Old Mutual (Other OTC: ODMTY - news)
Fund management firms such as Old Mutual thrive in bull markets. This does not seem to have been reflected in the Old Mutual share price. With the FTSE 100 (FTSE: ^FTSE - news) ahead by 13.6% this year, Old Mutual is up 'just' 19.9%. By comparison, Schroders (LSE: SDR.L - news) is up 45.3% and Aberdeen Asset Management (Other OTC: ABDNF - news) is 29.4% ahead.
Today, Old Mutual shares are available at 11.1 times forecast EPS (earnings per share) for 2013. It is worth noting that a big increase in profits is needed to deliver this. Even then, Old Mutual is still expected to make less than it did in 2007. With the FTSE 100 trading around 10-year highs, there remains little real excitement in Old Mutual's rating.
RSA Insurance Group
RSA Insurance Group has disappointed shareholders in 2013. Not only did the company announce a dividend cut with its final results in February, but the shares have also failed to join in the recent broader rally. In the last month, shares in RSA are up 2.4%. The FTSE 100 is 4.5% ahead in that time.
In the past, RSA has been a share that has thrived in market advances. However, that has clearly not happened during this new bull market. This year so far, shares in RSA are down 9.2%. That puts RSA among the 15 worst-performing FTSE shares for the year.
RSA is forecast to make 12.3p of EPS in 2013 and yield 5.4%.
Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news)
Shares in the FTSE's mega-miners have fallen this year. Of these, Rio Tinto is one of the biggest losers and is down 17.4%.
You might think if we were in a rampant bull market that no blue-chip share would have put in such a poor performance.
Unfortunately for Rio, the price of the metals that it produces has been falling. This has led investors to reduce their profit expectations from the company.
Rio shares today trade at 8.2 times forecast earnings for 2013. The prospective dividend for 2013 is 3.9%. According to the average of published forecasts, a 12.7% EPS increase is expected for 2014. That equates to a 2014 price-to-earnings ratio of 7.2, with a yield of 4.3%.
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> David does not own shares in any of the above companies.
