We’re approaching the halfway point for the tax year and that had me thinking about how I could make the most of my Stocks and Shares ISA in the second half.
I’ve made a lot better use of my ISA this year than I did last year. After all, with the tax-free returns on offer, why not? I want to try and get as close to maxing out my £20,000 limit this year as possible.
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That’s why I’ve been perusing the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 for my next buys. In these two, I may have just found them. If I had the cash, I’d buy them today.
ITV
Let’s get the ball rolling with ITV (LSE: ITV). The FTSE 250 broadcasting giant’s had a brilliant 2024. Year to date, its share price has risen 28.3%.
But I think it has more to give. At 80.8p, I reckon its shares look like a steal. The stock trades on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 7.5. Its forward P/E is slightly higher at 8.8. Nevertheless, both of those figures are still well below the FTSE 250 average of 12.
On top of that, there’s passive income on offer with its 6.2% dividend yield. The FTSE 250 average is around 3.3%, so it’s considerably higher than that.
What’s more, management seems keen to reward shareholders, which is something I like to see considering dividends are never guaranteed. They most recently showed this by instigating a £235m share buyback scheme following the sale of BritBox.
While it has surged this year, ITV’s suffered over the last five years due to a decline in spending on traditional broadcasting. Customers had already been cutting back. And red-hot inflation didn’t help with this. To go with that, the rise of streaming platforms such as Netflix has forced ITV to adapt.
But it’s doing a good job at that. For example, it’s currently in the process of improving its digital platform. This is mainly through ITVX, its digital streaming service, which saw monthly active users rise by nearly 20% for the first half of the year.
GSK
Next up is pharmaceutical giant GSK (LSE: GSK). Like ITV, the stock’s struggled over the last five years. During that time, it’s lost 7.9% of its value. However, it’s started to reverse its fortunes this year, rising 5.1%.
I reckon now could be a smart time for me to consider swooping in. It shares trade on a P/E of 15.9. That looks like fair value, if you ask me.
I also like GSK for its defensive nature. It provides products such as vaccines and medicines, which are essential goods that people require regardless of external factors such as how strongly the economy is performing.
GSK stock’s been under pressure recently due to the firm’s ongoing legal trouble related to Zantac. It’s a heartburn drug that has been linked to causing cancer. Recently, a judge ruled in favour of over 70,000 cases to go forward. Legal complications are always a risk with pharma stocks, and I’ll be watching closely to see how this one develops.
But as it continues to grow its R&D pipeline, along with the 3.9% yield on offer, I’m bullish on GSK over the long term.
