Singapore’s Strait Times Index (SGX: ^STI) has had a rough 2018, falling 9.1% from the start of the year until the end of November. Despite the market’s tantrums, not all blue-chip stocks have performed badly. With that in mind, let’s look at the top five performing companies and the returns they have provided to investors this year (data as of 30 November 2018): Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd (SGX: D01) is a member of the Jardine group of companies. Dairy Farm’s is a pan-Asian retailer that operates supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, health and beauty stores, and home furnishing stores. Some of the familiar brand names under the company’s portfolio are Giant, Guardian, and Cold Storage. Dairy Farm is the top performing stock on the STI this yea

Someone requested the data for stock market valuations stretching back to 2008 low so I thought I share it with everyone. Just a reference point for everyone. Changes in composition I was having a discussion with a friend who was commenting that the composition of the STI had changed significantly over the last decade – with the banks making up a larger percentage of the index today (upwards of 40%). He remarked that Singtel used to make up a bigger proportion of the Straits Times Index but that the banks had really powered ahead post GFC – continually making up an ever increasing proportion of the Straits Times Index. This might affect historical comparisons Readers should keep in mind that weighting of the largest  constituents have changed over the years – making

Ted Sturgeon was a sci-fi author who claims that "90% of everything is crap" and this chapter proposes that the same applies for the stock market. This is useful when you decide what kind of media to indulge in. 90% of all fiction is crap. 90% of all Netflix shows are crap. In a moment of self-reflection, perhaps 90% of investment training is crap so I need to constantly improve my training slides.While preparing stock screens for this weekend's class to demonstrate this concept, I wanted to see how many stocks fall into this category in SGX :a) Cannot be a ADR, GDR, China Stock or a REIT.b) Cannot have a market capitalisation below $50M. c) Must have revenue above 150% of the average of the remaining counters after step (b).d) Must have an operating cash flow above the average o

The Straits Times Index is made of the 30 largest and most liquid stocks listed in Singapore. It provides a measure for the benchmark return in Singapore, and investors use it to compare how their investment portfolios have performed. The global stock markets have mostly turned red in 2018, and the STI was not spared either. In the YTD 2018, the STI has generated a return of -6.8%. Even though the collective returns of the 30 constituent stocks was negative 6.8%, the four best performing STI stocks managed to deliver a return of nearly 13.9%. This should not be confused with 52-weeks high, as you will see in some of the charts below. Read Also: Complete Guide To Investing In The Straits Times Index ETF This week, we discuss the four best performing STI constituent stock in our column. #1 D

The Singapore Exchange is home to nearly 100 stocks with market capitalisations of more than S$1 billion. These “billionaire stocks” are from a range of sectors and geographical concentrations, giving investors a wide range of investment opportunities. Contrary to common perception that larger capitalised stocks can only deliver modest growth, as compared to smaller caps, the top performing billionaire stocks on SGX have delivered enviable returns in 2018 year-to-date, despite market corrections and overall uncertainty and volatility. In fact, the top 10 best-performing billionaire stocks averaged a total return of 29% for 2018 year-to-date. These stocks are Sri Trang (48.2%), Best World (44.0%), Top Glove (42.9%), Japfa (41.7%), M1 (26.7%), Keppel T&T (21.2%), Sheng Siong (18.4%),

I’m a value investor. As such, I like to search for companies that are trading at low valuations. A list of stocks that are near their respective 52-week lows is a good place to start my search for a good reason. These are the stocks that are either unloved or beaten down by the market. However, some of these stocks could turn out to be bargains compared to their actual economic worth. That’s because market participants can at times react too negatively to certain companies that have sound long-term prospects but have experienced some short-term stumbles. I often screen for stocks that are trading near their 52-week lows around once every week. There are many different stocks that pop up on my screen each time I run it. With that in mind, here are three companies that have turned u

For the past few weeks, the two largest supermarket operators, Sheng Siong Group (Sheng Siong) and Dairy Farm International (Dairy Farm) have reported less than stellar sets of financial results. Sheng Siong reported core 3Q18 net profit that increased by 1.5 percent to $17.7 million compared to a year ago, while revenue rose 8 percent to $227.9 million.  Despite a healthy growth in the top line, the bottom line was impacted by higher-than-expected administrative expenses which were 16.6 percent higher on due to higher store counts. For Dairy Farm, earnings results are released semi-annually. However, market talks have surfaced regarding the management’s contemplation over a bulk sale of its Giant stores. The market rumours arose when news of several Giant outlets were or due to shutter

