Whenever a company makes changes to its management team or to its structure, it can create an air of uncertainty. New management tends to seek to make its mark on the business in some way or another. While this can be beneficial and lead to higher profitability in future, change inevitably brings uncertainty and the risk that things may not turn out as planned.
Similarly, a new structure either through reorganisation or merger can create uncertainty. However, this increased risk can mean a company’s shares offer a wider margin of safety. As such, for long-term investors there can be investment opportunities at times of change within a company. With that in mind, these two stocks could be worth buying today.
Management change
Announcing news of a change in its management structure on Monday was Jackpotjoy (LSE: JPJ). The world’s largest online bingo-led gaming operator released a statement to say that its CEO Andy McIver will step down from his position.
The reasons given for the change is that the company is seeking to strengthen its operational focus and that it has appointed several highly experienced divisional managing directors. As such, current Chairman Neil Goulden will become Executive Chairman. Additional operational expertise will be provided by Group Managing Director Simon Wykes.
Looking ahead, Jackpotjoy is expected to post a rise in its bottom line of 10% in the next financial year. It trades on a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of just 0.7 and with a great deal of sector consolidation taking place at the present time, a bid approach would not be a major surprise. With such a large margin of safety and a strong position within its key markets, the company appears to offer investment potential for the long run
Merger potential
Having undergone a merger just under a year ago, Ladbrokes Coral (LSE: LCL) is apparently mulling a merger with sector peer GVC. Whether this goes ahead or not, the original Ladbrokes and Coral merger caused significant costs last year and many investors seem unsure as to whether the rationale for the combination is strong enough to support significant future profit growth. Evidence of this can be seen in its 6% share price fall during the last year.
However, with the company forecast to post a rise in its bottom line of 77% in the current year and a further increase of 34% next year, it seems to have high growth potential. As well as this, it trades on a PEG ratio of only 0.3 at the present time. This suggests that it has a wide margin of safety that could improve its risk/reward ratio for the long run.
Ladbrokes Coral also appears to have income appeal. It is forecast to yield 5.1% from a dividend that is covered 2.4 times by profit. As such, with a mix of dividend, growth and value appeal it could be a top performer for the long run.
