In times of constrained consumer spending power like these, this strive to deliver exceptional value cannot be underestimated, as traditional retailers like Tesco and Sainsbury’s will attest to. And I’m backing this groundshift in our shopping habits to keep driving profits at B&M European Value Retail (LSE: BME) higher.

The FTSE 250 retailer’s most recent trading release outlined its rising popularity with Britain’s shoppers. It said that it had made a “strong start to the new financial year” as its “disruptive value model continues to prove highly attractive to customers.” Group revenues boomed 21.6% between April 1 and June 30, with UK sales rising 8.3% in the period, or by 1.6% on a like-for-like basis.

B&M isn’t just making terrific progress at home, either. At its Jawoll stores in Germany, revenues rose 7% in the past quarter.

Dear but delightful

What’s more, like Lidl and Aldi, B&M is committed to expanding its store network in the UK and overseas to create strong earnings growth over a long-term time horizon. The business opened four new domestic B&M-branded outlets in the last quarter, as well as four of its Heron Foods convenience stores, putting it well on course to attain its goal of 50 new B&M shops in the current year alone.

City analysts believe the retailer has the recipe to cook up earnings growth of 13% in the year to March 2019, and a 14% rise is predicted for next year as well. And who would bet against profits growing by double-digit percentages long beyond fiscal 2020?

B&M is slightly expensive on paper, with its forward P/E ratio of 19 times sitting just outside the accepted value territory of 15 times, or below. Given the company’s strong growth profile, I consider this slight premium to be more than fair, though.

Good for the environment, good your stocks portfolio!

I would also consider Renewi (LSE: RWI) to be an exceptional selection for growth hunters today.

Following its merger with Dutch business van Gansewinkel Groep a couple of years back, the FTSE 250 firm now has significant revenues opportunities across the continent. More specifically, the move gives it a major presence in the Benelux region (comprising Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), a part of Europe that Renewi describes as “one of the most advanced recycling markets in the world.”

Rising costs have been problematic of late, but the company is increasingly taking the sting out of this problem with volumes and prices both on the rise. As a consequence, City brokers feel that group earnings will jump 34% in the 12 months to March 2019, and an additional 22% advance is forecast for next year.

At current share prices, Renewi carries a cheap forward P/E multiple of 9.5 times, a figure that I consider seriously undervalues its excellent earnings outlook through the coming years. Throw a prospective dividend yield of 5.1% into the equation too, and I reckon the firm’s a pretty compelling share to pick up today.

The post Have £1,000 to invest? 2 FTSE 250 dividend growth stocks for 2018, 2019… and the next few decades appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

More reading

• Not sure what a SIPP is? 3 reasons it could pay to know!
• Up 15%, B&M shares are leading the FTSE 250 higher! Is the comeback on?

Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Tesco. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

The stock was last 3% lower from the mid-week close, but I would not consider today’s results as a sound reason to cash out. Indeed, it is no surprise to see investors pause for breath given the insurer’s strong share price progress in recent months.

eSure announced today that gross written premiums stomped 22.8% higher during January-June, to £393.3m, while pre-tax profit climbed 44.6% to £45.1m.

The result led chief executive Stuart Vann to say: “I am delighted with our performance in the first half of 2017. We have delivered strong growth in premiums, policies and profits as the success and momentum of our footprint expansion programme and disciplined underwriting continues to drive the business forward.”

He added that “in Motor, we are growing across all our customer segments, demonstrating the value and service proposition we offer to customers.”

At its car insurance division, eSure saw gross written premiums pound 27.4% higher, to £351.3m, while the number of in-force policies rose 16.4% to 1.74m.

This bubbly half-year result has prompted the Reigate-based business to lift its guidance for the full year. In March eSure said that it expected premiums growth of between 15% and 20%, and in-force policies to see a rise of between 5% and 10%. The company now “expects to deliver results at the positive end of this guidance,” it said.

Upgrades around the corner?

Its excellent performance and strong balance sheet (its solvency ratio stood at 153% as of June) in the year to date has encouraged eSure to lift the interim dividend to 4.1p per share from 3p a year earlier, comprising a 2.9p base payout and a 1.2p special dividend.

City brokers are already expecting a dividend of 11.6p per share in 2017, resulting in a hefty 4.1% yield. But given its encouraging capital position and improving momentum, I reckon this projection — along with eSure’s predicted 24% earnings rise — could be in line for upgrades in the weeks and months ahead.

Bargains beauty

Budget retailer B&M European Retail (LSE: BME) is another dividend stock I think deserves serious consideration right now.

