JSE Group leads the pack - 21 stocks make double digit gains at half-year
Published:Friday | July 5, 2019 | 12:21 AM
Twenty-one stocks, representing about a quarter of ordinary listings on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) made double-digit gains between January and June, reflecting a continuation of the market’s bull run.
The stocks gained between 12 per cent and 173 per cent over six months. Comparatively, the six-month Treasury bill rate is 1.8 per cent.
The market witnessed large and small-cap listings on the JSE during the half-year, including Wigton Windfarm and start-up iCreate, respectively.
Wigton, which garnered applications from more than 31,000 investors in its IPO in March, has gained 66 per cent and was still trending higher within the first week of July.
The top-performing growth stocks over the period belonged to the large main market stocks, which represented a shift from previous periods that were dominated by junior market gains.
Eleven main market stocks made double-digit gains, compared to seven junior market stocks.
Main market capitalisation stood at $1.73 trillion, the junior market was valued at $136.1 billion and the USD market US$320.7 million.
The JSE Group, operator of the stock exchange, was the top performing stock at half-year ending June 28.
The top main market gains and closing prices were:
JSE Group 173.1 per cent $28.02
Caribbean Cement 88.5 per cent $79.94
Eppley 85.8 per cent $17.00
Wisynco Group 73.5 per cent $18.98
Wigton Windfarm 66 per cent $0.88
Seprod 62 per cent $48.54
Supreme Ventures 62 per cent $27.99
Sagicor Group 52.2 per cent $57.01
Sygnus Credit 37.1 per cent $15.04
Proven Investments 32.2 per cent $35.00
PanJam Investments 32.2 per cent $96.07
The leading junior market stocks included:
Honey Bun 74.4 per cent $6.80
Elite Diagnostics 37 per cent $4.00
tTech 18.7 per cent $5.45
General Accident 15.8 per cent $4.10
FosRich 15.7 per cent $4.49
SOS 14.9 per cent $9.49
Lasco Financial 12.4 per cent $5.06
For the USD listing, the gains included:
Sterling Investments 85 per cent US$0.037
Margaritaville Turks 25 per cent US$0.25
Proven Investments 22.9 per cent US$0.24
The main market Index closed up 23 per cent at 467,896 points at the end of June; the junior market index declined 4.4 per cent to close at 3,104 points; and the USD index gained 15 per cent to close 184 points.
The main market companies traded on average at 26.2 times their earnings and the junior market at 19.8 times, according to late June data from brokerage firm VM Wealth. Those multiples, when outliers are excluded, trend lower at 15.95 times for the main market and 24.74 times for junior stocks, according to late June data from other brokerage firm, Barita Investments.
Top performer JSE Group says its outlook for the remainder of the year is positive, aided by new listings on the exchange. The JSE also expects to grow other revenue streams in the medium term.
Brokerage firm JMMB also has a positive outlook on JSE, but argues that the stock already trades at a premium. It added that new revenue streams arising from the JSE’s planned launch of a new trading platform developed by Nasdaq could result in new growth for the company.
“Our outlook for the JSE is positive, given the initiatives being undertaken, such as improving technology deployed to allow the company to offer more products and service efficiently and create a more vibrant market and, by extension, more potential revenue and profits,” stated JMMB.
JSE Group reported net profit of $123.6 million for the March first quarter, up 22 per cent year-on-year. Earnings per share grew to $0.18 in the quarter from $0.14 a year earlier, and revenue increased by 27 per cent to $445.1 million. The company earns just over half its revenue from fee income, while cess income accounts for about one-third.