Investing in temporarily out-of-favour shares can be a rewarding, albeit risky, investment strategy.
The key to success is finding shares that have the ability to turn things around and avoiding those shares that are in structural decline or dealing with long-term headwinds.
A good example of a successful turnaround play has been Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE). The market had written the company off for most of FY14, but it managed to turn things around with a change of strategy and the shares are now trading at record highs.
While not every turnaround opportunity will result in such impressive returns, I think investors should consider these three options more closely:
Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL)
Shares of the vitamin maker are currently trading near 52-week lows as the market awaits the company's highly-anticipated first quarter results. Although a decline in first quarter sales is expected, the market will be more focused on Blackmores' forward looking guidance as this will suggest whether or not the first quarter decline was a one-off de-stocking event or a more serious long-term issue. If a better-than-expected outlook is given, I expect the shares to rebound significantly from current levels. On the other hand, the shares could come under serious short-term pressure if the outlook disappoints.
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)
Flight Centre has arguably been considered a turnaround story for the last two years but I don't think investors should write the company off just yet. The travel agent has been proactively using the excess cash on its balance sheet to make strategic acquisitions, and at the same time, broadening its reach into new geographic territories. Although earnings growth is unlikely to be explosive anytime soon, I think there is a good chance that Flight Centre will be able to grind higher over time. On the plus side, investors buying shares today will receive a handy dividend yield of 4.3%.
McGrath Ltd (ASX: MEA)
McGrath has had a tough time since listing in December 2015, but I think the real-estate agent could turn things around if market conditions start to show signs of improvement. Extraordinarily low listing volumes in the company's core Sydney market have really weighed on sentiment recently, but a reversal in this trend could be a major catalyst for a share price re-rating. McGrath continues to remain debt free and trades on a pretty undemanding price-to-earnings ratio of 12.5.
