I wouldn’t choose which UK stocks to buy just based on the release of results. But we do have a lot of company news coming our way in August, most of it in the form of H1 figures.
And it includes a few that I think might be among the top stocks to buy right now. Results time is always a good time to look closer.
This table shows just five of the many companies reporting in August:
| Stock | Results date | Recent price | 1-year change | 5-year change | Forecast P/E | Forecast Dividend |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings | 03 Aug (H1) | 155p | +68% | -55% | 35 | n/a |
| Wizz Air Holdings | 03 Aug (Q1) | 2,494p | +30% | -27% | 10 | n/a |
| Tritax Big Box REIT | 03 Aug (H1) | 140p | -29% | -8% | 69 | n/a |
| WPP | 04 Aug (H1) | 805p | -8% | -32% | 9.8 | 4.6% |
| Persimmon | 10 Aug (H1) | 1,181p | -37% | -52% | 14 | 5.1% |
Recovery stocks
Rolls-Royce Holdings is popular with investors right now, after a strong recovery earlier in the year. That came when Rolls made good on its aim to turn cash flow positive in 2022.
In fact it did it in style, with as much as £505m.
Can we expect a new jump when we see the H1 numbers? I doubt it, for a couple of reasons.
The year should be weighted to the second half. And there’s new pressure on flying hours due to high inflation and interest rates.
Property stocks
Persimmon is another I’d rate as a recovery stock, though it hasn’t really happened yet. But analysts have earnings growth marked down for next year, dropping the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio to a bit over 10.
I expect a tough 2023, but we’ve already seen a few mortgage rates come down. So I’m still optimistic over the long-term outlook.
Tritax Big Box invests in storage real estate for lettings, and its shares soared in the pandemic. They’re back to earth now though, down 9% over five years.
The forecast P/E looks a bit wild, but it should drop to under seven for 2024.
Overlooked gem?
Investors have largely igonred WPP since the departure of founder Sir Martin Sorrell. And it didn’t do well in the Covid years when advertising and marketing took a major hit.
But I’m seeing a decent dividend building up, and the stock is on a modest valuation. The rest of 2023 might be a bit rocky, but I rate WPP as possibly the best in its field. And I like that valuation.
I also want to see how Wizz Air‘s first quarter turns out. I’m not big on airlines. But the Wizz valuation looks a bit low to me, with analysts expecting good profit growth in the next few years.
Debt is something to watch out for with Wizz though.
Others
I think all five of these could do well in the next few years, each with their own risks.
Others with news I’ll be watching in the month include Greggs, Taylor Wimpey, and Aviva.
