Conditions in the UK stock market look promising to me. And I think we are in one of the best investing environments for years. Therefore, it’s a great time to look for UK shares that may be capable of doubling my money within a reasonable time frame.
Last year’s bear market for stocks pushed down many share prices. And general economic and geopolitical conditions caused lots of business to suffer operational difficulties. But some enterprises have been healing. And several companies have released upbeat trading updates and positive outlook statements recently.
Outlooks have been improving
The market’s been catching up with the news. And over the past few weeks we’ve seen many stocks shoot higher when businesses exceed investors’ prior expectations.
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So, there’s great scope for several stocks to return to former glories. And there’s also lots of potential for businesses with previously suppressed trading to generate earnings growth ahead. Therefore, I expect some UK shares to deliver returns near 100% for shareholders through 2023 and beyond. All I need to do is find them.
And on that front, one company I’ve been looking at is Victorian Plumbing (LSE: VIC). The directors describe the enterprise as “the UK’s leading online specialist bathroom retailer.” And that’s a good start, to me, because I’ve always considered the plumbing supplies sector to be resilient.
The company arrived on the stock market in June 2021 and the share price back then was around 330p. However, today it sits near 90p. And 2022 was bad year for the earnings of the business.
Recovery and growth in motion
Nevertheless, City analysts have pencilled in a robust recovery with double-digit earnings increases for this year and next. And Victorian released an upbeat full-year report in December. Results for the year to 30 September 2022 came in “ahead of expectations”. And the directors said revenue in the second half of the year grew, thus demonstrating “continued trading momentum and further market share gains.”
Furthermore, the directors think the macro operating and economic environment is an opportunity to further strengthen Victorian’s market position. And if the business can expand as it hopes, I reckon there’s a chance robust double-digit advances in earnings could continue.
Nothing is certain, but rising earnings could drive the share price higher, perhaps as far as doubling.
Meanwhile, the balance sheet looks robust and there’s a healthy net cash position sitting in the bank. The directors underlined their confidence in trading and forward-looking prospects by announcing a maiden shareholder ordinary dividend of 1.1p per share. But they didn’t stop there. They also announced an additional special dividend of 1.7p per share.
It seems to me the business is firing on all cylinders. However, over the past year, the share price has slipped by about 20%. Meanwhile, the valuation looks fair with a forward-looking earnings multiple running near 16 for 2024.
It’s possible for my optimism to be misplaced. And Victorian’s growth trajectory could stall in the months ahead. But if I had some spare cash to invest now I’d do a deep dive into researching this opportunity. And I’d aim to buy some of the shares to hold for the long term if satisfied by the outcome of my further investigations.
