Here’s a cluster of quality UK penny stocks and FTSE 100 shares I’m considering buying for my shares portfolio today.
#1: A bona fide beauty
I think Creightons is a penny stock that has a very bright future in a post-pandemic landscape. Sales at the personal care and beauty products manufacturer soared more than 36% year-on-year during the six months to December. Why? Well sales of its hygiene products, hand washes and sanitising gels exploded as the Covid-19 crisis worsened. The push to lead cleaner lives is a theme that the world’s leading fast-moving consumer goods companies (like Reckitt Benckiser) think is here to stay too, due to consumer worries following the public health emergency. Bear in mind, however, that Creightons faces intense competition in all of its product categories. And it has no formidable barriers of entry to stop rivals grabbing its customers.
#2: Thinking outside the box
I also think DS Smith of the FTSE 100 has all the tools to deliver great shareholder returns. It’s why I already own this UK share in my Stocks and Shares ISA today. Investor interest in the box-maker has shot through the roof recently, partly thanks to strong trading and partly on rumours of a possible takeover by Footsie compatriot Mondi. The company’s share price recently soared to two-and-a-half-year highs and I fully expect it to keep rising as e-commerce growth turbocharges demand for its packaging solutions. Profits at DS Smith might take a whack, however, if paper prices become volatile and input costs at the company consequently soar.
#3: Reel in a winning penny stock
There’s a lot I like about penny stock Angling Direct. Like all niche retailers, it has a small (by broader retail standards at least) but dedicated customer base and it sells everything that today’s angler needs to cast off. The firm also has a sophisticated online operation that will allow it to benefit from the rise of e-commerce. There’s also the small matter that angling has soared in popularity recently and is currently Britain’s number one participation sport. Be aware, though, that prolonged periods of bad weather have the potential to derail sales at this UK penny stock and earnings too.
#4: An electrifying FTSE 100 share
National Grid is another UK share I’m thinking of adding to my ISA today. This FTSE 100 company isn’t all singing and dancing but this is precisely why I like it. The business of keeping Britain’s lights on is (largely speaking) boringly predictable and this, allied with National Grid’s monopoly on keeping the network functioning, makes it one of the best ‘peace of mind’ stocks out there. Indeed, such supreme earnings visibility gives the company the confidence to keep raising dividends whatever happens to the domestic economy. The threat of nationalisation is something investors in the FTSE 100 stock have to stomach. But I still think this is still an attractive UK share despite this danger.
