The FTSE 100 has been regaining ground in the past couple of months, rising 11.5% since its recent October low. Maybe the investment world is finally realising that some of our Footsie shares are actually pretty good value right now.
I don’t have the cash to make three investments this month. But if I did, and ignoring shares that I already own, which FTSE 100 stocks would I buy?
Insurance
Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) would make the cut, especially with its shares down 10% over the past 12 months.
I think investors often act irrationally. When times are really good for a sector and profits are growing, they’ll buy. But that often drives the shares to overvaluation. It’s when times are tough and the pressure is on that shares reach can serious undervaluation. And I reckon that’s the real time to buy.
It is conditional, of course. It requires a company to remain sufficiently profitable to survive the downturn. But I reckon Legal & General should be easily able to do that.
I see plenty of risk for the insurance sector, and the financial sector in general, over the next couple of years. So Legal & General shares could easily remain under pressure for a while yet. But I see a long-term buy.
Media
I see a similar investing proposition in WPP (LSE: WPP), whose shares are down 16% in a year. Actually, it gets worse — the WPP share price has fallen 33% in five years.
The company has had its problems in recent years. But it was back to profit in 2021. And analysts expect a couple of years of nicely rising earnings now. We’re looking at a forecast price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of about 11 for the current year, with a dividend yield of 4.4%.
Again, this is a company in a business that’s under pressure. Spending on advertising, PR, and the other media services that WPP provides is likely to be squeezed when the economy is weak. But if we really are past the turnaround point now, I think we could be in for long-term gains.
I rate WPP as the best in its sector. And when a sector is down, I think that’s usually the one to buy.
Health
It’s a long time since I last held a pharmaceutical stock. But right now, GSK (LSE: GSK) looks good to me.
GSK shares have gone just about nowhere overall in the past five years, but they’ve traveled an up-and-down road to get there.
The company has had a few drug development failures. But the big investments in research over the last decade look like paying off in the coming years. A prospective P/E of 12.5 for the current year would drop to under 10 by 2024 if expectations prove accurate. Well-covered dividends should yield around 4.3% too.
AstraZeneca is perhaps the obvious comparison. And that’s on a forward P/E of 48, with a dividend yield of 2%.
Legal issues in the US contribute to GSK’s risks right now. And divestment of consumer healthcare makes for another uncertainty. But with enough cash, I’d buy.
