Yes, it’s that time of year again. It’s time to get out those sparkly, sequinned outfits, pass round the Buck’s Fizz, order a takeaway pizza and sit down and watch the Eurovision Song Contest.
Australia now also takes part in the annual songfest, and it’s even being shown on US TV. In this article I present 3 companies — entries from Spain, the UK and Eastern Europe — that could be your Eurovision winners.
Banco Santander
The share price of Spanish bank Banco Santander (LSE: BNC), like many other financial companies, has been through in the wars recently. This company is one of Europe’s largest banks, and trades across Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia.
The combination of low European interest rates and poor sentiment from investors has meant that the share price has taken a big hit recently. Remarkably, the stock now trades lower than it did during the Credit Crunch or during the Eurozone crisis.
But the fundamentals still look robust. The 2016 P/E ratio is forecast to be 9.34, with a healthy dividend yield of 5.23%. And earnings per share have been fairly consistent, with the bank turning out a multi-billion pound profit year after year.
That’s why I think Banco Santander is one of the best bargains in Europe’s stock markets, and current low prices are a great buying opportunity.
Vodafone Group
Vodafone (LSE: VOD) is a telecoms and broadcasting giant that does much of its business in Europe. It’s a company that’s unlikely to grow rapidly over the next few years, yet it is a stable, consistently cash-generative firm that produces a substantial dividend yield.
Thus I rate this business as a prime candidate for your income portfolio. In 2016 Vodafone shares are predicted to yield 5.14%. After the much vaunted Project Spring, we are still waiting for that transformative deal that everyone has expected from this company.
But in the mean time, tuck this share away in your portfolio and just keep collecting those dividend cheques.
BGEO Group
Eastern Europe is a region that I expect to yield more investment winners in future years. And one of the first companies I have spotted from this part of the world is BGEO Group (LSE: BGEO), formerly called Bank of Georgia.
In developed markets such as the UK, banks have found it difficult to turn large profits, weighed down as they have been by low interest rates, fines and litigation. But the situation is far brighter in emerging markets. Here interest rates are higher, economies are often booming, and more and more consumers are saving their money in banks.
That’s why I have been a big fan of BGEO Group, a company that is the leading financial in fast-growing Georgia. This highly profitable company is priced cheaply, with a forecast 2016 P/E ratio of just 7.05, and a dividend yield of 3.43%.
This is in many ways the ideal investment, as it is fast growing, cheap and has a rising dividend yield. I rate this a strong buy.
