Now that worries of some big market sell-off have seemingly disappeared, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) (Index: ^AXJO) is recovering after a nervous October. This is the time when investors should see how their favourite stocks have performed. Are they rising better than the index or lagging behind it?
Here are two stocks that caught my attention, but are they bargains now?
— Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) is one big name that looks attractively priced. The glove and protective wear producer is coming off of a strong 13% underlying earnings gain and an even bigger double-digit rise in free cash flow in FY 2014.
The company expects a 7% – 15% earnings per share rise in FY 2015. Also, it is looking towards further gains in FY 2016 resulting from further integration of its Barriersafe Solutions International and Midas acquisitions in the US and South Korea respectively.
The outlook is good, so with the current price-earnings multiple at 16 and a 2.3% yield unfranked, I think the share price is cheap. I like the company's strong competitive advantage in being a huge supplier of protective wear constantly used in a number of industries like healthcare and food service.
— Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) is another low-priced stock that has a good growth track record. Its Australian franchise network is bigger than ever and its international businesses had a 21% EBIT increase in FY 2014. The international expansion is paying off with 40% of Flight Centre's revenue now coming from overseas.
It experienced softer domestic business recently, but with the weaker Aussie dollar, Australian customers may travel more within Australia for the relative savings.
Offsetting this is its FCm Travel Solutions corporate travel business. Its US business travel segment is expected to turn over more than $1 billion in FY 2015 and its UK segment should see more growth through recent acquisitions.
Flight Centre's stock rebounded from about $40 this month after trending down since May. Consensus forecasts are for earnings to rise an average 8.3% annually for the next two years. Its price-earnings ratio is 16, which isn't really cheap for the expected growth.
At around $42.50 a share and yielding 3.7% fully franked, I wouldn't call it a bargain. Strong Christmas holiday season sales could make a big difference, so watch this stock closely.
