The sell-off in September has arguably created a good buying opportunity for investors looking to pick-up some leading names at a discount.
A recent article in the Australian Financial Review sought the opinions of a number of high profile fund managers as to where they see value in the current market.
Here are five stocks which were amongst the companies singled out.
BHP Billiton Limited's (ASX: BHP) share price has fallen to a new calendar year low; the stock is also 7.6% lower over the past five years! At these levels some fund managers believe value is emerging for this low cost, global miner. With a recently announced cost-cutting and productivity improvement program aimed at further boosting its already world-class iron ore operations, investors may be underestimating the future profitability of BHP.
Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) also made the list. Its defensive stream of earnings and growth options make this a very solid stock for portfolios to hold in general but also given the structural challenges the Australian economy is facing.
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is Australia's leading listed investment bank. Impressively, over the past few years the group has been able to significantly expand its global operations, thereby reducing its exposure to the lacklustre domestic economy while also setting the company up to benefit from the tailwind of a weaker Australian dollar.
Virtus Health Ltd (ASX: VRT) is a leading provider of IVF services in Australia and Ireland. As I stated here the growth outlook for Virtus is appealing and the defensive earnings base make this an appealing stock to own.
National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) has the unenviable record of being the weakest performing bank – in terms of share price returns – of the 'Big Four' over a one, five and ten-year timeframe. While this has made NAB a relatively poor investment in the past decade, this has also arguably positioned the stock to outperform its peers in the future thanks to lower pricing and the potential for an improvement in earnings performance.
