Christmas has come early for buy and hold investors as far as I'm concerned. Due to steep declines in their respective share prices, I feel there are a great number of shares trading at fantastic prices for investors that are prepared to be patient.
Three buy and hold investments I would make in 2017 are as follows:
Ardent Leisure Group (ASX: AAD)
Thanks to the potential of its Main Event family entertainment centres in the United States I believe that Ardent Leisure has enormous long-term growth potential. There are 27 centres in operation currently, with a further 11 planned to open by the end of June 2017. Ultimately management believes the U.S. market can accommodate upwards of 200 centres in total. Pleasingly I expect the funds from the recent sale of its d'Albora Marinas portfolio for $126 million will be used to accelerate this roll out. With such strong growth prospects from the brand it's not a surprise to learn that the company plans to change its name to the Main Event Entertainment Group
Mantra Group Ltd (ASX: MTR)
The Australian government has forecast for inbound tourism to grow at an average of 5.6% per annum for the next decade to 12.3 million annual visitors. Furthermore, with a weaker Australian dollar the government expects more Australians to holiday domestically rather than overseas. So with over 20,000 rooms under management I believe Mantra is in an excellent position for long-term growth. Currently its shares are changing hands at under 17x estimated FY 2017's earnings. I believe this is great value, especially considering they are expected to provide a fully franked 4.5% dividend next year according to CommSec.
TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM)
In the last three months this growing telecommunications company has seen its share price plunge a staggering 43%. This leaves its shares trading at just 15x estimated FY 2017's earnings, which puts them on a par with slow-growing Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS). Although earnings growth is expected to slow to between 5% and 7% this year, I expect the company to rebound strongly in FY 2018 thanks to market share gains, its Singapore expansion, and its own high-speed fibre network. This could make it an opportune time to invest.
