With inflation continuing to be relatively high, stocks offering impressive income outlooks such as Standard Life Aberdeen (LSE: SLA) could become increasingly popular. After all, obtaining an income return which not only beats inflation but also stays ahead of it could be more challenging.
However, there are other stocks that could offer both of those attributes. Reporting on Tuesday was a company that offers high growth prospects alongside its enticing income appeal.
Growth potential
The company in question is flexible workspace specialist IWG (LSE: IWG). It experienced a difficult 2017, with its revenue increasing by just 1.9%. Operating profit was 15% lower, although there was an improvement in its overall performance in the latter part of the year. Sales activity increased in the fourth quarter of the year and this momentum could continue into the current period.
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In fact, the company is forecast to post a rise in its bottom line of 27% this time, followed by further growth of 18% next year. This puts it on a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of just 0.7, which suggests that it could offer excellent value for money. That’s especially the case since the global flexible workspace industry appears to have a positive future. With the company having operational scale and a global network, it could have a competitive advantage over its peers.
Although IWG has a dividend yield of 2.5%, its payouts are covered 2.7 times by profit. This suggests that there could be scope for a rapid rise in dividends over the medium term. As such, while perhaps riskier than some dividend stocks, it could prove to be a highly rewarding company to own in the long run.
Income prospects
Of course, it is difficult to beat Standard Life Aberdeen’s dividend yield of 6.2%. It is more than twice the rate of inflation, and looks set to become increasingly attractive. Dividends per share are due to rise by over 10% in the next financial year, and this puts the stock on a yield of around 7%. Since shareholder payouts are covered 1.3 times by profit, they seem to be highly sustainable at their current level. They could rise in line with profit growth and keep the company’s financial position relatively stable.
Looking ahead, the prospects for the firm appear to be positive. Although global stock markets have experienced a difficult period in recent months, investor appetite towards risk still seems to be relatively high. Therefore, the stock is due to report a 6% rise in earnings next year. This rate of growth could realistically continue over the medium term.
With a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 11, there seems to be good value for money on offer. This means that alongside a high income return, Standard Life Aberdeen could also deliver capital growth in the coming years.
