One of the great things about investing in the stock market is the opportunity to become more familiar with the business operations of a broad spectrum of interesting companies.
While it would be advisable to invest with your head and not your heart, it is certainly an added bonus if you get the opportunity to own shares in companies you enjoy utilising the goods or services of.
In fact, sometimes it is because you are utilising a particular company's offering that you ultimately end up investigating its investment merits.
Here are three companies with businesses you are likely familiar with to consider investing in.
- Ardent Leisure Group (ASX: AAD) is the owner and operator of well-known entertainment assets such as the Dreamworld theme park and AMF bowling centres. According to consensus data provided by Morningstar, Ardent's assets are forecast to generate earnings per share (EPS) of 15.4 cents in financial year 2016. With the stock closing Tuesday's session at $2.26, the group is trading on a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 14.7x.
- Village Roadshow Ltd (ASX: VRL) also owns theme parks including Sydney's Wet'n'Wild as well as cinema exhibition venues across Australia, Singapore and the USA. The group's share price has tumbled around 20% in the past year putting the stock on a forecast FY2016 PE ratio of 17.1x.
- Godfreys Group Ltd (ASX: GFY) is a vacuum retailer with high visibility among consumers thanks to its network of over 200 stores in shopping centres and high streets. Given the company only listed on the ASX in December last year it is likely still flying under the radar of many investors. The share price is up 11% since first trading and analyst consensus for EPS is 31.4 cents in FY 2016 which puts the stock on a prospective PE of 10.1x.
