My H1 2021 Watchlist
As I move the site towards investing content, I want to publish a list of companies I’m researching at the moment. Some of these may be on the list for a long time without me making an investment. In some cases, they’re firms I used to hold and wish I still did – there are a number of reasons for this such as taking profits early, finding ‘better’ opportunities, or moving to reduce risk by selling out of companies that have had a big run up in valuation.
I’ll try and update this list twice a year and might publish some more in-depth research on some of the companies. In this case, please do your own research, and remind yourselves of the disclaimer all over this site;
I AM NOT A QUALIFIED FINANCIAL MANAGER. FOLLOW MY TRADES AT YOUR OWN RISK.
H1 2021 Watchlist – Published January 2021
- Anglo Pacific Finance – Could be an excellent dividend payer and great exposure to the mining sector.
- Barclays – a quality international bank; could be one to add to the portfolio oneday.
- Deepmatter – currently losing money hand over fist but operates in an interesting sector.
- Gresham House Energy Storage Fund – another interesting company that deals with renewal energy storage (allowing us to use the power generated from solar energy when it’s dark!). Big potential but a pricey premium to NAV.
- Henderson Far East Income Trust – Original purchase price of 382p in March 2018 and have since averaged down to 371p. No new trades and continue to watch.
- Hikma Pharmaceuticals – I want more exposure to pharmaceuticals and this company is a high-quality pick with a growing ROE (last year was over 27%) and growing EPS. Seems too pricey at the moment.
- HSBC – Don’t hold but still looking.
- Legal and General – Don’t hold but still looking. A tasty yield of 6/7% but declining ROE. Not sure depressed bond yields are a great thing for them.
- Lloyds – A current holding with eye wateringly poor performance. I don’t fear the company collapsing but with an average buy price of 58p (averaged down from 68p in 2017) and a dividend forcibly cancelled due to COVID, this is a holding I’m losing patience with. I suspect it might be 2-3 years before I can exit profitably and am hoping the dividend will be reinstated to make that wait a bit more bearable.
- Somero – a quality manufacturer of laser-guided construction equipment for the construction industry with a juicy yield and strong performance.
- Octagonal – a microcap financial services company providing corporate broking and advisory services to professional, retail, corporate and eligible counterparty clients.
- SDLC Energy Efficiency Trust – provides investment solutions for energy sectors for the betterment of environment and infrastructure. Much like Gresham House, I like the sector.
- Qinetiq – Operates in the defence, security and aerospace sectors and was creeping towards my target price but seems very expensive for a company with erratic EPS and a flat dividend.
- Unilever – Continue to watch; missed the crash in March/April and regret not buying at sub-£4 per share which was a two year low. Company is a strong operator but looking pricey at a PE of over 20 and significant debt of over €20m.
- Xpediator – provides freight management services; could be a god buy with the bedlam of Brexit about to strike!
- Wynnstay Property – a microcap REIT with a humble approach to marketing. Their website (http://www.wynnstayproperties.co.uk/) screams authenticity and the company has been a strong performer over decades with a stable board. A lot to like.
H1 2020 Watchlist – Published March 2020
- Anglo Pacific Finance – Don’t hold buy still looking.
- Barclays – Don’t hold but still looking.
- Bellway Homes – Don’t hold and removed due to concerns over house prices and defaults.
- BHP – Removed; elephants don’t gallop. Seems fairly priced most of the time and better opportunities elsewhere. Debt also ticking back up.
- Disney – Removed – not happy holding foreign equities directly at the moment; unsure about costs and currency movement impact.
- GlaxoSmithKline – Purchased at 1601p in July 2020.
- GlobalTrans Investment – Removed – still like but can’t buy through broker for some reason.
- Henderson Far East Income Trust – Original purchase price of 382p in March 2018 and have since averaged down to 371p. No new trades and continue to watch.
- Hikma Pharmaceuticals – I want more exposure to pharmaceuticals and this company is a high-quality pick with a growing ROE (last year was over 27%) and growing EPS. Seems too pricey at the moment.
- Inchcape – Removed from watchlist; generally a seller of cheap tat. Very good at it but not to my tastes.
- INTU (more out of a sense of morbid curiosity) – company collapsed into administration in June 2020. Removed from watchlist.
- HSBC – Don’t hold but still looking.
- Legal and General – Don’t hold but still looking. A tasty yield of 6/7% but declining ROE. Not sure depressed bond yields are a great thing for them.
- Lloyds – A current holding with eye wateringly poor performance. I don’t fear the company collapsing but with an average buy price of 58p (averaged down from 68p in 2017) and a dividend forcibly cancelled due to COVID, this is a holding I’m losing patience with. I suspect it might be 2-3 years before I can exit profitably and am hoping the dividend will be reinstated to make that wait a bit more bearable.
- Mondi – Removed. A good operator but the share price has been moribund – £17 down from a five year peak of £22 in 2018.
- M Winkworth – Purchased at 141p in October 2020
- Paypoint – Removed from watchlist; could be a good trade at the right price but dividend cover is thin, EPS erratic and revenues almost entirely flat for the last five years. Where will the growth come from?
- Record – Pulled the trigger a trifle early at 43p in October and bought a second tranche at 37.25p in November. Pleased to have the company rejoin the portfolio after selling in December 2019 for a 25% profit.
- Schroders – Purchased C Class Shares in April at £20 a share.
- SDLC Energy Efficiency Trust – provides investment solutions for energy sectors for the betterment of environment and infrastructure. Much like Gresham House, I like the sector.
- Standard Chartered – Removed from watchlist. Too many financials already, don’t need more!
- Qinetiq – Operates in the defence, security and aerospace sectors and was creeping towards my target price but seems very expensive for a company with erratic EPS and a flat dividend.
- Unilever – Continue to watch; missed the crash in March/April and regret not buying at sub-£4 per share which was a two year low. Company is a strong operator but looking pricey at a PE of over 20 and significant debt of over €20m.
- Warpaint London – Removed from watchlist, company seems to be declining from 2018 peak with revenues and profits down, dramatically reduced growth in EPS and a declining dividend. Not much to like in hindsight.
- WH Smith – Removed from watch list. Company has suffered hugely thanks to COVID with travel greatly reduced and intermittent retail shutdowns around the world. Was a great operator but until things restabilise, not one to add to the list.