The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is close to its all-time high – it reached an all-time high of 8,460 on Monday. I think it could be the right time to look at cheap ASX shares if valuations of other investments have gone too high.
Businesses trading at a low price-earnings (P/E) ratio or ones priced at a big discount to their underlying asset value could be underrated opportunities in this market.
Growing businesses like Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) are trading at much higher earnings multiples than they have for most of their history. They could keep rising and outperforming the ASX stock market in the short term, but it becomes less likely the higher they go, in my opinion.
With that in mind, I think it would be a good idea to consider the two stocks below, which look cheap to me.
Betashares FTSE 100 ETF (ASX: F100)
This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks 100 of the largest businesses on the London Stock Exchange. It's a cheap ASX share in my mind because it trades on the ASX.
This portfolio includes several global leaders, such as Shell, Astrazeneca, HSBC, BP, London Stock Exchange, GSK, Rio Tinto Plc, Diageo (Jonnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff), Rolls Royce, BAE Systems, and Barclays.
While the UK economy has its challenges, I think it will be able to grow in the longer term, and plenty of the businesses within the F100 ETF are not dependent on the UK.
The F100 ETF looks cheaper to me than the ASX share market, which I'll measure with the BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200).
According to BetaShares, the A200 has a forward P/E ratio (or earnings multiple) of 18, while the F100 ETF has a forward P/E ratio of 11.4.
While a cheaper P/E ratio doesn't guarantee better returns, the F100 ETF, with its cheaper price and portfolio of quality businesses, is more likely to deliver better returns than the overall ASX share market over the next five years.
Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)
This is an industrial property-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) that I think is being undervalued significantly.
Firstly, there's the obvious discount to the net tangible assets (NTA) of $3.87 at June 2024, which tells investors the net value of the cheap ASX share's assets and liabilities (including independent property valuations). The current share price to NTA discount is 23%.
I think the current period of high interest rates has opened up a good buying opportunity.
This business is benefiting from a high level of demand for industrial space for distribution and logistics properties due to the growth of e-commerce activity, the onshoring of supply chains after COVID impacts, and Australia's rising population.
As rental contracts expire, they are being replaced by leases with significantly higher rental rates to reflect the market growth since the last contract. In the first quarter of FY25, it delivered a positive re-leasing spread of 54% – that's a huge jump in rental income and bodes well for future rental profits and distributions, particularly once interest rates start coming down.
It's expecting to pay a distribution that equates to a yield of 5.4%.
