There's not much you can buy for $5 these days—maybe a coffee or a snack if you're lucky. However, on the ASX, $5 can still go a long way when it comes to investing.
In fact, there are some exciting companies that are flying under the radar, trading at low prices despite strong growth potential.
Named below are two ASX hidden gems that are currently trading under $5 but could offer significant upside in the years to come.
While these stocks may not be household names, they have promising outlooks, are rated as buys by brokers, and have the potential to reward patient investors. Let's take a look at them:
Readytech Holdings Ltd (ASX: RDY)
The team at Morgans thinks that Readytech is an ASX hidden gem to buy.
It is a software as a service (SaaS) provider of mission critical software to the tertiary education, government, justice, and enterprise markets.
Morgans believes the company's shares are undervalued at current levels given its strong earnings growth outlook. It said:
Its products include student management, payroll and HR solutions, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) to local government and legal case management. RDY's recent organic growth trajectory demonstrates its ability to deliver our forecast 14.5% CAGR EBITDA growth over coming years. Despite this, the company is trading at a ~20% discount to its historic average EBITDA multiple of ~11x, which we believe represents compelling value.
Morgans has an add rating and $3.74 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of 18% for investors over the next 12 months.
Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)
Another ASX hidden gem that could be a buy is Rural Funds.
It is a property company with a focus on agricultural assets. This includes almond and macadamia orchards, premium vineyards, water entitlements, cropping and cattle farms. These are all leased to major industry players on long term contracts with rental increases built in.
Bell Potter is a fan of the company and believes the market is significantly undervaluing its shares. It said:
The ~33% discount [now even greater] to market NAV appears excessive when we consider the material improvement in counterparty profitability indicators in recent months (with cattle, almond and macadamia nut prices all rallying off the lows) and that farming assets have in general largely held values through 1HCY24. In addition we note that RFF has a history of delivering NAV growth (CAGR +11%pa FY15-24) through investment, with macadamia the next pillar.
Bell Potter has a buy rating and $2.50 price target on its shares. This suggests that upside of over 50% is possible from current levels. The broker also expects 7%+ dividend yields in FY 2025 and FY 2026.
