3 More FTSE 100 Shares For The Week Ahead: Centrica PLC, AstraZeneca plc And Lloyds Banking Group PLC

We’ll have interims from Centrica PLC (LON: CNA), AstraZeneca plc (LON: AZN) and Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON: LLOY).

| More on:

The content of this article was relevant at the time of publishing. Circumstances change continuously and caution should therefore be exercised when relying upon any content contained within this article.

When investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you put in.

Read More

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, any form of personal advice. Investments in a currency other than sterling are exposed to currency exchange risk. Currency exchange rates are constantly changing, which may affect the value of the investment in sterling terms. You could lose money in sterling even if the stock price rises in the currency of origin. Stocks listed on overseas exchanges may be subject to additional dealing and exchange rate charges, and may have other tax implications, and may not provide the same, or any, regulatory protection as in the UK.

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More.

Interim season for the FTSE 100 continues strongly next week, with a number of important updates coming from a wide variety of sectors. We’ve already had a look at three companies due to report next week, and here are three more selections representing the utilities, pharmaceuticals and banking sectors:

Centrica, Wednesday

On Wednesday it’ll be time for interim results from gas and electricity supplier Centrica (LSE: CNA), and things are likely to be boring but steady — just the way income-seekers, who have been turning to reliable dividends in these low-interest times, like it. Centrica, however, has not been kind only to income investors of late, and its share price is up nearly 25% over the past 12 months to 381p.

Centrica’s dividend yield has been hovering close to 5% over the past few years, with current forecasts suggesting 4.5% for the year to December 2013 and 4.8% for 2014. So what are the prospects looking like?

May’s interim update told us that the company has performed well in the year to date, with the cold start to the year pushing average residential gas consumption up 18% in the first four months and average residential electricity consumption up 3%. Centrica says its residential business should perform in line with expectations, weighted towards the first half of the year.

AstraZeneca, Thursday

It’s time for AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) (NYSE: AZN.US) to spill the beans on its first half on Thursday, so what is the City expecting? Well, with the expiry of some key patent exclusivity (including Seroquel and Crestor) and with competition from generic drugs increasing, AstraZeneca’s earnings per share fell 12% in the year to December 2012 and a bigger drop of 20% is currently expected for this year.

But with the shares currently trading at 3,276p, that does give us a prospective P/E of under 10, and the predicted dividend would yield 5.5%. At first-quarter time, the firm announced a 13% fall in revenue and a 25% fall in core earnings per share, so that full-year prediction might be on the money.

Looking to the longer term, chief executive Pascal Soriot said that the company has “continued to invest in distinctive science that will advance our knowledge of disease physiology and help to identify new drug targets“, and we have seen a couple of key acquisitions in the past few months.

Lloyds, Thursday

Will they, won’t they, sell the bank? Yes, they will, but when and how are key questions for those watching Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) (NYSE: LYG.US), part-owned by UK shareholders. And this year is going to be a key year, with the share price up around 130% over the past 12 months to 69p, and a return to profit, of about £4bn, expected. We should also hopefully see a token dividend this year, and it is expected rise above a 2% yield for the year to December 2014.

The problem with such an analysts’ consensus, though, is that individual forecasts vary quite widely, and they diverge further for 2014 — this really is one over which we should not get too confident.

But having said that, at Q1 time the bank did report underlying profit of £1.48bn, with its net interest margin up to 1.96% in line with expectations, and costs reduced by a further 6%. The bank also expects its core tier 1 ratio to rise above 9% by the end of the year, and to exceed 10% a year later.

Finally, dividends can add nicely to your investment returns — they can be spent or reinvested according to your needs. Whether investing for income or growth, good old cash is always welcome.

And that’s why I recommend the BRAND-NEW Fool report, “The Motley Fool’s Top Income Share For 2013“, in which our top analysts identify a share that they believe will provide handsome dividend income for years to come.

But it will only be available for a limited period, so click here to get your copy today.

> Alan does not own any shares mentioned in this article.

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.

More on Investing Articles

Concept of two young professional men looking at a screen in a technological data centre
Investing Articles

Investing £5,000 in a Nasdaq 100 index fund 5 years ago would be worth this much now

Zaven Boyrazian looks at the Nasdaq 100 index’s performance since December 2019. Has investing in an index fund been good?

Read more »

Electric cars charging at a charging station
Investing Articles

Why the Tesla share price rocketed 38% in November

Our writer considers the reasons for the recent red-hot Tesla share price performance. Is now a good time for him…

Read more »

Frustrated young white male looking disconsolate while sat on his sofa holding a beer
US Stock

Why NIO stock fell 13% in November

Jon Smith flags up a couple of key factors that he believes contributed to the fall in NIO stock over…

Read more »

Investing Articles

Which of these UK stocks is the better bargain in December?

Stephen Wright thinks Diageo and Senior are very different UK stocks with very similar prospects. But which one offers better…

Read more »

Frustrated young white male looking disconsolate while sat on his sofa holding a beer
Investing Articles

Mistakes to avoid when investing in the FTSE 100!

The FTSE 100 offers great near-term valuations and dividend yields, but Dr James Fox believes investors should be wary when…

Read more »

Investing Articles

Here’s why the Scottish Mortgage share price jumped 9.2% in November

The Scottish Mortgage share price has been outperforming indexes over recent weeks. Ben McPoland digs into some reasons why.

Read more »

Investing For Beginners

Why the IAG share price rocketed 24% in November

Jon Smith explains why the IAG share price did so well last month, citing three factors at work that helped…

Read more »

pensive bearded business man sitting on chair looking out of the window
Investing Articles

I think Tesla stock’s overpriced. So why not short it?

Our author thinks Tesla stock has got ahead of itself since the US election. So why not put his money…

Read more »