The only new stock in the ASX 200's low P/E list

September 27, 2023 12:30

Livewire Markets

It's been a range-bound time for the ASX 200. The ASX 200 has not fallen below 7,000 since the end of March while the index has not recorded a closing price above 7,500 since February. This has proved that active stock picking has been the differentiator in recent months. But finding new investment ideas with structural storylines and trading at depressed valuations is not an easy task.

The perfect case in point is the Market Index Low P/E scan. Last month, there were 38 stocks on the All Ordinaries list. This month, we've changed the list so that it's only the ASX 200. This reduces the number from 38 to 26.

But even as we've limited the range of stocks, there is only one (major) change to last month's list - reflecting how range-bound this market is without a catalyst. In this piece, we'll look at the changes to this scan in more depth.

Ticker	Company	Last	1-Year	PE
WHC	Whitehaven Coal	$7.02	-16.9%	2.3
CRN	Coronado Global	$1.90	25.0%	4.7
GNC	Graincorp	$7.05	-10.7%	4.8
CIP	Centuria Industrial	$3.06	17.5%	5.0
NHC	New Hope Corporation	$6.22	8.6%	5.1
PLS	Pilbara Minerals	$4.15	-11.4%	5.4
PRU	Perseus Mining	$1.66	19.0%	5.5
KAR	Karoon Energy	$2.50	37.1%	5.6
VUK	Virgin Money UK	$3.20	40.4%	5.7
QAN	Qantas Airways	$5.13	0.1%	5.7
WAF	West African Resources	$0.80	-19.2%	5.9
BKW	Brickworks	$25.96	22.6%	6.2
WDS	Woodside Energy	$36.20	18.0%	6.7
ILU	Iluka Resources	$7.78	-13.5%	7.8
SPK	Spark New Zealand	$4.45	-0.5%	7.9
ELD	Elders	$5.95	-50.2%	7.9
IPL	Incitec Pivot	$3.14	-7.3%	8.0
NSR	National Storage	$2.17	-1.8%	8.5
FMG	Fortescue	$20.33	20.8%	8.6
HVN	Harvey Norman	$3.90	-5.3%	9.0
BSL	Bluescope Steel	$19.10	25.5%	9.0
BPT	Beach Energy	$1.60	9.6%	9.3
MFG	Magellan Financial	$9.39	-16.9%	9.3
STO	Santos Limited	$7.69	10.7%	9.4
JBH	JB HI-FI	$46.71	20.5%	9.6
SOL	Washington H Soul Pattinson	$34.05	27.0%	9.9

Changes at the top

The coal stocks are back at the top of the ultra-cheap list. Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) and Coronado Global (ASX: CRN) make up two of the top three stocks on this current low P/E scan.

The last one, GrainCorp (ASX: GNC), is a recurring entrant on this list. But with GrainCorp and other agriculture stocks staring down an El Nino in Australia, this may be an example of a stock that is cheap and may become even cheaper.

Fellow agriculture stocks Elders (ASX: ELD) and Incitec Pivot (ASX: IPL) are also recurring entrants on this list. Both have had significant share price pullbacks this year. So will you be able to get it any cheaper?

To read more about the impact El Nino may have on your investments, check out this fantastic piece by Livewire's Sara Allen.

The new addition: Bluescope Steel

A former entrant on this list makes its return - but not without a decent re-rating. Bluescope Steel (ASX: BSL) shares have fallen 8% in the last month. That's despite the company's FY23 earnings result coming in ahead of expectations and FY24 guidance also beating analyst estimates.

But shareholders may have been spooked by the housing cycle. Management remain reasonably constructive on residential demand in the first half, but visibility beyond this remains low.

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