Today I am running the rule over three FTSE-listed beauties.
The perfect package
Packaging play Mondi (LSE: MNDI) greeted the market with bubbly financial numbers in Tuesday trade, sending the stock 0.5% higher from last night’s close.
Mondi advised that underlying operating profit for 2015 should clock in above the €767m recorded in the prior period, with underlying earnings per share anticipated to advance between 22% and 27% from 2014 levels, at 131-136 euro cents per share.
And I believe the Surrey business is in great shape to enjoy further stunning earnings growth well into the future, as expansion into hot sub-segments in the packaging industry — not to mention rising presence in the US and Asia — pays off.
The City expects Mondi to report a 10% earnings advance in 2016, resulting in a very-decent P/E multiple of 14.1 times. And a handy 41.5p per share dividend, yielding a chunky 2.8%, seals in the investment case in my opinion.
Services play on the up
Like Mondi, corporate services provider Hogg Robinson (LSE: HRG) also provided plenty of cheer in Tuesday’s session after releasing its own reassuring trading update. Shares were last 2.3% higher as a result.
Hogg Robinson advised that it had “continued to trade in line with our expectations during the second half of the company’s financial year to date,” with full-year growth expected to meet current market expectations. And the growing popularity of cutting-edge products, like its travel and expense management solution Fraedom, should keep earnings heading higher in the longer-term, in my opinion.
The number crunchers expect Hogg Robinson to follow a 6% earnings uptick in the period to March 2016,with a 7% advance in the following year, resulting in ultra-low P/E ratings of 10.4 times and 9.8 times respectively.
And when you throw in prospective dividends of 2.5p per share for 2016 and 2.7p for next year — payouts that yield 3.4% and 3.7% correspondingly — I reckon Hogg Robinson is a terrific selection for those seeking brilliant all-round value.
A premier pills pick
Drugs colossus AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) has enjoyed a solid bump higher during the past week, with its share price gaining 7% from recent two-year nadirs as bargain hunters have piled in.
And with good reason, in my opinion. AstraZeneca’s advice this month that it expects further revenues falls in 2016 may have weeded out less-hardy investors, but this was always likely to be the case as patent losses on key products like Crestor and Nexium continue.
Instead, I believe the result of chief executive Pascal Soriot’s R&D overhaul in recent years should deliver delicious returns in the years ahead. A focus on ‘growth platforms’ like diabetes, respiratory and oncology is already delivering the goods, with sales in these areas rising 11% in 2015. And I reckon prolonged sales growth can be expected as global healthcare demand takes off.
Although the City expects AstraZeneca to endure a further 10% earnings decline in 2016, I believe a subsequent P/E multiple of 16.5 times is a great level to tap into the firm’s great growth prospects. On top of this, a projected 280-US-cent-per-share dividend yields a splendid 4.2%.
