The first three quarters of 2014 have turned out to be a major disappointment for most investors. That's because the ASX is down nearly 2% year-to-date and further volatility looks set to be a feature of the index for a good while yet.
However, there are a number of blue-chip companies that could beat the ASX moving forward. Here are three companies that offer strong growth potential and trade at a very reasonable price.
QBE Insurance Group Ltd
On the topic of volatility, the last couple of years have been especially up and down for QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE). Indeed, the insurance play recorded a loss last year and is going through a very challenging period. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and shares in the company have outperformed the ASX in 2014 as a result.
Indeed, QBE's growth prospects are stunning. In the current year, it is expected to return to profitability and then grow the bottom line by 31.6% next year. With a P/E ratio of 22.2, this puts QBE on a PEG ratio of just 0.7, which is attractive and shows that the stock could be a strong performer moving forward.
AMP Limited
Wealth manager AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) is also set to grow its bottom line at an impressive rate. The company's bottom line is due to increase at an annualised rate of 30.1% over the next two years, which is well ahead of the wider ASX's forecast growth rate.
When such a strong growth rate is combined with a moderately high P/E of 17.5, it equates to a PEG ratio of just 0.58. This shows that AMP, which released encouraging recent results, offers growth at a reasonable price and could prove to be an impressive performer over the medium term.
Ramsay Health Care Limited
Looking outside of the financial world, Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) still seems to have share price growth on offer. That's despite rising by 14% since the turn of the year and highlighting its strong defensive qualities in recent weeks while the ASX has been falling.
Of course, there's much more to Ramsay Health Care than defensive qualities. The private hospital provider is forecast to increase EPS at an annualised rate of 17.3% per annum over the next two financial years. With a P/E of 28.7, shares may seem fully valued. However a PEG ratio of 1.66 indicates that there could be more outperformance to come.
