stocks, Caribbean Producers rose 62 cents to $9.42 with a transfer of 29,843 units, Eppley gained $2 in closing at $36.50, with 400 shares crossing the market. GraceKennedy popped 50 cents and ended at $76 with an exchange of 133,749 stock units, Guardian Holdings declined $10 to close at $400 with 63 shares clearing the market, Kingston Properties climbed 27 cents to $7 after an exchange of 115,141 stock units. Massy Holdings lost $1.50 in closing at $88.50 in switching ownership of 465 units, Mayberry Investments increased 30 cents to close at $8.10 with, 4 stocks changing hands, NCB Financial dipped $2.20 and ended at $67 after trading ended with 40,436 units changing hands. Pan Jamaica fell 45 cents to end at $49.55 and closed with 2,455 shares passing through the market, Proven Investments advanced $1.44 in closing at $25.04 with shareholders swapping 9,459 stock units, Pulse Investments rallied 38 cents to $2.29, with 22,000 stocks crossing the exchange. Seprod dropped 67 cents and ended at $75.33 with traders dealing in 9,108 units, Sygnus Credit Investments skidded 47 cents to close at $11.55 in an exchange of 23,259 stocks and Wisynco Group rose 49 cents to end at $19.70 as 9,255 shares passed through the market.
In the preference segment, Eppley 7.50% preference share fell 90 cents to $5.50 with investors transferring 205 stock units and Productive Business Solutions 9.75% preference share dropped $12 to end at $100 in an exchange of 25 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Rising stocks edged by decliners on Trinidad Exchange

Trading ended on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange on Tuesday, with the volume of stocks traded declining 74 percent with the value jumping 67 percent above that on Monday resulting from trading in 20 securities compared with 19 on Monday, and ended with prices of six stocks rising, seven declining and seven remaining unchanged.
Investors exchanged 394,964 shares for $12,948,709 versus 1,547,366 stock units at $7,748,550 on Monday.
Trading ended with an average of 19,748 shares for $647,435 compared with 81,440 units at $407,818 on Monday, Trading month to date averages 20,614 shares at $248,241 compared with 20,668 units at $223,212 on the previous day. The average trade for October amounts to 15,711 shares at $151,451.
The Composite Index slipped 1.08 points to wrap up trading at 1,190.07, the All T&T Index dipped 2.29 points to end the day at 1,803.97, the SME Index remained unchanged at 80.00 and the Cross-Listed Index popped 0.03 points to 74.63.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close, Agostini’s ended at $67.50 in an exchange of 2 stock units, Angostura Holdings dipped 1 cent to $22.14 with traders dealing in 5,000 shares, Calypso Macro Investment Fund lost 4 cents to close at $22.76 in switching ownership of 45 stock units. Endeavour Holdings remained at $15, with 6 units crossing the market, First Citizens Group popped 1 cent to $49.11 with a transfer of 8,346 shares, FirstCaribbean International Bank ended at $7 after 70 units changed hands. GraceKennedy rose 5 cents to close at $3.90, with 23,398 stocks changing hands, Guardian Holdings rallied 40 cents in closing at $18.90 with investors transferring 11,950 stock units, JMMB Group ended at $1.35 after trading 40,732 shares. L.J. Williams B share rose 21 cents and ended at $2.26 after an exchange of 31 units, Massy Holdings dipped 2 cents to $4.43 with investors dealing in 192,809 stocks, National Enterprises ended at $3.55 after an exchange of 592 stock units. NCB Financial remained at $2.85, with 630 shares crossing the market, Prestige Holdings shed 50 cents in closing at $10.50 in trading 740 stock units, Republic Financial popped $1 to end at $121, with 91,964 stocks crossing the exchange. Scotiabank remained at $70 after investors ended trading 349 units, Trinidad & Tobago NGL declined 6 cents to a 52 weeks’ low of $10.54 after an exchange of 2,576 stocks, Trinidad Cement advanced 5 cents to end at $2.95, with 10,000 units clearing the market. Unilever Caribbean fell 3 cents to close at $11.45 with shareholders swapping 438 shares and West Indian Tobacco skidded 25 cents and ended at a 52 weeks’ low of $9 after a transfer of 5,286 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Strong performance in ICTOP10 stocks

The main market has been quietly rising since the start of November and closed the past week at the highest level since the start of the month while the Junior Market declined to the lowest level since early May this year but the performance of the ICTOP10 was mostly positive, with the Junior Market having 4 stocks gaining between 5 and 15 percent and two with declines of 6 and 7 percent. The Main Market had two stocks gaining 5 and 11 percent and two falling by 3 percent.
Against the above market movements, there was just one new addition to the ICTOP10 with listings for the Junior Market with Caribbean Flavours moving out with a 15 percent gain for the week to close at $1.39 and Access Financial taking its place. The other big action in the Junior Market, resulted in Paramount Trading gaining 12 percent to close at $1.68, Caribbean Cream rising 9 percent to $3.70 and Jamaican Teas adding 5 percent to end at $2.35. Lasco Manufacturing dropped 7 percent to $4.20 and Express Catering fell 6 percent to $3.75.
The Main Market closed the week with Key Insurance climbing 11 percent to $2.50, while 138 Student Living rose by 5 percent to $4.22.
Access Financial Services is enjoying a turnaround in its fortunes with profit for the second quarter to September surging 153 percent over the same period in 2022 to reach EPS of 51 cents even with allowances for credit losses rising to $89 million from $54 million in the 2022 period as revenues from interest climbed 25 percent to $556 million and revenues net of finance cost was up 9.5 percent to $567 million. For the half year, profit jumped 76 percent to $234 million as loan granted borrowers rose almost $600 million to $5.36 billion from $4.76 billion in September 2022 and the same amount since March this year. The company had more than $760 million available to lend plus cash flows from profit that should pushed lending up around 25 percent year over year and helped to swell profits for the year substantially above the six months levels.
Elsewhere, we upgraded Scotia Group’s earnings to $6 per share making it a more attractive IC TOP10 stock.
An indication of where stock prices could be by May 2024 can be seen from stocks with the highest values in the Main and Junior Markets.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 5, well below the market average of 13.1. The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 318 percent by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, a total of 15 of the most highly valued stocks representing 31 percent of the Main Market are priced at a PE of 15 to 108, with an average of 29 and 19 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 23 for the top half and 20 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
The PE of the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 7, over half of the market, with an average of 12.9. There are 15 stocks, or 31 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 47, averaging 20 that are well above the market’s average of 12.9. The top half of the market has an average PE of 18, possibly the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks currently, with the market projected to rise by 260 percent on or around May 2024.
Of great import is that the averages of both markets are now converging around a PE of 20 for close to a third of the market, as the year is coming to a close and with more information available on full year’s earnings.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market, but this is not always so. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings, allowing investors to focus on the most undervalued stocks and helping to remove emotions in selecting stocks for investments that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks will likely deliver the best returns on or around May 2024 and are ranked in order of potential gains, computed using projected earnings 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.