Santos Ltd
It's been a tough three years for investors in Santos Ltd (ASX: STO), with total shareholder returns during the period being minus 14.4% per annum. That's clearly disappointing but not wholly surprising, since a lower oil price has had a detrimental impact upon investor sentiment in recent months, although the company's recently released fourth quarter results were still relatively impressive nonetheless.
Indeed, with several liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the pipeline, Santos could see its performance remain relatively robust. And, with its shares continuing to offer good value for money, as evidenced by a price to book (P/B) ratio of just 0.75, it could be a surprisingly strong performer in 2015 and beyond. As such it could beat the ASX this year and may be worth buying at the present time.
Newcrest Mining Limited
Stronger-than-expected performance in the December quarter reported by Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) means that the mining company has increased production guidance for both gold and copper for the full-year. For example, full-year gold production is now expected to be between 2.3m and 2.5m ounces (up from previous guidance of 2.2m to 2.4m ounces), while copper production is now forecast to be significantly higher than previous estimates at 90,000 – 100,000 tonnes, versus the 75,000 to 85,000 tonnes previously announced.
In addition, the company also lowered its full-year all-in sustaining cost guidance from a midpoint of $2.45 billion to $2.4 billion. And, looking ahead, this all means that Newcrest could be a strong performer, with it having a relatively attractive price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio of 1.26. This compares favourably to the wider materials sector and to the ASX, which have PEG ratios of 1.31 and 2.08 respectively.
Telstra Corporation Ltd
The last five years have been stunning for investors in Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS). That's because the mobile telecoms company has delivered a total shareholder return of 23.3% per annum during the period, which is well ahead of the ASX and, looking ahead, there could be further gains to come.
That's because Telstra has an appealing business model in terms of it being relatively diversified at a time when many investors are concerned about the future prospects for the Aussie economy. And, with Telstra expanding into Asia over the medium to long term, this diversification should increase and could make Telstra an even more enticing investment, thereby helping to push its share price even higher.
So, while a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 18.5 may seem rather rich while the ASX trades on a rating of 15.3, Telstra could still beat the wider market and appears to be a stock worth owning at the present time.
