3 Shares Beating the FTSE Today
LONDON -- The FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) hasn't moved much today, down just one point from yesterday's close at 5,792. That's near the level reached last week after the European Central bank made good on its promises to do what was necessary to save the euro.
The FTSE might not be soaring today, but plenty of individual constituents of the various indexes are doing well. Here are three companies beating the FTSE today.
SuperGroup (ISE: SGP.L)
Just as fellow fashionista Burberry (ISE: BRBY.L) was falling on an effective profit warning, SuperGroup -- the owner of the Superdry brand -- saw its shares perk up by 6.2% to 564 pence. Again, it was an interim update that did it, but this time it was all positive, with total sales for the first quarter up 10% to 59.7 million pounds, and the company is on course to meet its financial objectives.
The shares are still way down for the year, but since the middle of June they've more than doubled from a 2012 low of 264 pence.
IG (ISE: IGG.L)
IG Group enjoyed a nice boost, up 5% to 455 pence on the release of a first-quarter interim statement. Revenue at the spread-betting and financial-derivatives group fell quite heavily, down 18% since the equivalent period last year to £81.5 million. But that was as expected, and presumably the punters were relieved not to get any more bad news.
It is a traditionally quiet quarter, anyway, and full-year forecasts are looking decent. For the year to May 2013, City analysts have forecast flat earnings but are expecting a dividend yield of 5.3%, rising to 5.6% with earnings growth of 8% on 2014 predictions. The shares do not look expensive.
BP (ISE: BP.L)
Shares in BP continue to bounce back from their fall last week on news of the U.S. government's plans to prosecute for negligence. But yesterday the oil giant announced the disposal of a number of oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico to American firm Plains Exploration & Production for $5.55 billion. That has helped push the price back up to 440.7 pence, with an additional 0.7% rise today.
Current forecasts for BP suggest a year-end dividend yield of 4.7%, which should be more than twice covered by earnings, rising to 5.2% for 2014. And that's with the shares on a measly forward price-to-earnings ratio of 7.5, falling to 6.9.
BP looks to me like an attractive investment in the oil and gas sector right now, with little of the risk attached to the more speculative explorers. If you want to put your money into the sector, the latest Motley Fool report, "How To Unearth Great Oil & Gas Shares," is just for you. Click here to get your personal copy, while it's still free.
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