The UK stock market has favoured stock pickers over the past half-decade. While the FTSE 100 has only climbed about 15% over this time horizon, some individual stocks within the index have risen more than 150% (10 times the index).
Interested to know which Footsie stocks delivered the largest gains? Here’s a look at the five best performers over the last five years.
My analysis
Before I highlight the stocks, I need to point out two things. Firstly, I’ve only focused on share price action here. So the performance figures don’t include dividends (which can sometimes boost returns significantly).
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Secondly, I’ve excluded collective investments (funds) from this analysis. Bill Ackman’s investment fund Pershing Square Holdings was among the best performers (with a gain of 180%) but I’ve excluded it as I want to focus on individual stocks.
The best performers
In the table below, I’ve highlighted the five best performers over the last five years. Private equity and infrastructure company 3i is at the top of the table with a gain of a whopping 250%.
| Stock | 5-year share price performance |
| 3i | 250% |
| Ashtead | 169% |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings | 139% |
| Diploma | 136% |
| BAE Systems | 123% |
It’s certainly an interesting mix of stocks. We have an investment company, a construction equipment rental business, an aircraft engine maker, a distribution group, and a defence company.
Three of the companies are not so well known. This is a good reminder that it’s worth looking beyond popular mainstream stocks (eg Lloyds and BP) when seeking big gains from the stock market.
Out of those five stocks, I only own Ashtead (LSE:AHT). Annoyingly, I used to own BAE Systems, but I sold it right before its share price shot up a few years ago.
I’ll point out that I’ve covered 3i several times in the past here at The Motley Fool and been quite bullish on the stock. Sadly, I’ve never bought it for my own portfolio, despite my positivity.
I like this stock for the next five years
Will these Footsie stocks continue to perform in the years ahead? We don’t know. I reckon a few of them will. I’m probably the most bullish on Ashtead right now (which makes sense given that I own the stock). It rents out equipment that can be used to dig, drill, lift, power, compact, etc.
The reason I like this stock is that the company generates most of its revenues in the US. And in the years ahead, the States is likely to undergo a massive construction boom as Donald Trump attempts to ‘make America great again’.
I expect to see a lot of infrastructure development, more onshoring, the building of semiconductor plants, and more. This backdrop – and a healthy US economy in general – should be very supportive for Ashtead.
I also think the valuation’s quite attractive. Currently, the 12-month forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 19.1. That’s a lot lower than the P/E ratio on the highly popular Rolls-Royce. Currently, it has a P/E of 28.4.
| Stock | P/E ratio |
| 3i | 7.0 |
| Ashtead | 19.1 |
| Diploma | 27.9 |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings | 28.4 |
| BAE Systems | 16.6 |
Of course, there are no guarantees the stock will do well. One risk is higher-for-longer interest rates, as the company has a fair bit of debt on its books.
But I reckon this FTSE 100 stock is worth considering as a long-term buy today.
