Something that happens most years is that share prices tend to slide during the summer. This lull may be due to lower trading and reduced liquidity as investors swap their laptops for sunny shores. Thus, to take advantage of recent price weaknesses, my wife and I have bought several cheap FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 shares.
However, this buying spree has only just started, as we have a lot more spare cash to invest in cheap UK stocks. In the meantime, here are two cheap FTSE 250 shares we bought recently for their market-beating dividend yields.
#1. ITV
I’m far from being a fan of Love Island, but I know many young folk are gripped by this ITV (LSE: ITV) show. And it should provide a much-needed boost to ITV’s recently softening advertising revenues. Here’s how the UK’s leading commercial terrestrial broadcaster’s shares have performed over four different timescales:
| One month | 4.2% |
| Six months | -34.8% |
| One year | -41.8% |
| Five years | -59.4% |
Clearly, ITV shares have taken a pretty brutal beating, especially over the past half-decade. As a result, its stock has been hurled into the FTSE 250’s bargain bin, according to these fundamentals:
| Share price | 70.6p |
| 52-week high | 127.2p |
| 52-week low | 62.04p |
| Market value | £2.8bn |
| Price/earnings ratio | 7.6 |
| Earnings yield | 13.2% |
| Dividend yield | 4.7% |
| Dividend cover | 2.8 |
Right now, ITV shares offer a bumper earnings yield and dividend yield. What’s more, the group’s cash payout is covered almost three times by earnings. So even if the broadcaster/producer has a poor 2022-23, this cash yield should be fairly secure.
For the record, my wife bought ITV shares for our family portfolio a few weeks ago at about 68.4p, roughly 2.2p below the current price. And despite my worries about soaring inflation, higher interest rates, and a global recession, I’d gladly buy more shares in ‘cheap and cheerful’ ITV today.
#2. Royal Mail
Royal Mail (LSE: RMG) — the UK’s universal provider of postal services — was founded in 1516, so it’s very old. But its earnings have taken a knock recently — and union members recently voted to strike over their desire for higher pay. As a result, the shares have plunged since their highs of June 2021.
Here’s how this FTSE 250 share has performed over four time periods:
| One month | 5.7% |
| Six months | -32.8% |
| One year | -43.7% |
| Five years | -25.1% |
Apart from a bounce this month, owning Royal Mail shares has been pretty painful over periods ranging from six months to five years. But as a veteran value investor, I’m drawn to such steep price falls. Here’s how the group’s fundamentals stack up today:
| Share price | 297.04p |
| 52-week high | 535.2p |
| 52-week low | 257.43p |
| Market value | £2.8bn |
| Price/earnings ratio | 4.8 |
| Earnings yield | 20.7% |
| Dividend yield | 5.6% |
| Dividend cover | 3.7 |
Like ITV, Royal Mail stock offers a high earnings yield, plus a market-beating dividend yield, covered almost four times. And also like ITV, 2022 is proving much tougher than 2021 for Royal Mail. But I see deep value in this business, especially for patient, long-term investors like me. And that’s why I’d buy more shares of this FTSE 250 stock at current price levels!