Your annual £20,000 ISA allowance resets soon, so you have until 5 April to use up the current year’s allowance and a full £20k to invest from 6 April onwards if you want to.
Now’s a good time to think about what shares to put in your Stocks and Shares ISA, and I’d go for these three FTSE 100 stalwarts without hesitation.
Distribution and outsourcing
Bunzl (LSE: BNZL) provides distribution and outsourcing services. It supplies a range of non-food and generally not-for-resale products to various businesses, organisations and sectors. Things such as food packaging, grocery, films, labels, gloves, bandages, safety consumables, chemicals, and products for cleaning and hygiene.
The firm operates in North America, Continental Europe, the UK, Ireland, and in various other parts of the world. It’s one of those arguably boring, bread-and-butter-style businesses, but it keeps grinding forward, growing a little every year and tapping a constant stream of incoming cash flow.
It’s served investors well over the years and boasts an unbroken 26-year record of dividend-raising. With the share price close to 2,491p, the forward-looking earnings multiple runs at just over 18 and the anticipated dividend yield is a little higher than 2.2%. That’s not a high yield, but if it grows again for the next 26 years, I reckon investor income and share-price gains could be substantial over the period.
Smoking products
Imperial Brands (LSE: IMB) is a fast-moving consumer goods company selling products related to smoking, such as cigarettes, tobaccos, papers, cigars and next-generation products. It also has a distribution division that moves its own products around and those of other smoking products manufacturers too.
It’s a popular stock with well-known fund manager Neil Woodford who has a big chunk of the shares in his two main funds. It’s his largest holding. And no wonder. With the share price near 2,623p, the forward-looking earnings multiple is just over nine for the trading year to September 2020 and the predicted dividend yield is more than 8%.
The valuation is low and the dividend yield is high, which means the company looks like it is out of favour with investors. However, often, shareholder concerns prove to be unjustified and I reckon Imperial Brands will trade well from here and keep on paying its dividend.
Energy Transmission and distribution
National Grid (LSE: NG) is an electricity and gas transmission and distribution company operating in the UK and in the USA. The firm enjoys a monopoly position in the energy market, but it is heavily regulated on both sides of the Atlantic. However, cash inflow tends to be consistent, and although the firm carries a big debt load, there’s always been enough cash left over to pay the dividend, even after the large amounts of capital the firm must constantly reinvest into its infrastructure and assets.
Right now, with the share price near 886p, the forward-looking earnings multiple for the trading year to March 2020 is just over 15 and the anticipated dividend yield is around 5.5%. That’s a handy yield to collect, and my guess is that the firm will not need to cut the dividend anytime soon despite ongoing regulatory demands.
