IRISH STOCKS & SHARES

Finally, some good news from an international appraisal! It appears some Irish stocks are seriously undervalued and provide “an outstanding opportunity” for investors, according to a report from advisory firm State Street in The Sunday Business Post.

“During the last few years non-financial Irish corporations have radically adjusted their cost bases, disposed of poorly performing subsidiaries and used abundant free cash flow to pay down debt,” said State Street’s global head of product engineering, Michael Arone. “In addition, profits and operating margins are far from average levels at this point in the cycle. Should Irish share valuations remain depressed, corporate activity is likely to increase – supporting share prices – as cash-rich global companies look to earn higher rates of return on their investments.”

Arone points out most listed Irish companies derive as little as 20% of their revenues from Ireland itself which “created an outstanding opportunity for skilled value investors to identify unloved Irish companies at prices considerably below their fundamental worth.”