As all long-term investors are well aware, timing the market can be tricky. In fact, it is nigh on impossible to find the perfect moment to buy or sell a stock and, in reality, it is only through hindsight that we can ever know for certain when we should have made a move.
However, being a successful investor does not necessarily hinge on getting it right all of the time and, in the long run, buying at sensible prices can be more than sufficient to generate an ASX-beating return.
Valuations
Of course, no matter what the level of the ASX, there are inevitably good value shares on offer. At the present time, a stock that appears to fall into that category is pharmaceutical play, CSL Limited (ASX: CSL). Certainly, it may have had an exceptional run over the last ten years, with it having posted a share price gain of 847% in that time. However, despite its price to earnings (P/E) ratio being a sky-high 24.5, CSL's price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio of 1.21 indicates that growth continues to be on offer at a reasonable price.
Furthermore, CSL continues to benefit from its considerable international exposure. This not only provides greater diversity and reduced risk, but also should allow it to gain a boost from a weakening Aussie dollar, thereby providing its earnings with a turbo boost moving forward.
International Expansion
On the topic of a weaker Aussie dollar, packaging company, Amcor Limited (ASX: AMC), should also benefit from having significant exposure outside of Australia. However, that's not the only reason to invest in it, since it could become a top notch dividend stock over the medium term.
That's because Amcor is forecast to increase its shareholder payouts by 14.3% per annum during the next two years, and this puts it on a forward yield of 4%. And, with its long term growth prospects being bright as a result of an exposure to faster growing markets across the globe, further dividend increases are likely to be brisk. In fact, Amcor has increased dividends at an annualised rate of 8.1% during the last five years, which should give investors in the company a degree of confidence regarding its future income potential.
Domestic Potential
Of course, domestic-focused stocks could also be worth buying at the present time, with a prime example being shopping centre operator, Scentre Group Ltd (ASX: SCG). It should benefit from improved consumer spending levels as a direct result of having a looser monetary policy and Scentre appears to offer excellent value for money, as highlighted by its PEG ratio of just 0.31.
Clearly Scentre's business model is cyclical and its success depends on the performance of the wider economy. But, for investors who can live with a degree of volatility, its current margin of safety seems to be wide enough to make it a good time to buy a slice of it, alongside CSL and Amcor.
