These FTSE 100 giants released updates today, which has sent shares in all three higher. Does the news make the shares a buy?
Copper giant
FTSE miner Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) released second quarter numbers today which the market has taken well. Compared to Q1, copper production is up by 5.8% to 166,200 tonnes and cash costs are down 2.3% to $1.25/lb. Despite the good increase in copper production between Q1 and Q2, full-year guidance is now expected at the lower end of its initial range. In January the company gave guidance of between 710,000-740,000 tonnes for the year but despite production being weighted to the second half of the year, the company will fall short of the top figure. Yet even with this slight disappointment shares are up nearly 1% this morning and the CEO said that he’s confident management will “continue to deliver on our cost control and operational efficiency objectives for the full year.”
Antofagasta is performing OK at the moment but with continued uncertainty in the copper market I would stay away at this moment in time.
Record inflows
St James’s Place (LSE: STJ) released impressive half-year results today, which has sent the shares up over 4%. The company is now managing over £65bn of funds after a net inflow of £3.1bn in the first half of the year. These inflows come after a long period of inflows for the company, which has resulted in funds under management increasing by over £10bn in the last 12 months. The profit before shareholder tax of £60.5m is slightly down from 2015 but net asset value per share is up over 11p to 201p. The management team has decided to increase the interim dividend by 15% and made it clear that they intend to “grow the dividend in line with the underlying performance of the business.“
St James’s Place looks to be in a healthy position with good profits and a tidy dividend yield of 2.7%. Although Brexit fallout is likely to hurt the company it looks strong enough to continue to grow.
Investments up at 3i
Today also saw 3i Group (LSE: III) release first quarter results. The company called it a solid start to the year and the portfolio NAV is up over 16% to 538p. The private equity side of the group realised profits of £438m in Q1 with a further £143m coming during Q2. 3i is in a good position to take advantage of the current investing environment through the well funded balance sheet and portfolio of international companies. The market has also received the update well and shares were up over 2% in early trading.
I think 3i could be a safe play for investors seeking capital growth in the medium term. The company is extremely well funded and can take advantage of any opportunities it may see. The P/E ratio is under 10 and the shares look undervalued.