Those expecting blistering yields may be left disappointed. But those seeking meaty dividend expansion year after year need to give the retailer a close look, in my opinion — as well as benefitting from rising pressure on shoppers’ wallets, lighting up demand for its low-cost wares, B&M’s store expansion drive in the UK and Germany promises to light a fire under earnings growth.

The City is expecting bottom-line expansion of 16% in the year to March 2018, a result which should drag the dividend from 5.8p per share last year to 6.9p. This estimate yields a handy-if-unspectacular 1.9%.

B&M reported last month that revenues roared 18.3% higher during the first fiscal quarter, with UK like-for-like sales swelling 7.3%. But not content to rest on its laurels, the Liverpool firm pounced on discount convenience store operator Heron Food Group this week to give the top line an extra kick. I reckon there is plenty of reason to expect profits, and also dividends, to continue pumping higher.

The post 2 dividend champions for a winning portfolio appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

More reading

• Not sure what a SIPP is? 3 reasons it could pay to know!
• Up 15%, B&M shares are leading the FTSE 250 higher! Is the comeback on?

Royston Wild has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

While the company endured some difficulties during the first half of the fiscal year, it is doubling-down on what it does best by expanding its value ranges (like the expansion of so-called multibuy offers). But the firm is also venturing into new product areas to drive sales and, with demand for non-footwear items surging 26% during the 12 months to October, this appears a sage strategy.

Meanwhile, Shoe Zone is also improving its retail estate, the firm opening 17 stores and re-fitting 41 outlets last year. And the retailer is also improving its multichannel proposition to latch onto the e-commerce phenomenon, and in recent months has begun trading on industry giant Amazon’s sites in Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

City analysts certainly expect earnings at Shoe Zone to keep edging higher despite rising pressure on the wider high street. A 1% increase is predicted for the year to September 2017, with an additional 2% advance forecast for the following 12-month period.

These projections make Shoe Zone terrific value, with subsequent P/E ratios of 10.7 times and 10.5 times falling well below the widely-regarded value benchmark of 15 times.

Great value

And its robust record of earnings growth and strong capital position (it had £15m in cash as of last September and no debt) has enabled it to dish out huge dividend hikes in recent times.

Indeed, the retailer paid a total ordinary dividend of 10.1p in fiscal 2016. And the number crunchers expect this trend to continue, with payouts of 10.3p and 10.4p per share predicted for this year and next, projections that yield 5.6% and 5.7% respectively.

Euro star

FTSE 250 play B&M European Retail (LSE: BME) is another favourite with bargain lovers not just in the UK but on foreign shores. And the number crunchers are similarly sunny on the retailer’s  investment potential.

Earnings rises of 12% are predicted in each of the years to March 2018 and 2019. And while these numbers may create conventionally-high P/E ratios of 20.3 times and 18.1 times respectively, B&M’s PEG readouts of 1.7 for this year and 1.4 for next year actually suggest the retailer is attractively priced relative to its earnings prospects.

Dividend yields may not be anything to get excited about in the medium term — these register at just 2% and 2.2% for 2018 and 2019 respectively. However, the rate at which B&M is hiking dividends should come as huge encouragement to long-term investors.

The company raised the ordinary dividend to 4.8p per share in fiscal 2016 from 3.4p the prior year, and is anticipated to hike a predicted 5.9p reward in 2017 to 6.8p and 7.6p in 2018 and 2019. And B&M’s hot earnings and outlook and exceptional cash generation certainly support these perky forecasts (the retailer saw operating cash flow improve 76% in April-September, to £77.7m).

Like Shoe Zone, B&M is also aggressively expanding to make the most of rising demand for its low-cost goods, and opened its 500th store last year. And not only do I believe the business has what it takes to weather the Brexit storm, B&M’s expansion into Germany should also deliver splendid revenues growth in the coming years.

The post 2 bargain dividend stocks that should thrive from Brexit appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

More reading

• Not sure what a SIPP is? 3 reasons it could pay to know!
• Up 15%, B&M shares are leading the FTSE 250 higher! Is the comeback on?

Royston Wild has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

This was underlined by recent news that Redrow (LSE: RDW) has sounded out Bovis Homes as a potential takeover target. Investors should be encouraged by the resilience of the homes market despite the country’s uncertain future, as supportive lending conditions are helping demand to continue outstrip supply growth.

Redrow announced last week that “trading and performance continues to be robust, as a consequence of a record order book and a further increase in legal completions, combined with better than anticipated increases in average selling prices.”

As a result Redrow anticipates that pre-tax profit for the year to June 2016 will ring in at a minimum of £306m, up 22% from the prior 12 months.

