Today I’m running the rule over three ultra-cheap FTSE beauties.
Insurance star going for a song
General insurance giant Aviva (LSE: AV) hasn’t been immune to the weak risk appetite washing across financial markets, and the business has seen its shares fall 13% since the turn of the year.
I reckon this presents value seekers with a fresh chance to pile into a bona-fide ‘bear market bargain’, however. Not only is Aviva set to benefit from the synergies created by its acquisition of Friends Life, but the firm’s ambitious growth strategy should also continue to drive new business volumes. Indeed, Aviva hoovered-up Canada’s RBC General Insurance Company last month for £281m.
The City expects Aviva to bounce from a predicted 8% earnings dip in 2015 with an 11% rise this year, leaving the insurer dealing on a P/E rating of just 10.1 times. A reading around or below 10 times is widely considered terrific value.
And dividend hunters should be drawn in by Aviva’s progressive dividend policy too. A payment of 18.1p per share in 2014 is anticipated to rise to 21p for 2015 before chugging to 24.2p for the current period. This creates a market-busting yield of 4.8%.
A bolt-on bargain
Like Aviva, shares in bolt-and-fastenings play Trifast (LSE: TRI) have endured a torrid time in recent weeks, the stock surrendering 9.5% of its value since January kicked-off.
But I believe investors are missing a trick, the broad spectrum of Trifast’s products providing it with terrific security through diversification. And the company’s globetrotting model spanning North America, Asia and Europe gives it a vast array of blue-chip clients. Trifast announced the acquisition of Germany’s Kuhlmann in October to boost its continental footprint, and further M&A activity looks to be on the horizon.
The number crunchers expect Trifast to keep earnings rolling with growth of 3% and 6% in the years to March 2016 and 2017, respectively. As a result, the manufacturer sports very decent P/E ratings of 12.8 times and 12.1 times for these years.
And while Trifast’s yields may trail the FTSE 100 average of around 3.5% by some distance, I believe a strong earnings outlook should continue to drive robust annual dividend growth. Last year’s 2.1p per share reward is expected to surge to 2.4p in 2016, and again to 2.6p next year. These figures produce handy yields of 2% and 2.2%, respectively.
A mighty medicines pick
Shares in GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) haven’t endured the turbulence of Aviva and Trifast in recent weeks, the stock gaining 5% since the turn of January.
And I believe the healthcare giant still presents terrific value for money despite this recent strength. GlaxoSmithKline advised on Tuesday that revenues advanced 6% at constant exchange rates in 2015, to $23.9bn, underlining the rewards of its restructuring drive with Novartis, as well as the fruits of its rejuvenated product pipeline.
And with rising wealth levels and increasing populations driving global medicines demand steadily higher, I reckon GlaxoSmithKline is in the box seat to deliver sterling sales growth in the coming years. Indeed, the City expects the Brentford firm to rebound from long-running earnings dips from this year onwards, with a projected 11% advance creating an appetising P/E ratio of 15.8 times.
Furthermore, I believe GlaxoSmithKline’s steadily-improving earnings outlook should also deliver exceptional dividends in the coming years. In the meantime, the company’s vow of 80p-per-share rewards in 2016 and 2017 produces a market-blasting yield of 5.6%.
