An exciting addition to the usual suspects emerged last quarter, with the likes of Lloyds and Vodafone joined on the most popular stocks as chosen by Morningstar.co.uk users by newly-listed Royal Mail.
The IPO of the postal service shares caused a furore in the UK, with journalists, analysts and even politicians weighing in on the potential value of the firm and its future prospects. Irrespective of one’s views on the company’s value, there’s no denying its pull for investors. Offered to investors at 330p apiece, the October launch was hugely oversubscribed and shares quickly surged to more than 600p, a level at which they remain today. Indeed, in late December, Royal Mail shares were welcomed into the FTSE 100 to reside alongside the country’s 99 other largest companies by market capitalisation.
Other popular stocks on our list, as chosen by those most frequently researched by investors using the Morningstar.co.uk website in the final three months of 2013, include some of the main stalwarts of British investor portfolios. Tesco, Vodafone and GlaxoSmithKline continue to take pride of place as steady investments with reliable dividends. But few stocks looked as attractive by the end of the year. The FTSE 100 rallied 14% over 2013, making the hunt for undervalued stocks increasingly difficult. Morningstar’s rating for stocks, which measure their current share price against our analyst’s valuation, is now 3 Stars for five of the 10 most popular stocks, implying they are currently fairly valued.
Shell, which was looking fairly valued at last check in Q3 is now believed to be slightly overvalued, as signalled by its 2-Star rating. The oil giant issued a profit warning in January of 2014 but that’s not its only problem. “Shell faces a credibility problem in the market,” says Morningstar’s Stephen Simko. “Management has let the problems in its shale portfolio and downstream fester for so long that investors have now come to expect Shell to be a laggard in terms of capital efficiency and execution,” Simko adds.
On a more positive note, two stocks in the most popular list continue to offer value according to Morningstar research. Tesco and Centrica are both boasting 4-Star ratings at present, implying their shares are moderately undervalued.
In a recent retail sector note, Morningstar’s Ken Perkins said he sees both Tesco and Morrisons (MRW) as undervalued, but thinks Tesco is a better bet for the long-term investor. Sainsbury (SBRY) shares are moderately overvalued, according to Perkins’ estimates.
10 Most Popular Company Shares in Q4
Royal Mail Group (RMG)
Not currently rated by Morningstar analysts
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY)
3 Stars
RSA Insurance (RSA)
Recently dropped from Morningstar analyst coverage
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB)
2 Stars
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