The market has been very volatile this week, which means it will come as no surprise to learn that a number of shares are trading at 52-week lows or worse today.
Three that caught my eye are listed below. Are these beaten down shares in the buy zone?
The FlexiGroup Limited (ASX: FXL) share price has plunged to a 52-week low of $1.37 today. The diversified financial services company's shares have come under pressure following the release of its annual general presentation late on Thursday afternoon. At the meeting the company provided an underwhelming outlook for the year ahead. Although it expects volume growth from its Certegy, Credit Cards, and Irish and Australian Commercial businesses, it expects local Consumer Lease volume to be flatter due to channel consolidation. This appears to have left investors doubting its ability to deliver on its FY 2019 cash net profit after tax guidance of $95 million to $100 million. Given these doubts and the upcoming Senate inquiry into the financial services industry, I would suggest investors stay clear of FlexiGroup's shares.
The MNF Group Ltd (ASX: MNF) share price was at a 52-week low of $4.00 before being placed into a trading halt on Thursday. That trading halt was called after the company's takeover target, Inabox Group Ltd (ASX: IAB), received a competing offer from SB&G (Telecoms). MNF Group had offered 80 cents per share for all of Inabox's operating subsidiaries, whereas SB&G has tabled a 90 cents per share offer for the company. While the loss of this acquisition would be disappointing, even if it went ahead I wouldn't be a buyer of MNF Group's shares just yet. At 24x earnings I think its shares are overvalued considering its guidance for earnings growth of just 7.3% this year.
The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price touched on a 52-week low of $25.24 this morning before recovering and pushing slightly higher. Concerns over a weakening house market, customer remediation, and the Royal Commission have weighed heavily on the banking sector this year. While these concerns are not going away any time soon, I still believe Westpac could be worth considering as an investment. After all, at this level Westpac's shares are trading on lower than average multiples and offer one of the most generous dividend yields on the ASX 200.
