Sometimes you have to skip past the latest eye-catching news to find investing gems. Like the two stocks highlighted below.
Look at the headlines recently and you'd see the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) (Index; ^AXJO) has limped along the past twelve months with less than a 2.0% gain to show for it. On top of that, a whole shopping list of commodities are hitting new five-year lows, taking the ASX's miners and energy stocks down together.
The economy is showing no real pick-up. It's not incredibly bad, but definitely not inspiring, either.
You may look at the news to stay up-to-date with what's happening, but don't give up your power of independent thinking.
Turn it upside down. In the face of current market problems and worries, what companies are thriving and what stocks are rising?
I have two stocks that have surged forward in the past three months. These can help you focus on what's really important- making good returns!
— Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) hit a multi-year high in late December and stands 21% up in the past three months. The glove and protective wear producer generates the great majority of its revenue overseas and a little over one-third in North America. The US market is recovering well and the falling Aussie dollar is boosting US dollar revenue. The company is looking forward to solid, double-digit earnings growth in financial year 2015 and 2016.
The stock yields 2.0% fully franked and is reasonably priced now, so skip the downbeat headlines and take a ride up with Ansell.
— Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) has been an amazing ride as well since it has been transforming itself from a boring public telco to an international telecommunications player. Telstra's plan is to have about a third of its revenue coming from Asia by 2020 and it is expanding into business enterprise services and data management with cloud computing. The telco giant has even started an e-health business division to link up new technologies and healthcare advances.
Would you rather worry about the spot price of a tonne of dusty iron ore, or follow a company with a strong brand name that is developing unique products and services which command a premium?
The stock is up about 15% in the last three months and trades at 17 times earnings. This is a long-term investing opportunity, so you could wait for a better entry point to start a position if you want…but keep an eye on the stock story so you don't miss out.
