Ten favoured stocks for private investors

WorleyParsons (WOR): a global company providing engineering services, project management, and maintenance to the oil and gas, mining and chemicals, and infrastructure (such as water and power) sectors.

Medium term earnings should benefit from improving activity levels in the group’s markets as well as the highly synergistic acquisition of the Jacobs Energy, Chemicals and Resources business at the end of April 2019.

Macquarie Group (MQG): a global investment bank with an extensive range of operations including asset management; banking and financial services; corporate and asset finance; commodities, equities, fixed income and currencies; and corporate advice and transactions.

A key attraction is the group’s ability to switch its emphasis between annuity-style and markets-facing operations to suit changing financial conditions and optimise returns.

Aristocrat Leisure (ALL): develops, manufactures and sells gaming content, platforms and systems. Group revenue consists of land-based gaming (27.5%) involving the placement of gaming machines in customer venues for no upfront cost and then leasing the games/ titles for a recurring revenue stream; land-based outright sales of gaming machines (33.5%); and digital (39.0%) encompassing the monetisation of social casino and casual games/ titles.

The group has a dominant position in the North American gaming industry and the land-based operations should underpin medium term growth while the digital business offers opportunities in a market growing at around 13% per annum over the next three years or so.

Goodman Group (GMG): one of the world’s largest integrated industrial property groups with operations centred around development, management and ownership throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, United Kingdom, North America, and Brazil.

The long term outlook for industrial and logistics properties is favourable given the continuing growth in e-commerce (or on-line retail sales) and the growing middle class in developing countries.

Mirvac Group (MGR): the ownership and management of commercial property — predominantly office and then retail and industrial—currently accounts for 61% of group earnings and provides a relatively secure income stream.

Commercial property development represents around 14% of group earnings and is largely de-risked through a high level of pre-commitments.

The residential operations, encompassing master planned communities and apartments, generate 23% of group earnings and should benefit from pre-sales of $1.7 billion against the backdrop of a stabilising residential market after the recent period of weakness.

Lendlease Group (LLC): an international property and infrastructure group with operations in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Its core lines of business are developing, constructing, owning and co-investing in property and infrastructure assets.

The international markets offer substantial growth opportunities, especially in the field of urban regeneration— the group’s urbanisation pipeline end value is currently around A$81.2 billion around the world.

Netwealth Group (NWL): a specialist investment platform technology provider in Australia that offers investment management solutions to financial intermediaries, who provide financial advice on superannuation and other investments, and self-directed individuals who have chosen not to seek advice.

In recent years, the group has been taking market share from the institutional platform providers such as the major banks and other large diversified financial companies. Looking forward, a structural shift within the wealth management sector from large vertically integrated players towards the more independent players should further boost the group’s growth outlook.

Amcor (AMC): after the acquisition of Bemis Company, the combined group is the global leader in consumer packaging with a footprint encompassing North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

The group offers an attractive combination of defensive earnings in the developed countries with faster growth in emerging markets, which accounted for 27% of group sales in fiscal 2019.

Downer EDI (DOW): designs, builds and maintains a wide range of assets, infrastructure and facilities in Australia and New Zealand. The urban services operations—transport, utilities and facilities—account for 83% of group earnings while mining services (currently under review) and engineering / construction / maintenance represent a combined 17% of group earnings.

Over the coming years, the group should benefit from strong infrastructure spending and the continuing trend of both government and corporate outsourcing.

Brambles (BXB): a global logistics company operating in more than 60 countries, which provides reusable pallets, crates and containers for shared use by multiple participants throughout a supply chain under a model known as “pooling”.

The group primarily serves defensive growth sectors such as fast-moving consumer goods (dry food, grocery, and health and personal care), fresh produce and beverages. Further expansion into emerging markets should generate additional earnings growth.