A year ago, Phillip Capital Management, along with Lion Global Investors, launched the Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF. The ETF aimed to give investors a way to invest in a diversified basket of Singapore REITs (S-REITs) which paid a steady stream of distributions. (At the moment, the average distribution yield for S-REITs is 6.8%.) The ETF was met with a largely positive response from the market – Lion Global Investors and Phillip Capital Management initially aimed to raise S$40-50 million but exceeded their target when the fund raised over S$100 million last October. Capitalizing on the Singapore market’s appetite for yield, Phillip Capital Management has now launched the Phillip SING Income ETF. The initial offer period for the ETF will close at 11:00 a.m. on 19 October 2018 before its list

I know the title of this article sounds a like a boast but if you bear with me and read the article to the end, I’ll reveal the investment thought process that led to why we decided to buy and, subsequently, sell our stake in Dairy Farm International. History Back in October 2015, I publicly presented my analysis on Dairy Farm International at InvestX Congress. Those who attended the live event would have learnt that Dairy Farm has a deep history stretching back as far as 1886. The company began selling cow’s milk as founder Sir Patrick Manson realised there was lack of dairy in the Asian diet. Within the span of ten years, Dairy Farm soon ventured into the business of rearing pigs and fowl to sell pork, poultry, and eggs in Hong Kong. As more business ventures were added to the Group,

My colleague Royston Yang recently shared five simple but effective tell-tale signs we can use to see if a company is falling into trouble. I thought it’ll be useful for investors if I shared some Singapore-listed shares that exhibited these signs. Sign 1: Falling revenues Tourism attractions owner and operator Straco Corporation Ltd (SGX: S85) is one example of a company which has recently reported falling revenues. For the first quarter of 2018, it reported a 31.7% year-on-year decline in revenue to S$18.8 million; for the second quarter of 2018, there was a 6.4% year-on-year decline in revenue to S$28.3 million. The company cited the temporary breakdown of one of its assets, the Singapore Flyer, as the main reason for its lower revenue in the first quarter. As for the second quar

Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd (SGX: D01) is a pan-Asian retail group with more than 7,400 outlets (including associates and joint ventures) across many Asian countries and territories. It operates supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, health and beauty stores, and home furnishings stores under famous brands such as Cold Storage, 7-Eleven, Guardian and IKEA. I like Dairy Farm due to the following reasons: 1) It offers daily essentials through its vast network of stores; 2) It generates copious amounts of free cash flow; and 3) With a rising Asian middle class, the company should do well for the long-term. However, I’m staying away from Dairy Farm for now for one main reason. High valuation Even though there are some great things going on for the company, I’m sta

Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd (SGX: D01) and Sheng Siong Group Ltd (SG: OV8) are two players in Singapore’s supermarket space. Since both Dairy Farm and Sheng Siong pay dividends, which would be a better buy for income investors? Let’s find out by comparing the dividend yields, historical growth rates in dividends, and dividend payout ratios of the two companies. Dividend yield Dairy Farm shares closed at US$9.15 each on Friday, giving it a trailing dividend yield of 2.3%. Meanwhile, Sheng Siong shares last exchanged hands at S$1.13 apiece on Friday, translating to a trailing dividend yield of 3.1%. Looking at dividend yield alone, Sheng Siong appears to be the better dividend share. Dividend growth rate The dividend yield tells us what a company has paid in dividends

The Singapore stock market, as represented by the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) tumbled by 47.3 points, or 1.5%, to end Friday at 3,209.8. Most of the index components finished in the red, including all three banks. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Limited (SGX: O39), or OCBC for short, was the bank that fell the most at 2.2% to S$11.19. On Monday, OCBC announced that a planned sale of Hong Kong Life Insurance to First Origin International Limited had been called off as the buyer failed to meet certain conditions before a September 30 deadline. Hong Kong Life Insurance is 33.33%-owned by OCBC Wing Hang Bank Limited, a subsidiary of OCBC. Another loser for the week was industrial real estate investment trust (REIT), Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (SGX: A17U). Its units declined by 3.4

