After a summer ‘dip’, the FTSE 100 has shown some signs of life over the last couple of weeks. It’s up 3% in the last month alone and, with St. Leger Day upon us, could continue its rise moving forward.
Indeed, ‘sell in May and don’t come back until St. Leger Day’ is a well-known financial saying. With the FTSE 100 making no gains from May until September this year, an influx of returning investors could help to stimulate demand for companies in future months. With that in mind, here are three stocks that could be worth buying right now.
AstraZeneca
Although its bottom line is due to continue to fall over the next couple of years, AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) (NYSE: AZN.US) has huge potential. That’s because since its CEO was replaced in 2012, it has embarked on an acquisition spree and strategic review that has included the purchase of a wide range of drugs and drug companies (including Bristol-Myers Squibb’s stake in the diabetes joint venture) as well as ending its share buyback programme.
Together, these two factors have impacted to shore up AstraZeneca’s finances and provide it with an impressive future pipeline of drugs. With the company clearly a potential takeover target for rival healthcare stocks, now could be a good time to buy AstraZeneca.
National Grid
National Grid (LSE: NG) often flies under the radar of many investors. That’s because it tends to avoid the media spotlight when it comes to domestic energy suppliers. However, this is a good thing because it means there is far less political risk in investing in National Grid, with its bottom line potentially more stable than many of its utility peers.
In addition, National Grid currently offers a highly impressive yield of 4.8%. The best bit, though, is that dividends per share are set to at least equal inflation over the medium term. This means that the spending power of the company’s dividends should be maintained.
British American Tobacco
The last month has been a very strong one for British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS), with the company’s shares posting gains of 5%. However, there could be more to come because British American Tobacco appears to have a head start on many of its rivals when it comes to e-cigarettes.
Already a $1 billion business, e-cigarettes have the potential to transform the tobacco industry and open up a whole new line of growth for companies that are able to gain customer loyalty, such as British American Tobacco is currently in the process of doing. With shares yielding 4.1%, they could prove to be a top notch income play, too.