There are several S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) shares that could be excellent investments right now.
Some businesses have suffered from high interest rates, but the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) may cut rates this year.
In its December statement, the Australian central bank said:
The November SMP forecasts suggest that it will be some time yet before inflation is sustainably in the target range and approaching the midpoint. Recent data on inflation and economic conditions are still consistent with these forecasts, and the Board is gaining some confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards target.
That's promising, in my view, for the companies that are suffering from higher interest costs.
The two stocks below are so cheap that I think they don't require rate cuts to do well, but they would be an added bonus.
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Dexus Industria REIT (ASX: DXI)
This real estate investment trust (REIT) is operated by fund manager Dexus (ASX: DXS).
The business recently had all 93 of its assets externally valued, leading to a 2.4% increase in their values. Dexus is primarily invested in quality industrial warehouses located across Australia's major cities. It aims to provide a mixture of sustainable income and capital growth over the long term.
The income it provides is backed by an occupancy rate of more than 99% and a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of more than five years.
Its portfolio includes rental increases, a combination of fixed rental increases (currently 3.2% per year growth) and CPI-linked increases. This can help drive rental profit and distribution higher in the coming years.
The ASX 300 share expects to pay a distribution of 16.4 cents per security in FY25, which translates into a distribution yield of 6.25%. It's trading at less than 15x its expected FY25 rental profit.
The Dexus Industria REIT share price has dropped close to 30% since September 2021, so it's a lot cheaper now despite the rental income growth. I believe any future interest rate cuts could be a sizeable catalyst for this business.
Brickworks Ltd (ASX: BKW)
The Brickworks share price has fallen 18% since March 2024, with the building products businesses suffering from lower demand in Australia.
The ASX 300 share has an impressive market presence in areas like bricks and pavers, stone and masonry, and roofing. Australia's population has grown significantly in the last few years, so I'm expecting building product demand to resurface once the interest rate headwinds reduce.
Any rate cuts could also benefit Brickworks' 50% stake in an industrial property trust. Its partner is the industrial property giant Goodman Group (ASX: GMG).
Brickworks occasionally sells land that exceeds its building product manufacturing requirements into the trust. Goodman then builds large industrial properties on that land, which are leased out to major tenants, such as Amazon, Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), and Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW).
Building these warehouses increases the value of the land and unlocks rental profits, allowing Brickworks to pay an increasing dividend to shareholders.
The outlook for industrial properties is good, thanks to tailwinds such as e-commerce adoption, population growth, and data centre demand.
Over the long-term, I believe its ownership of approximately a quarter of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) shares is also a big plus. Soul Patts' diversified and growing portfolio can help Brickworks with long-term capital growth and dividend growth.
Brickworks is one of the stocks I recently boosted my holding of.
