It's fair to say the last 30 days have been rather turbulent for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO), with the benchmark index experiencing more ups and down than a rollercoaster.
Some shares such as REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) have done well despite this volatility. Its shares have been amongst the better performers and posted an 11% gain during the period.
Unfortunately not all shares have done this well. In fact, shareholders of the two companies below had a disappointing last 30 days. But could this be an opportunistic time to invest?
Greencross Limited (ASX: GXL)
Shares of integrated pet-care company Greencross are down over 10% in the last 30 days. The decline in its share price stems from reports in the Australian Financial Review back in June revealing that Credit Suisse had won a pitching contest for $80 million worth of the company's shares from private equity firms TPG and The Carlyle Group. This deal looks to have signalled an end to any hope of an improved takeover offer from the two private equity firms, which has led many investors to the exits. I believe these declines have left its shares at a great entry price for a long term investment. Whilst the company's strategy of growth through acquisition may be slowing down a little, its sales certainly aren't. In its half year results it produced company-wide like-for-like sales growth of 5.1% and gross margin improvements of 240 basis points to 55.6%.
Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS)
After rallying strongly in the last few months, the shares of the supplier of IGA stores took a dive following the release of its full year results. Although these results revealed total sales increased by 1.3% thanks to growth in its liquor, hardware, and corporate segments, it wasn't all good news. The decline in sales for its all-important food and grocery segment clearly didn't go down well with the market. The outlook for this segment continues to be challenging with the company calling out competition, price deflation, and a rising cost base as headwinds. But with the shares trading at just over 9x earnings and the company planning on resuming its dividend this year, I feel Metcash could be a good addition to your portfolio.