Fiery forecasts

And City analysts certainly expect Redrow to remain on an upward trajectory for some time yet, even though earnings expansion is anticipated to moderate along with UK home price growth.

For the year to June 2017 a 14% bottom-line bulge is predicted, and a further 5% advance is predicted for 2018. But with home industry data still continuing to defy gloomy predictions, I reckon Redrow — just like its London-quoted peers — could continue to see brokers upgrading their earnings forecasts in the months ahead.

The builder already deals on a mega-low forward P/E ratio of 7.8 times, a figure that leaves plenty of upside and more than bakes in the possibility of any market turbulence in the near-term and beyond, in my opinion.

But Redrow should also be a star attraction for income chasers, with dividends expected to keep growing at a stratospheric rate. Indeed, last year’s reward of 10p per share is expected to jump to 14.7p and 18.1p in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Consequently the yield shoots from 3% in the present period to 3.6% in the following period.

With Britain’s homes shortage likely to take many, many years to properly address, I reckon Redrow should prove a lucrative stock for long-term share pickers.

Budget brilliance

I also reckon budget retailer B&M European Retail (LSE: BME) should generate exceptional earnings growth in the years ahead.

Not only does it stand to benefit from the impact of rising inflation on shoppers’ pursetrings here in the UK (like-for-like revenues shot 7.2% from October-December), but B&M should also enjoy rising sales in Germany as the upward price creep continues there.

The diversified retailer is expanding in both territories to latch onto continental shoppers’ rising appetite for a bargain.

So the City expects B&M to follow a 14% earnings rise in the period to March 2017 with rises of 10% and 14% in fiscal 2018 and 2019. And I reckon a forward P/E ratio of 18.7 times is a decent level at which to tap into the company’s exceptional cross-continental revenues prospects.

The post 2 FTSE 250 stocks I’d buy and hold for 10 years appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

More reading

• Not sure what a SIPP is? 3 reasons it could pay to know!
• Up 15%, B&M shares are leading the FTSE 250 higher! Is the comeback on?

Royston Wild has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Redrow. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

The shopping colossus extended December’s stunning share price gains with the help of a bubbly trading statement last month, meaning the stock has exploded 20% during the past two months alone. Having said that, I believe B&M still remains undervalued by the market.

Sure, prospective P/E ratios of 20.5 times and 18.5 times may run above the British big-cap average of 15 times, but I reckon this represents decent value for a company the City expects to report double-digit earnings growth in the years ahead. Indeed, expansion of 14% and 10% is chalked-in just for the years to February 2017 and 2018.

B&M saw UK like-for-like revenues leaping 7.2% during the 12 weeks to Christmas Eve, with strong demand for seasonal products and the positive impact of the firm’s two new distribution centres helping to boost the top line.

And I expect checkout activity at B&M to continue to soar as its expansion scheme in the UK and Germany (the retailer opened 21 new outlets in the past quarter alone) clicks through the gears.

Fashion star

At face value it could be argued that fashion giant Ted Baker (LSE: TED) may also struggle to print further share price gains at current prices.

For the period to February 2017 the business deals on an earnings multiple of 25.3 times, and a ratio of 22.3 times for next year. But like B&M, City brokers expect Ted Baker’s ambitious store opening programme to keep powering the bottom line — earnings expansion of 12% and 14% is marked in for this year and next.

Ted Baker saw retail sales shoot 17.9% higher during the eight weeks to January 7, with internet orders surging 35% and additional store openings in Asia also helping to drive revenues skywards. And I expect Ted Baker’s growing popularity the world over to keep delivering stunning sales growth.

Box clever

Boxbuilder DS Smith (LSE: SMDS) has also furnished the market with stunning financials in recent weeks.

The packaging giant saw revenues jump 21% during May-October, to reach £2.36bn, with organic volumes leaping 2.9% during the period. DS Smith witnessed revenue growth across all regions, underlining the success of its acquisition-led growth strategy, a plan that looks set to keep delivering meaty sales growth. Just last month the business snapped up US-based, bag-in-box plastics specialists Parish Manufacturing in its latest conquest.

And despite the stock reaching fresh record peaks in recent sessions, I believe DS Smith is still a great value growth contender at current prices. A predicted 15% earnings rise in the year to April 2017 creates a P/E ratio of just 14.2 times. And an anticipated 7% advance in the following period produces a mere multiple of 13.3 times.

The post 3 FTSE 250 growth stocks I’d buy before it’s too late appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

More reading

• Not sure what a SIPP is? 3 reasons it could pay to know!
• Up 15%, B&M shares are leading the FTSE 250 higher! Is the comeback on?

Royston Wild has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended DS Smith and Ted Baker plc. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.