Q: Which would you recommend for a 3 to 5 year hold and why? Thank you.
5i Research Answer:
We like EIF but it is still fairly small and just not a top 10 name. It has a good record of dividend increases and we like the positioning of its various businesses. Its airline business for example has limited competition. On the negative side, the payout ratio fluctuates and it does tend to issue a lot of stock (it did an issue this week). Most of the time these are related to acquisitions, but not always. We think PLC’s valuation is cheap, currently trading at 17.1x Forward P/E, compared to historical averages ranging from 17x to 26x, while the long-term outlook remains intact. For the time frame given, we would lean towards PLC.