Six to buy
Centamin
Interactive Investor Gold miners are a volatile, geared play on gold prices. That mining “roller coaster” is currently in steep ascent, with shares in this Egypt-focused miner up by 25% this year. The fruits of a three-year investment programme to raise operational efficiency and cut costs are coming through at just the right time. On a forward price/earnings (p/e) ratio of ten, the valuation still looks reasonable despite the rally. While there are political risks, for value investors the shares still appear “the best pick among Londonlisted gold miners”. 124p
Costain
The Sunday Times Last year saw 4,400 (mainly smaller) building firms go bust, but easing inflation and a rise in contracts up for tender make for a brightening outlook. Costain’s historic pivot from building houses to becoming an “infrastructure contractor” that works across roads, rail and nuclear decommissioning appears especially judicious given the state’s priorities. With more than 80% of revenue already booked for this year, management has had the confidence to restore annual dividends. On just five times forecast earnings, the shares look a decent bet. 75p
Keller Group
Investors’ Chronicle Saudi Arabia’s decision to scale back Neom, its linear city project, means this groundworks contractor won’t enjoy the bonanza of contracts it had hoped for. Still, underlying operating profit doubled in North America last year, while falling net debt makes for a more robust balance sheet. On a trailing p/e of 8.9, the shares trade at a discount to the sector. The 4.3% dividend is appealing, not least given a “record of uninterrupted payouts” since 1994. 1,064p
Marks & Spencer
The Telegraph A turnaround plan is reaping rewards. The outlook for consumers is improving as inflationary pressures relent. That will boost supermarkets in general, and M&S in particular, as households feeling flush will buy more of its top-quality products. Declining net debt strengthens the financial position. On a forward p/e
Mitie
The Mail on Sunday From cleaning toilets in shopping centres to controlling platform access gates at train stations, Mitie staff keep a multitude of everyday services running. A recent full-year trading update revealed an 11% rise in revenue to £4.5bn.
Mitie is pivoting from its base in “facilities management” to more lucrative work in “facilities transformation”, meaning that it helps firms to achieve Net Zero targets or to analyse buildi
