All businesses that have exposure to retail carry some danger as spiking inflation batters consumer confidence. This includes Ediston Property Investment Company (LSE: EPIC), a UK penny stock whose rental income could suffer if its tenants go out of business, or ask for rent reductions.
That said, I think the long-term outlook for Ediston is highly attractive. And I’d use a 13% decline in its share price during the past month as a chance to buy it at a discount.
This property stock specialises in operating shopping parks, a part of the retail market which is performing strongly as e-commerce takes off. More specifically, Ediston’s properties have enough warehouse space and surrounding land to enable the business to ride soaring demand for ‘click & collect’ services from online shoppers.
Ediston’s share price is, despite heavy weakness more recently, up 12% over the past year. I expect the business to start to head higher again sooner rather than later.
Too cheap to miss?
Motor retailer Pendragon (LSE: PDH) could also suffer if shopper budgets continue to fall. It also faces some near-term peril as supply chain problems hit auto production and the prospect of stock shortages loom.
However, following recent share price weakness — Pendragon has just fallen to its cheapest since December — I think this penny stock could be too cheap for me to miss. Today, Pendragon trades on a rock-bottom price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 6.8 times for 2022.
As a long-term investor, I think the car retailer has plenty of appeal. And I think it’s a great way to exploit rocketing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) in particular. Latest Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders data shows sales of battery and hybrid vehicles leap 92.5% year-on-year in January. It’s a trend I expect to continue as fears over the climate crisis steadily increase.
Pendragon’s share price is up 46% during the past 12 months. I expect more robust increases over the long term as well.
Another top penny stock for the EV boom
I’d also snap up Phoenix Copper (LSE: PXC) shares to ride the EV revolution.
The red metal is a critical component in these low-emission vehicles, due its high connectivity. This is why analysts at ING Bank think copper loadings in cars and buses will likely leap to 3.2m tonnes a year from 440,000 tonnes in late 2021. They also believe copper demand in charging infrastructure will rise almost fivefold over the period, to 47 tonnes per annum.
Phoenix Copper, which owns the Empire metal mine in Idaho, should be well-placed to capitalise on rising copper consumption. That’s notwithstanding any revenues-hitting problems the business may encounter in developing its US asset.
Phoenix Copper’s share price has dropped 14% in the past week. This has eradicated all gains it has made over the prior 12 months. And, in my opinion, this makes the penny stock a highly attractive dip buy for me.
