Let’s say I have £3,000 burning a hole in my pocket this July. Here are two top UK shares I’d think about buying for my stocks portfolio.
A great UK share for July
I’d happily invest my hard-earned cash in publishing giant Reach (LSE: RCH). The small-cap impressed the market last time it released trading details. I think a repeat performance could be in store when half-year results come in on 27 July.
A series of solid trading updates have helped the Reach share price rise 220% over the past year. It pays testament to the strong recovery in the advertising market and the publisher’s strong performances in the digital segment. Last time out in May, Reach said trading was ahead of expectations as digital revenues exploded 35% between January and April.
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Reach’s share price may have increased sharply over the past year but, in my opinion, this UK share still looks terrifically-cheap, trading as it does on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 8 times. I think it’s a great buy at these prices, despite the long-term threat that social media poses to traditional media outlets like these. City brokers think annual earnings here will rise 6% and 1% in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
A top FTSE 100 stock to buy
I think testing and certification business Intertek Group (LSE: ITRK) could prove a great buy for long-term investors this July. The FTSE 100 firm has fallen sharply in price in May, shaving gains made over the last 12 months to just 2%. I think this represents a terrific dip buying opportunity.
Intertek is scheduled to release interims of its own on 30 July. I’m expecting another solid set of trading numbers following the UK share’s strong January-April performance. Back then, the business said like-for-like sales were up 2.7% from the same 2020 period, with “broad-based momentum acceleration in March to April.”
I’m expecting this strong uptick to have continued as wider economic conditions improve. And I think this could lead to a positive re-rating of Intertek’s shares. I certainly think the UK share can expect demand for its quality assurance services to keep growing long into the future.
As it has said before, it should benefit from a multitude of significant structural growth drivers. These include “product variety, brand and supply chain expansion, product innovation and regulation, the growing demand for quality and sustainability from developed and emerging economies, the acceleration of e-commerce as a sales channel, and the increased corporate focus on risk.”
This is why City analysts think earnings at Intertek will rise 11% year-on-year in both 2021 and 2022. Today, the business trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 29 times, a high valuation that always leaves stocks in danger of sharp price falls if trading disappoints.
But this wouldn’t deter me from buying the UK share for my own investment portfolio.