With an aim to address the common-man-investor’s problem of being sucked into dividend traps, Phillip Capital Management is offering a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) to provide income-hungry investors with an ability to invest in a diversified group of quality dividend companies in one fell swoop. The Phillip SING Income ETF (SGX: OVQ), as it is called, is Phillip Capital’s third ETF in Singapore’s stock market. The new ETF was launched yesterday, and The Motley Fool Singapore was invited to an exclusive media briefing for the launch-event. The Phillip SING Income ETF aims to fully replicate the Morningstar Singapore Yield Focus Index. The 30-stock index selects Singapore-listed companies based on three main factors: business quality; financial health; and dividend yield. In

For medium term trading (buy & sell every few months), a stock trader may feel the importance of relative monthly stock performance. If one could apply statistics to understand the months with relative stronger or weaker performance, the knowhow could help in advanced trading plan. Here is a compilation of season effect (monthly stock performance, green is a gain, red is a loss) over the past 12 years on global stock markets in Singapore, US, Hong Kong and China.   1) Singapore (Straits Times Index – STI) Worst Month: Aug (Losses in 12 out of 12 years) Best Months: Mar/Apr (Gains in 10 out of 12 years) 2) US (Nasdaq Composite Index – Nasdaq) Worst Month: Jun (Losses in 8 out of 12 years) Best Months: Apr/May/July (Gains in 9 out of 12 years) 3) H

Giants such as Apple Inc and Amazon.com call the United States their home. In Singapore’s stock market, there are also giants. Let’s check out three of the largest shares listed in Singapore (data as of 26 September 2018). Giant #1 Not many know this, but with a market capitalisation of S$83.6 billion, Prudential Plc (SGX: K6S) is the largest listed company in Singapore. The company, which has a secondary listing here, is a British life insurance and financial services provider that is headquartered in the United Kingdom. It was founded in May 1848. Prudential was listed on the Singapore stock market by way of introduction on 25 May 2010. It has a premium listing in London and a primary listing in Hong Kong. The insurance company has a price-to-book (PB) ratio of 2.8 and a dividend yie

Hello, everyone. Here are three things about the local stock market that you might be interested in today. 1. The Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) inched up 1.5 points, or 0.05%, to 3,219.2. Of the 30 index stocks, 11 were in the green, 18 were in the red while one – ComfortDelGro Corporation Ltd (SGX: C52) – ended the day flat. Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (SGX: Y92) was the best performer of the index as its shares rose 2.2% to S$0.695 each. On the other hand, the company that was the biggest loser was Genting Singapore Ltd (SGX: G13). The casino operator’s shares fell 2.8% to S$1.04 apiece. 2. The Straits Times Index has a new look. Pan-Asian retailer, Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd (SGX D01), has replaced telco, StarHub Ltd (SGX CC3), on the 30-stock index. The ch

Jardine Strategic Holdings Limited (SGX: J37) is a conglomerate with interest in the web of Jardines companies, which includes Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd (SGX: C07), Hongkong Land Holdings Limited (SGX: H78), Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd (SGX: D01), Mandarin Oriental Limited (SGX: M04) and Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (SGX: J36). The company recently released its first half of 2018 results. In this article, I will look at the positive and negative points from the announcement. The positives First of all, the conglomerate reported stronger revenue and underlying profitability for the first half of 2018. Revenue increased 13% year-on-year to US$16.9 billion while underlying earnings per share was up by 11% year-on-year to US$1.45. Secondly, most segments reported

I’m a value investor. So, I like to search for companies that are trading at good value. A list of stocks that are near their respective 52-week lows is a good place to start my search for a good reason. These are the stocks that are either neglected or beaten down by investors. And, some of these stocks can be bargains in relation to their actual economic worth because market participants can at times react too negatively to certain companies that have sound long-term prospects but have experienced some short-term stumbles. As such, I will screen for stocks that are trading near 52-week lows nearly once every week. There are many stocks that pop up on my screen each time I run it.  So what are the companies that have shown up on this week’s list? Here are three of them: Jardine Math

Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd (SGX: D01) has replaced StarHub Ltd (SGX: CC3) on the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI). Even though StarHub is well-known to be a high dividend-yielder, is it a better dividend share overall compared to Dairy Farm? Let’s find out by assessing the dividend growth rate and dividend payout ratio of the two companies. Dividend yield On Friday, Dairy Farm closed at US$9.30 per share, giving a trailing dividend yield of 2.2%. On the other hand, StarHub last exchanged hands on Friday at S$1.67 per share, translating to a trailing dividend yield of 9.6%. Looking at the dividend yield alone, StarHub appears to have the edge over Dairy Farm. But this metric does not show a full picture of a company’s dividend sustainability. The next two factors will reveal