In the last month, Rio Tinto’s (LSE: RIO) share price has fallen by around 9%. While this could be viewed as a cause for concern for the iron ore miner’s shareholders, the reality is that the resources sector is likely to be relatively volatile for a number of months. That’s because the commodity crisis where prices collapsed over a relatively short period of time is still fresh in investors’ memories, and this could lead to heightened panic and fear if news flow is less than satisfactory.
Looking ahead, Rio Tinto’s long-term future is very bright. That’s at least partly because it has a sound strategy through which to cope with further pain within the iron ore market. And with it having strong cash flow and a sound balance sheet, it should be able to withstand further price falls better than most of its peers.
Additionally, with Rio Tinto’s costs being lower than most of its rivals, it should be able to outlast its sector peers during a commodities rout. As such, now seems to be a good time to buy it, although it’s likely to remain highly volatile over the medium term.
Buy for income and growth
Also recording a share price fall of late has been Zotefoams (LSE: ZTF), with the cellular material technology company posting a decline of 15% in its share price since the turn of the year. While disappointing, Zotefoams continues to have very upbeat growth prospects and its recent share price fall could prove to be an excellent buying opportunity.
For example, it’s forecast to increase its bottom line by 19% in each of the next two financial years. With its shares trading on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 21.7, this equates to a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of just 1.1, which indicates that they offer growth at a very reasonable price. And with them yielding 2% from a dividend set to be covered 2.6 times by profit next year, Zotefoams could become an enticing income as well as growth and value play.
Rises ahead?
With shares in window and door handle specialist Tyman (LSE: TYMN) falling by 5% since the turn of the year, its investors may be somewhat concerned about the prospects for a correction. After all, investor sentiment has been weak for the last year after a significant rise in the company’s share price of 101% in the last five years.
However, with Tyman having upbeat forecasts and trading on a relatively enticing valuation, a share price rise seems much more likely than a fall. For example, the company’s bottom line is expected to increase by 9% this year and by a further 11% next year. This puts Tyman on a PEG ratio of only 1.1, which indicates that while investor sentiment may be subdued, it has a sufficiently wide margin of safety to merit purchase right now.