After Christmas and New Year's, many shoppers will get a plastic shock when the credit card statement arrives.
Even if you tried to stay in budget, something always blows it out. That vacation getaway, the champagne and sushi bill, or maybe even presents for all your nieces and nephews you never see except for Christmas.
If there's ever a time when you need to find value, this is it. What stocks have the growth without the sticker shock? I sifted through the mid-cap and large-cap lists and came across two that could be value stocks for a more frugal 2015.
Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN), the bank and insurance company, may have been buffeted with damage claims in the recent Brisbane storms, but ample provisions and reinsurance will keep costs in check. More importantly, the company is looking to save large sums of money through its business simplification program over the next two years. Some of these savings may fall to the bottom line. The stock is already paying a huge 6.2% fully franked yield. The company wants to return as much surplus capital to shareholders as possible and that could mean more dividend growth over the next several years.
Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) is well known for its electronic gaming machines like pokies and Japanese pachinko, but online video gaming is the next area of growth for the company. Two acquisitions in North American social casino and slot machine companies are opening up new income streams. Social casino and other video games may be free to play, but players can make micro-transactions to get game items or special features. That can rack up decent revenue per player over time. The company is forecast to grow earnings around 20% annually in the next couple of years. The stock pays a 2.5% yield and is trading at 21 times earnings, so that looks like very good value for the expected growth.
