The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has added just over 4% since the beginning of this year.
The big four banks are also around that level, excluding dividends paid so far though. It's not a great return – hardly above term deposits – and most investors will be hoping for solid gains over the remainder of this year.
So where is the market going now?
It's hard to know. At least two broker analysts have lowered their forecasts for company earnings for the 2014 financial year, suggesting this reporting season could see some high flyers crash back to earth.
And the market could follow. But trying to time the market is a mug's game. Instead, a better use of our limited time and intellect is to focus on identifying good companies trading at attractive prices.
And the bad news may already be baked in for some stocks, so they may well surprise on the upside, and hopefully continue to offer investors steady returns in the years ahead.
| Company | Recent share price | Forecast P/E | Current dividend yield |
| Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) | $4.36 | 5.1 | 4.1% |
| Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) | $10.96 | 8.4 | 5.7% |
| Seven West Media Ltd (ASX: SWM) | $1.93 | 9.8 | 6.2% |
| Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) | $1.82 | 6.5* | 1.9% |
Source: CapIQ, Commsec. *Northern Star forecast is for 2015 financial year
Now they aren't the most exiting companies in the world, (unless you find iron ore and gold exciting), but they are trading at cheap prices.
All four are also a tad 'hairy'. Fortescue is captive to the iron ore price (and has a massive debt load), as is Mineral Resources, while Northern Star is dependent on the gold price. Even Seven West Media faces structural changes in its two main sectors, free-to-air broadcasting and newspaper publishing.
Who said investing was easy?
There are never any guarantees, but these companies may be priced for failure, and anything above that could see share prices soar from here.
