Looking for bargain buys on the ASX? Well, you've come to the right place. With the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) sitting pretty close to the post-March highs we saw last week, it isn't an easy thing to find cheap ASX shares right now. But they are out there, you just have to look, and be prepared to bet against the crowd. So, with that in mind, here are 2 ASX shares that I think are bargain buys for ASX investors today.
2 'bargain buy' ASX shares
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
Telstra is our first cheap ASX share to consider today. The Telstra share price has been down-trending for a couple of months now, ever since the company released its FY2020 earnings report back in August. Telstra shares were going for $3.39 the day before these earnings came out. The day after? $3.13. Today, the Telstra share price is just $2.85 (at the time of writing).
Why this sudden drop? Well, Telstra implied in that earnings report that its earnings wouldn't be sufficient to sustain its current 16 cents per share annual dividend in FY2021. As a telco and dividend payer, Telstra is usually sought after by income investors. As such, speculation that a dividend cut is on the cards prompted a lot of selling pressure.
But during the company's annual general meeting last week, Telstra's management appeared to walk away from contemplating a dividend cut, promising investors that, "[Telstra], if necessary is prepared to temporarily exceed our capital management framework principle of paying an ordinary dividend of 70- 90% of underlying earnings to maintain a 16c dividend."
However, since this announcement, the Telstra share price has barely budged. As such, I think this telco is a bargain buy today, especially considering a 16 cents per share dividend would give Telstra shares a fully franked, forward dividend yield of 5.61% on current pricing.
WAM Global Ltd (ASX: WGB)
WAM Global is our second bargain buy today. This company is actually a listed investment company (LIC), which means it acts more like a managed fund than a company — buying and selling shares on behalf of its investors. In WAM Global's case, the company looks for undervalued growth shares from around the world (hence the name). As of 30 September, some of its holdings include Tencent Holdings, Hasbro and Microsoft.
The reason I think WAM Global is an ASX bargain buy today is because, as an LIC, WAM Global publishes the value of its assets every month. And as of 30 September, the company reported that its assets are worth approximately $2.43 a share. That looks pretty good considering the current WAM Global share price is just $2.16 (at the time of writing). That's a 12% discount right there, which isn't a bad deal in today's market.
WAM founder Geoff Wilson clearly thinks so too. ASX records show Mr Wilson has been buying WAM Global shares hand over fist over the past few weeks. You don't often get hints like this in the investing world. As such, I think this company is also a big ASX bargain buy today
