The stock market is reaching new all-time highs every day, so are the dividend bargains drying up and is it time to sell? Not at all — the main reason for the surge is the falling pound, as most big companies are valued on a global basis these days, and there are plenty of bargains to be had.
I’ve been looking at the FTSE 250 this week, and here are three dividends I see as tempting now.
Construction bargain
Carillion (LSE: CLLN) shares are still suffering from the construction industry’s hammering at the hands of the Brexit result, and after a two-year fall of 32% to 225p, we’re looking at a forward P/E of under seven for this year and next.
There’s some basis for the pessimism as Carillion had been through a tough patch way before the referendum. But earnings over the next two years are predicted to be flat — and there are dividend yields of around 8.5% on the cards. Still, 2016 results showed an 8% fall in the firm’s order backlog plus probable orders, and revenue visibility for the current year is down from 84% a year ago to 74%.
That could put pressure on earnings and on the dividend. But I reckon there’s room for a cut while still providing a decent yield, and I see the shares as oversold. It’s a time of maximum pessimism, and I reckon that’s the time to buy.
Talking back
In the aftermath of the hacking scandal at Talktalk Telecom Group (LSE: TALK), I saw the shares as firmly in bargepole territory — it was the kind of data breach that could have killed a company.
But memories seem to be short and the firm has new chief executive and chief operating officers coming soon in the shape of old hands Tristia Harrison and Charles Bligh respectively. Addressing falling customer numbers is also bearing fruit and the churn rate is falling. I think 2017 could end up being an impressive turnaround year.
Meanwhile, with the share price still being punished for past troubles — it’s down 47% over two years to 181p — the dividend forecast for March 2018 would yield 7.2%. That would actually be a cut from the uncovered 8.6% predicted for this year and would still be only thinly covered, but the earnings recovery from 2015’s low looks to be gathering pace, and I now see Talktalk as an attractive long-term income investment.
Cash from cash
I’ve liked the look of Aberdeen Asset Management (LSE: ADN) for some years now, and its falling share price has been making it look increasingly attractive. Forecasts put the shares, priced at 266p, on a forward P/E for the year to September 2017 of 13, dropping to 12.5 a year later. And there are tempting dividends pencilled-in of 6% this year and 6.1% next.
The big recent news is that the boards of Aberdeen and Standard Life are discussing a possible merger of the two companies, so Aberdeen might have already paid its last dividend as an independent firm. But if it comes off, I see it as a positive move.
The result would be the UK’s largest independent asset manager, and Aberdeen shareholders would benefit from the more diversified nature of the combined beast — Aberdeen’s shares are being held down partly because of its Asian exposure.
And Standard Life itself has dividend yields of 5.6% and 6% forecast for this year and next.