A wave of positive trading updates from the housebuilding sector has done little to elevate the share price of Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) and its peers. Indeed, the London firm itself remains locked around the 150p per share marker as investors continue to fret over the health of the UK economy.
Of course the possibility of falling wage growth and rising unemployment could bite into homebuyer activity as we enter 2017. But I believe the massive supply and demand imbalance washing over the housing sector should keep house prices moving higher.
Indeed, the scale of Britain’s housing shortage was underlined in Chancellor Philip Hammond’s autumn statement on Wednesday. The government has pledged to establish a £2.3bn infrastructure fund to build 100,000 new homes in high demand areas.
With favourable lending conditions also likely to support home demand next year and beyond, Taylor Wimpey’s earnings outlook remains quite rosy in my opinion. But I don’t believe this is reflected in the firm’s share price at present.
Although the builder is expected to follow a 16% earnings rise in 2016 with a rare 4% earnings drop next year, Taylor Wimpey’s P/E rating remains at a mega-low rating of 9.1 times, up slightly from 8.9 times in the current period.
This reading falls comfortably within the bargain benchmark of 10 times, and suggests that the risks to the building sector are more than priced-in at current levels.
And Taylor Wimpey also offers terrific value in the dividend stakes, too. Anticipated dividends of 11.2p per share this year and 13.8p in 2017 yield a stunning 7.4% and 9.1%.
And these projections don’t appear speculative, like many other FTSE 100 operators either.
Dividend coverage of 1.5 times and 1.2 times for this year and next may fall below the widely-considered security benchmark of two times. But Taylor Wimpey’s ability to generate boatloads of cash (net cash is expected to clock in at £360m at the end of the year) should soothe any fears of these forecasts not being met.
Set to soar
Low-cost flyer easyJet (LSE: EZJ) is another Footsie giant whose share price fails to reflect its dynamite investment potential, in my opinion.
There’s no doubt that Brexit pains are likely to weigh on big ticket purchases like holidays from 2017, especially as inflationary pressures smack consumer spending power. But I reckon easyJet’s dominant position in the budget sub-sector — allied with its broad European wingspan — should enable the airline to avoid the worst of these pressures.
And in the longer term, I’m convinced the Luton airline’s capacity expansion programme should deliver strong revenues growth. The business raised capacity 6.5% in the last fiscal year alone, to some 80m seats.
Sure, easyJet may be expected to endure a 20% earnings fall in the period to September 2017. But a subsequent P/E rating of 12.3 times marks a decent level on which to tap into the airline’s compelling long-term outlook.
And a projected chunky 42.2p per share dividend for 2017 — covered 2.1 times by predicted earnings — yields a market-beating 4%. I reckon easyJet offers irresistible value for growth and income chasers alike.
