I love finding attractively priced S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) shares that could be good buys today for the long term.
With the ASX 300 reaching an all-time high of 8,176.8 on Friday, it's becoming more difficult to find cheap opportunities.
There are some defensive ASX shares that could be top picks, in my mind, because they could benefit from a lowering interest rate environment and continue to deliver organic growth.
One of my ASX 300 share picks is a leading, global ASX healthcare share and the other is a farmland real estate investment trust (REIT).
Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)
Sonic is one of the ASX's larger healthcare shares. It provides pathology services in various countries including Australia, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. I like the diversification that comes from its spread of operations across different geographies.
People regularly get sick and need pathology services, whether the economy is booming or not, so I'd call this business defensive. There are also growing and ageing populations in its core markets, which should be beneficial for demand for the company's services in the coming years.
While cost inflation has hurt short-term profit, revenue keeps growing at a nice pace. In FY24, the company reported base business revenue growth of 16% to $8.9 billion, with organic growth of 6%. The rest of the ASX 300 share's base business revenue growth largely came from acquisitions.
The Sonic Healthcare share price is down 18% since the beginning of 2024, making it look much cheaper to me.
According to the forecast on Commsec, the Sonic Healthcare share price is valued at 21x FY26's estimated earnings, with a possible FY26 dividend yield of 4.2% (excluding franking credits).
Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)
This ASX 300 share owns a portfolio of farms in various sectors, including almonds, macadamias, cattle, vineyards, and cropping.
Every six months, the business tells investors its adjusted net asset value (NAV), which essentially informs us on what the farm portfolio (and other assets and liabilities) is worth. If it's trading at a discount, it can seem good value.
As of 30 June 2024, the business had an adjusted NAV of $3.14. The Rural Funds share price is trading at a discount of approximately 37% to this, which is an enormous discount, in my opinion.
Rural Funds is benefiting from the rental growth (fixed increases or linked to inflation) that is built into most contracts with its blue-chip tenants. That rental income growth can help fund higher distributions over time.
The ASX 300 share currently offers a distribution yield of approximately 6%.
