- Savvy stock-pickers are up this year
- Mega-cap energy and value stocks top performers
- Attractive valuations spur more M&A deals
While it hasn’t been the best of years for investors, judging by the performance of the main stock market indices around the world, there have still been plenty of stocks that could have made you decent money.
So far in 2022, the FTSE 350 index has fallen by 12%. That’s not as bad as the S&P 500 in the US which is down 25%, but worse than the FTSE 100 index which is down nearly 9%.
It’s been a miserable experience for most investors, yet there is a chance some clever stock pickers will end the year ahead of where they began.
According to SharePad, 49 stocks in the FTSE 350 index are currently ahead year-to-date. Of those, 24 stocks are sitting on gains of at least 20% so far in 2022.
The FTSE 350 is made of the 350 biggest companies on the London Stock Exchange that meet certain listing criteria - the index is a combination of both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250.
WHICH ARE THE BEST PERFORMING FTSE 350 STOCKS THIS YEAR?
There are some common themes behind the best performing FTSE 350 stocks this year. They are:
Exposure to energy commodities - the high price of oil, gas and coal has worked in favour of names like Energean (ENOG), Shell (SHEL) and BP (BP.).
Takeovers - Euromoney (ERM), Mediclinic (MDC) and Homeserve (HSV) are among the names which have received takeover bids priced at a premium
Good news - Telecom Plus (TEP) is a great example of stock that has delivered a string of good news, triggering earnings upgrades which in turn has fueled momentum in the share price.
Defence - The war in Ukraine has raised the prospect of governments around the world spending more money on defence budgets. That’s encouraged investors to buy shares in names like BAE Systems (BA.) and QinetiQ (QQ.).
Value stocks - Investors have becoming less willing to pay a rich rating to own shares in companies that promise fast growth in the future (‘growth stocks’). Instead, there has been a rotation towards slower growth companies that trade on lower earnings multiples offering jam today rather than jam tomorrow (‘value stocks’). Examples include tobacco group Imperial Brands (IMB) whose share price is up nearly 25% this year.
