ESG Stock of the Week: RELX

VIDEO: The UK's best sustainable companies are found in unlikely places

James Gard 17 October, 2022 | 9:08AM
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

 

 

It’s ESG week here at Morningstar so instead of looking for undervalued stocks we’re seeking out the most sustainable ones.

This is harder than it looks. We could immediately look at renewable energy companies of course – wind farms, solar panel makers – but being an ESG investor is about more than just finding environmental leaders. Of the nine thousand companies in the Morningstar universe, only 13 companies have the highest ESG rating of 5 globes – and only three are covered by our analysts. In the UK market, that leaves fashion group Burberry, educational publisher Pearson and REL-X, the data and events company formerly known as Reed Elsevier.

Morningstar Sustainalytics ranks REL-X as the company with the lowest carbon risk among the 10,000-plus stocks it rates with a perfect score of zero. It’s also a leader in corporate governance, scoring highly on a number of metrics relating to ownership and shareholder tights, board structure and stakeholder governance.

If you think longevity is a good thing for leaders, you’ll be pleased to learn that the company’s CEO, Erik Engstrom, has been in charge for 13 years now. Before that he was chief executive of Elsevier, which became part of the RELX group, for five years.

RELX’s shares have shown little volatility this year amid the turmoil. But they are now overvalued, according to Morningstar analyst Michael Field, with a ONE STAR RATING. This goes to show that finding keenly priced ESG leaders can be a tricky proposition, especially in Europe.

For Morningstar, I’m James Gard.          

Subscribe to Our Newsletters

Sign Up Here

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

About Author

James Gard

James Gard  is senior editor for Morningstar.co.uk

 

© Copyright 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use        Privacy Policy        Modern Slavery Statement        Cookie Settings        Disclosures