March has been a roller-coaster ride for investors with the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) looking as though it is going to end up giving back most of the gains it made earlier in the month.
Many of the big name stocks that were pushing the index higher have reversed their gains and this has led to the overall market losing much of its momentum.
It's not all bad news though – investors with cash on the sidelines are now being presented with some interesting and far more attractive buying opportunities.
If I had $15,000 to invest over the next few weeks, I would look to spread it evenly across the following three shares:
IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH)
IPH is a company I recently added to my own portfolio and I will certainly look to buy more if the share price continues to fall. The company specialises in intellectual property (IP) law and is the only company of its kind listed on the ASX. The shares have been sold off heavily since the company released its interim results because they came in at the lower end of market expectations. IPH still managed to deliver adjusted earnings per share growth of 66% albeit with the aid of acquisitions. The shares are not cheap by traditional standards, trading at 21x forecast FY16 earnings, but a quick look through the company's most recent presentation highlights the growth opportunities ahead of IPH.
Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF)
Challenger has outperformed most other companies in the financial sector over the past 12 months and this should provide investors with some confidence moving forward. The company is well positioned to take advantage of the huge capital inflows stemming from compulsory superannuation and an ageing population that is becoming more accepting of annuity products in the face of volatile equity markets. The company recently delivered first half FY16 earnings per share growth of 13% and maintained a positive growth outlook for the remainder of the year. Considering the longer term tailwinds behind Challenger, it is trading on an undemanding earnings multiple of around 13x and offers investors an attractive dividend yield of 3.9%.
Mantra Group Ltd (ASX: MTR)
The Mantra share price has been volatile since the start of 2016 but I believe it offers good value at around the $4 level. Although the shares are currently trading at $4.37, it would only take a couple of negative days and investors could find the shares at a lower level. This may be a concern to some investors, but volatile stocks can often produce unexpected buying opportunities and investors should remain alert to that possibility. Mantra has the majority of its hotels in popular tourist areas within Australia and New Zealand and is likely to continue to benefit from the continued strong growth in inbound tourism. The company has recently upgraded its full year earnings guidance on the back of stronger than expected first-half results and I wouldn't be surprised to see even stronger growth over the next few years.
