Sustained weakness across UK equity markets leaves scores of income stocks looking massively oversold. ContourGlobal (LSE: GLO) is another terrific dip buy, in my opinion, even as the coronavirus crisis batters the global economy.
In a reassuring full-year trading statement on Tuesday, the utilities giant assured investors: “We have not experienced meaningful disruption to our operations resulting from Covid-19 and do not currently expect material disruption in 2020.”
ContourGlobal’s share price hasn’t sunk like many others during the past month or so. It’s down 11% since 18 February compared with the broader FTSE 250’s 40% slide. Such a decline is still a surprise though, given the defensive nature of its operations. Just to remind you, this is a company which operates more than 100 power stations across 21 countries.
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City analysts expect the company’s earnings to leap 347% in 2020, helped in large part by recent acquisitions. And thanks to its whopping cash flows, it remains on course to rapidly pursue opportunities on the M&A front. That should keep profits on a sharp upward slope beyond the medium term.
ContourGlobal isn’t just a great pick for growth hunters though. The business has lifted annual dividends by a healthy 10% in recent times because of booming earnings (up 15% on an adjusted basis in 2019) and its rock-solid balance sheet. And it’s expected to continue doing so, resulting in an eye-popping 9% dividend yield.
As well as creating that monster figure, ContourGlobal’s recently-hammered share price leaves it changing hands on a rock-bottom forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 10.7 times too. This sits in and around the accepted bargain benchmark of 10 times. That fails to reflect this firm’s brilliant profit-making powers, whatever the state of the global economy. I reckon it’s a white-hot buy right now.
A magical buying opp
Bloomsbury Publishing (LSE: BMY) might not be in the utilities business. But the evergreen appeal of one of its legendary fictional characters also gives it supreme earnings visibility, whatever the weather.
I’m talking about Harry Potter, of course. Whether or not the coronavirus hammers the economy, it’s unlikely the popularity of Hogwarts’ finest will dim. In fact, sales of Bloomsbury’s cash cow could receive a fillip in the weeks ahead as the growing number of housebound people seek escapism from the coronavirus crisis raging outside.
Broader book sales have indeed taken off since the outbreak intensified in late February. Not that revenues from the Harry Potter franchise need a helping hand. Bloomsbury’s new Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Illustrated Edition was one of the group’s strongest-performing titles in the six months to August.
City analysts certainly expect the boy wizard to keep driving the small-cap’s bottom line. An 11% earnings rise is forecast for the fiscal year ending February 2021. The publisher’s 34% share price decline in the past month means it trades on a low forward P/E multiple of 10.8 times too.
Combined with a bumper 4.6% dividend yield, I think Bloomsbury is worth a close look today.
