By the close of trade on Monday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) had managed to claw its way back above the 5,000 point mark but still finished the day down 0.2%.
It's been a gut-wrenching six months for investors with the index now down 14.9%. Leading the declines on Monday was heavy weight BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) which finished the day down 2%.
While most investors will rightly be wary of adding beaten-up resource stocks to their portfolio, there are a number of leading, blue-chip stocks which they may want to consider given the severity of the crash.
Here are three leaders which are all trading at fresh 52-week lows and could be worth taking a closer look at.
- Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) – As I noted here, the plunging share price of Australia's largest retailer has taken Woolworths' shares to levels last seen in early 2012. Arguably at the $25 level, the shares are starting to look interesting and value may have begun to emerge. It could be too early to wade in and buy yet though, with the headwinds buffeting the group's earnings expected to continue for some time yet.
- Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX: SGP) – This large, solid property company reported a 9.4% increase in underlying profit and a 7.8% increase in underlying earnings per share (EPS) to 25.9 cents. With the share price sinking back to the $3.80 level – a level last seen in in early 2014 – the stock is trading on a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 14.6x. Management has provided guidance for underlying EPS growth of between 6% and 7.5% in the current financial year and for dividends of 24.5 cents per share, implying a yield of 6.4%. Given the outlook for the wider economy Stockland could be an appealing investment opportunity.
- Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) has fallen under the $27 mark for the first time since mid-2013 and based on forecast data provided by Morningstar, the stock is trading on a forward PE ratio of 10.2x which is not only the lowest multiple compared with its major banking peers, but it is also lower than that of mid-tier banks Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) and Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ).
