Should you buy Ted Baker plc, Ashtead Group plc and Crest Nicholson Holdings plc following today’s news?

Royston Wild looks at the recent news releases from Ted Baker plc (LON: TED), Ashtead Group plc (LON: AHT) and Crest Nicholson Holdings plc (LON: CRST).

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Today I’m running the rule over three headline-grabbers in Tuesday trade.

Spark into life

Power generator provider Ashtead Group (LSE: AHT) continues to defy problems in the oil and gas market thanks to strong demand in other sectors.

The business announced on Tuesday that total rental revenues jumped 17% during the 12 months to April 2016, to £2.26bn. This drove pre-tax profit 24% higher from the corresponding period, to £489.6m.

And promisingly, chief executive Geoff Drabble said: “Our end markets remain strong, the structural drivers are still in place and we have a strong balance sheet, which allows us to execute our plans responsibly.”

With the firm’s global expansion strategy clearly delivering the goods, the City expects Ashtead to print earnings growth of 6% in 2017 and 8% the following year, resulting in ultra-low P/E ratios of 10.7 times and 9.9 times.

I reckon the power play is a steal at current share prices.

Build bumper returns

Construction play Crest Nicholson (LSE: CRST) underlined the strength of the housing market with its latest trading update on Tuesday.

Shrugging off the imminent Brexit referendum, Crest Nicholson saw revenues leap 22% during November-April, to £408.1m, a result that propelled pre-tax profit 25% higher to £72.6m.

Although Crest Nicholson acknowledged the possibility of “business disruption” should Britain leave the EU, the company remains bullish over its long-term prospects. Indeed, chief executive Stephen Stone commented that “the business is well positioned to achieve its target of £1bn of revenues in 2016 and to continue growing its contribution to overall housing delivery.”

The City shares this bullish view, and earnings are expected to grow 25% and 13% in the periods to October 2016 and 2017, respectively, resulting in P/E ratings of just 9.2 times and 8.2 times.

And dividend yields of 4.8% and 6.1% for these years rubber-stamp Crest Nicholson as a hot value pick, in my opinion.

Clothing colossus

Fashion play Ted Baker (LSE: TED) completed the set on Tuesday with great trading numbers of its own.

The company saw revenues leap 11.3% during the 19 weeks to 11 June, it said, a result that was driven by the surging popularity of its online channels. Sales generated via the internet galloped 32.3% during the period.

Ted Baker’s multi-channel approach is clearly paying off handsomely, and ongoing expansion looks set to keep driving the top line higher — the clothing giant opened new stores in Beijing, Ottawa and Seattle during the period, as well as its first language-specific website in Germany.

Ted Baker has a great growth record, and the number crunchers expect this to keep rolling with rises of 12% and 15% for the years to January 2017 and 2018, respectively.

While slightly expensive on paper — the company carries P/E ratings of 21 times and 18 times for this year and next — I reckon Ted Baker’s terrific momentum across the globe merits such a premium.

Should you invest, the value of your investment may rise or fall and your capital is at risk. Before investing, your individual circumstances should be assessed. Consider taking independent financial advice.

Royston Wild has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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