Two surprising ASX buy ideas for July

So… a belated day in the black for the ASX, although unfortunately that puts my chances of buying some more BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) at below $30 back a little.

I'm still confident, though, and patient… even though my trading fingers remain twitchy.

On the bright side, the market wobbles of last week meant there are no shortage of investing opportunities on the ASX… opportunties I'm keen to take advantage of, especially while the market is pausing for its regular winter break.

Earnings season has just kicked off in the U.S. As usual, Alcoa (NYSE: AA) was first out of the blocks, edging past analysts' estimates by a mere penny… but that was still enough for the stock to rise in after hours trading.

Bloomberg reports the start of earnings season, typically demarcated by Alcoa's report, has been a buying opportunity since the bull market began in March 2009.

So… I'm now wondering whether July could prove to be the most attractive time of 2013 to buy shares.

ASX 5,000?

Certainly, I would hate for you to miss out on any large gains were the S&P/ASX 200 to recover suddenly and embark on another serious attempt at 5,000.

Heck, in May this year, just a few short weeks ago, the index was trading at 5,221, and investors were falling over themselves to pile into high yielding stocks like Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA),Westpac (ASX: WBC), Woolworths (ASX: WOW) and Telstra (ASX: TLS).

Ah, those were the days…

But you never know — a rebound could be just around the corner, and with the RBA still tipped to slash interest rates, and the returns on term deposits, you wouldn't want to be sitting nervously on the sidelines then, would you?

Dazed into a deep freeze… unlike Warren Buffett

As I'm sure you already know, sell-offs can provide rich buying opportunities for those of us prepared to go against the crowd.

And personally, I love taking a contrarian approach to investing.

I especially like to buy during times such as now…

…when everyone has been selling, or has simply been dazed into a deep freeze after watching a correction wipe 10% from their portfolio.

And I really enjoy buying shares that everybody else hates, or has written off, or has simply forgotten about…

…and building my portfolio around unfashionable shares and unloved sectors that are primed for better times and higher valuations.

In fact, just about every leading investor I can think of, including Warren Buffett, could be said to take a contrarian approach to their investing.

Because as far as I am concerned, it's the only real approach I know to ensure you buy shares at cheap prices with good upside potential.

Two surprising buy ideas for July

With that in mid, I tapped up a couple of our Foolish Analysts for the names of two stocks on their crowd-free radar in this uncertain market.

Specifically, I was after…

• A high-yielding, fully franked dividend stock.
• A value stock flying under the radar

Myer is your stock

Source: news.com.au

I admit I was a little surprised when Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur threw Myer (ASX: MYR) out as his top high yielding, fully franked dividend stock.

Myer is facing a number of headwinds, including a reluctant consumer, the structural shift to online shopping, and no obvious competitive advantage.

Despite that, the Myer turnaround story continues to gain traction. And when, not if, Australian consumers regain their long lost confidence and start opening wallets and purses again, Myer will likely be a beneficiary.

Here are the key Myer stats…

• Myer shares are down 22% since the beginning of May.
• Share price $2.50, still down 39% from its October IPO price of $4.10.
• Trades on a trailing P/E of 11.9 and trailing fully franked dividend yield of 7.6%.

Serving up a surprising value stock

Joe Magyer knows a thing or two about value stocks, given he's the Advisor of Motley Fool Inside Value, the top performing U.S. investing newsletter over the past 5 years.

Joe has recently relocated to Sydney and we're thrilled to have his investing talent join us on the Motley Fool Australia team.

His ASX value idea is serviced office outfit Servcorp (ASX: SRV).

If you thought I was surprised with Tim's selection of Myer, I almost choked on my Corn Flakes when Joe ran this under-followed, and according to Joe, unloved stock by me.

I mean to say, a forecast P/E of around 17 and a forecast fully franked dividend yield of around 4.1% hardly scream value to me.

But Joe sees it differently.

Value investing is as contrarian as it gets… but get it right, see value where others can't see past the end of their feet, and the results can be outstanding. Just look at Warren Buffett and his investments in companies like Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and American Express (NYSE: AXP).

So where exactly is the value in Servcorp? Over to Joe…

"The under-performing U.S. business should turn around as the economy warms up. Free cash flow could zoom ahead as the U.S. economy recovers and capital expenditures slow. Another big plus is they've got 28% of the market cap in net cash."

With the ASX back on the rise, U.S. reporting season just starting, now could be the perfect time to get back on the path to long-term wealth.