Today I am looking at three stocks that provide stunning bang for one’s buck.
GlaxoSmithKline
The problem of serious patent losses continues to stunt investor appetite for pharma plays such as GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) (NYSE: GSK.US). Shares in the firm have steadily declined in recent weeks and have shed more than 10% since mid-April, but I believe that this recent weakness represents a fresh buying opportunity.
You see, while revenues losses from the likes of its Advair asthma treatment are likely to remain a bugbear, GlaxoSmithKline is throwing everything including the kitchen sink at producing the next line of profits drivers. The company currently has around 40 products in Phase II or III development, and while the business of drugs development is often fraught with delays and heavy capital drain, I reckon GlaxoSmithKline’s exceptional track record in these matters should underpin excellent earnings growth — indeed, its Tivicay anti-HIV drug is touted as a future superstar.
Of course the pills play’s bubbly pipeline is not set to offset the impact of key exclusivity losses just yet, and GlaxoSmithKline is anticipated to punch a further 11% earnings decline in 2015. Still, the fruits of these labours are expected to translate into tangible gains from next year, and a 7% uptick is currently pencilled in by the City. Accordingly a P/E multiple of 16.8 times for this year falls to just 15.5 times for 2015, around the watermark of 15 times that indicates attractive value.
On top of this, GlaxoSmithKline is also on course to maintain market-beating dividend yields in the coming years, the company having pledged payouts of 80p per share through to 2017. These figures create a large yield of 5.5% during this period, and I believe a backcloth of strong earnings growth should drive rewards still higher looking further down the road.
easyJet
I reckon that budget carrier easyJet (LSE: EZJ) is a sound choice for those seeking delicious value for money. Demand for cheap travel from holidaymakers and business travellers alike is showing no signs of slowing, a trend which prompted Europe’s airlines to boost the number of seats in the short-haul market to 20.2 million seats in October-March, up 5.2% on an annualised basis.
With easyJet expanding the number of planes, routes and airports from which it operates — and boosted by the likelihood of lower fuel prices looking ahead — I believe earnings should continue soaring higher. This view is shared by the number crunchers, and the airline is expected to punch growth of 14% and 11% for the years concluding September 2015 and 2016 correspondingly. As a result the carrier boasts ultra-low P/E ratings of 13.2 times and 11.9 times for these years.
In line with this bubbly earnings outlook, easyJet is predicted to hike the dividend from 45.4p per share last year to 53.1p in the current period, producing a decent yield of 3.1%. And expectations of a further raise in 2016, to 59.5p, drives the yield to a juicy 3.5%.
National Grid
I believe that National Grid’s (LSE: NG) (NYSE: NGG.US) vertically-integrated operations make it a more attractive selection that any of the UK’s other utilities giants, its model allowing it to dodge regulatory scrutiny over its profitability and therefore any potentially-draconian action. Rather, the London firm is benefitting from OFGEM’s RIIO price controls — measures designed to curtail capital seepage — a terrific omen for earnings and dividend hunters.
With National Grid also aggressively building its asset base in the UK as well as North America, I believe shareholder returns should head for the skies in the coming years. In the meantime, the effect of heavy investment is expected to push earnings fractionally lower in the year concluding March 2016, although a 3% bounce in the following 12 months is a sign of things to come. And this predicted uptick also pushes a decent earnings multiple of 15.6 times for this year to an even-better 15.1 times next year.
Subsequently the City also expects dividends to continue steadily rising, and a payment of 42.87p per share last year is anticipated to advance to 44.4p in the current period, resulting in a monster 5% yield. And this rises to 5.1% for 2017 amid expectations of a 45.6p reward.
