FTSE 100 shares continue to soar in value as risk appetite increases. Britain’s premier stock index hit fresh peaks close to 8,000 points on Tuesday. A burst above this landmark level looks inevitable given the degree of investor optimism.
But despite these heady gains there are still many FTSE index shares that look too cheap to miss. I don’t have bottomless reserves of cash I can use to invest. Here are are a couple I’d like to buy if I have spare money in my bank account.
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company
Coca-Cola HBC’s (LSE: CCH) share price surged on Tuesday. In fact it led the FTSE 100 higher in today’s session. Yet its shares still look pretty cheap, in my opinion. Compare its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12.8 times to that of Diageo’s corresponding multiple of north of 21 times.
I already own both of these UK blue-chip shares in my portfolio. They’re two companies that share some very-similar qualities. Diageo is a major player in the alcoholic beverages market while Coca-Cola HBC specialises in soft drinks. But they both reap the benefits of supreme pricing power and broad geographic exposure.
The latter provides earnings at group level with protection from weakness in one or two territories. It also gives them exposure to developing regions.
Coca-Cola HBC’s results today underlined the exceptional sales potential of these fast-growing destinations. Organic revenues in its developing markets soared 29% in 2022, well ahead of its established markets where sales rose 18.6%.
Tuesday’s full-year results also underlined the immense strength of its brands like Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite. Even as cost inflation rocketed the business was able to grow earnings by hiking the prices of its much-loved products.
Profits were hit by the withdrawal from Russia in the spring. But stripping out the impact of related impairments the bottling company’s net profit rose 8.1% year on year to €624.9m.
It’s my opinion that Coca-Cola HBC also merits a premium rating. Like Diageo, the risk of continued cost inflation is a danger to earnings. But I’d still like to buy more of its shares for my investment portfolio.
Glencore
I also believe Glencore (LSE:GLEN) could be a brilliant value stock to buy today. I don’t think its lowly forward P/E ratio of 5.5 times reflects the bright long-term outlook for commodities producers.
Glencore shares also carry a mighty 10.2% dividend yield at current levels.
Mining for raw materials is a complicated and expensive business. Problems at the exploration, mine development and production stage can have a devastating impact upon earnings. Major miners like this FTSE 100 operator aren’t immune to such threats.
But I still believe the outlook here is bright as demand for metals and energy products is tipped to boom. Take copper, for example, a critical profits driver for Glencore. Demand for the red metal is tipped to rise 2.1% each year through to 2030, according to commodity research business CRU Group.
Key trends like rising renewable energy demand, increasing urbanisation, and soaring electric vehicle sales could all light a fire under Glencore’s earnings over the next decade, I believe.
