Seprod is offering to buy back 10 million of its own shares from the market over the next three weeks.

The company, which makes and distributes brands such as Chiffon and ButterKist, proposed to purchase just under two per cent of its issued stock to take advantage of its attractive pricing.

The manufacturer's share price on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) hit its 52-week low of $12.90 last Wednesday. The price gradually declined from $23 a share the year before.

Seprod notified the JSE late last week that it would offer $15 per stock unit to the open market, and effect the date of purchase on November 7.

The offer price is just above the 10-day moving average, and is 11 per cent better than the last traded price of $13.54. The price being offered by the manufacturer also places the share price at nine times the company's earnings over the 12 months to June 30.

No shares in the company were crossed the floor of the exchange yesterday — the first trading day since the notification.

Although the amount of shares being sought represent 1.9 per cent of the issued shares in Seprod, it's more than the 8.8 million shares to have been collectively traded across the floor of the exchange over the last 52 weeks.

If it buys the maximum of 10 million shares, it would become the fifth largest shareholder in itself after Musson (45.3 per cent shareholding), Coconut Industry Board (31.6 per cent), GraceKennedy Pension Scheme (4.3 per cent), and National Insurance Fund (three per cent).