The sudden rise of the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) during the past few weeks has been nothing short of outstanding. Since dealing firmly in ‘bear market’ territory less than three weeks ago, Britain’s blue-chip index has leapt 12% and is currently dealing at its highest levels this year, around 6,165 points.
But make no mistake — there are still plenty of FTSE 100 bargains to be found, despite the index’s rapid ascent.
Build a fortune
The housing segment in particular is one that provides some exceptionally-valued stocks, in my opinion. Fears over a possible housing bubble — allied with concerns over the impact of stamp duty hikes for second homes and buy-to-let properties — have kept prices of Britain’s homebuilders subdued for months now.
I do not share such pessimism, however, and expect a combination of improving buyer affordability, low mortgage rates and a chronically short housing supply to keep home prices moving higher.
This view is shared by the City, and construction giants Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) and Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW), for example, are expected to see earnings advance 19% and 16% respectively in fiscal 2016. These forecasts create ultra-low P/E multiples of 10.9 times.
And helped by bumper cash flows, sector dividends are expected to continue heading through the roof, too. Taylor Wimpey’s projected 11p per share payment creates a monster 5.9% yield, while Barratt yields a stonking 5% thanks to an estimated 29.7p dividend.
By comparison the wider FTSE 100 average yield stands at around 3.5%.
Bank a bargain
Market appetite towards the bombed-out banking sector also remains twitchy, with many of the segment’s major contenders locked around the P/E benchmark of 10 times, which is generally considered cheap ‘paper’ value.
This comes as little surprise given the sector’s high risk profile. Allied with lasting fears over mounting PPI bills, enduring emerging market troubles has kept investor enthusiasm for Santander, HSBC and Standard Chartered on the backburner. And Barclays’ decision to cut the dividend this week has done little to soothe investor nerves, either.
But that is not to say all of the stocks are ‘fairly’ valued. I believe Lloyds (LSE: LLOY) for one is a great long-term selection at current prices as its Simplification restructuring programme delivers stellar gains, while its concentration on the stable British economy keeps earnings stable.
Don’t get me wrong: the massive de-risking of recent years will prevent Lloyds’ earnings from exploding in the coming years — indeed, an 11% decline is currently predicted for 2016. But a P/E rating of 9.4 times is a great level at which to latch onto the banking giant.
And the firm’s increasingly-generous dividend policy certainly merits attention, too. With its balance sheet steadily improving, the number crunchers expect Lloyds to lift last year’s dividend of 2.25p per share to 3.9p in 2016, creating a chunky 5.4% yield. And payouts are anticipated to keep on surging — a projected 4.7p reward for 2017 drives the yield to 6.5%.
