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Experienced Investor

Stock of the week: Saga

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
19/06/2017

Graham Spooner, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, picks Saga as stock of the week.

In its latest results, Saga, which offers an array of products and services exclusively for the over 50s, including insurance, holidays and breakdown cover, reported a 5.6% increase in underlying profit to £187.4m. Interested investors should appreciate that the dividend was also raised by 18.1% to 8.5 pence. Furthermore, the CEO highlights the proposed launch of a membership scheme, Saga Possibilities, aimed at its core group of customers who buy premium products, are loyal to brand and who often buy multiple products.

Investors should note that management are keen to move the company away from its main insurance and holiday services to other areas, such as taking commission from third parties who will use the brand name, new services such as SagaMoney and a retirement village, as well as cross-selling its products

Although we are gearing this recommendation for income seekers due to its prospective 4% yield, the potential for the group to continue to benefit from the increasingly important over 50s market and its brand name will hopefully lead to some steady long-term growth. We therefore recommend this stock as a ‘buy’ for investors willing to accept a medium level of risk.