It’s been a strong month for the FTSE 100. With that in mind, I want to go hunting for more stocks to add to my portfolio.
I love Footsie shares. I like the idea of holding high-quality companies that have been consistently performing for decades. What’s even better, a host of them look like absolute bargains at the moment.
I’ve got my eye on two. If I have the spare cash in April, I’ll be picking them up.
Blue Eagle Bank
The first is Barclays (LSE: BARC). At 185.6p, I think it’s too cheap to ignore. I’ve slowly been adding to my position in the stalwart bank. So far, I’ve made a paper profit of 30.2%.
The stock has gained some momentum this year. But I think it has further room for growth. It’s trading on just 6.9 times trailing earnings. That makes me believe investors may be undervaluing Barclays.
To go with that, I see it as a great passive income play. Granted, its dividend yield of 4.3% is far from the highest out there. But even so, it’s still above the FTSE 100 average of 3.9%.
It’s also covered three times by trailing earnings. And recently, the business has laid out its intentions to keep rewarding shareholders. By 2026, it’s set to return £10bn via dividends and share buybacks. That’s what I like to see.
The business faces risks and I’d suspect that banks may continue to suffer this year. High interest rates are an ongoing threat. Furthermore, it reported a £900m restructuring cost in the last quarter of 2023.
However, in the long run, which is what matters the most, I think its plan to streamline by splitting up into five divisions will pay dividends. At its current price, I think Barclays is a steal.
Supermarket behemoth
Next up is a stock I don’t own but have had on my watchlist for a while: Tesco (LSE: TSCO). There are a few main factors why I’m keen to add the supermarket giant to my portfolio.
Firstly, it’s for that exact reason. It’s an industry giant. Tesco has a 27.3% share of the market. The closest to that is Sainsbury’s with ‘just’ 16%. With this dominance comes many benefits, including economies of scale.
Secondly, I want to add more defensive stocks to my portfolio. With the UK in a technical recession, it makes sense to own these types of companies. Regardless of economic conditions, people need to eat.
Like with Barclays, I can also make some extra cash with Tesco shares. They yield 3.7%. In the last five years, its yield has experienced impressive growth.
The biggest risk that Tesco will have to overcome is the rise of budget competitors such as Aldi and Lidl. The German chains have become extremely popular lately as consumers look to cut down on costs.
However, Tesco is combating this as it continues to expand both its online presence as well as build new physical stores. It also has its Clubcard scheme, which boasts over 20m loyal users. With any investable cash, I’ll be snapping up both in the upcoming weeks.
