There are stocks hitting 52-week lows every week, and blue chip stocks are no exception.
A caveat, though.
Many companies that are trading at year-lows may turn out to be value traps for the unwary.
Investors should, therefore, start their search by focusing on blue-chip names as these businesses tend to have a long operating track record.
In addition, businesses that pay out dividends also allow you to receive a return while waiting for the business to recover.
Here are four dividend-paying blue chips that are trading near their 52-week lows.
Venture Corporation Limited (SGX: V03)
Venture Corporation is a global provider of technology products, services and solutions.
The group employs more than 12,000 people worldwide and manages a portfolio of more than 5,000 products and solutions.
Venture’s share price closed at S$18.46 recently, close to its 52-week of S$18.10 on 14 May.
The group had reported a respectable set of earnings for its fiscal 2021 first half (1H2021).
Revenue inched up 4.9% year on year to S$1.4 billion while net profit increased by 7.6% year on year to S$140.4 million.
Venture also declared an interim dividend of S$0.25 per share, unchanged from the prior year.
As of 30 June 2021, the group’s balance sheet remains robust with S$922.2 million of cash and no debt.
Management remains confident of the outlook for the rest of the year and has targeted new products to be launched for the lifestyle consumer electronics vertical.
Wilmar International Limited (SGX: F34)
Wilmar is a leading agribusiness group with an integrated business model that encompasses the entire value chain for commodities such as palm oil and sugarcane.
The group has more than 500 manufacturing plants, an extensive distribution network and employs around 100,000 people.
The commodity giant’s share price closed at S$4.11, close to the 52-week low of S$4.04 last October.
For 1H2021, the group reported a 30.4% year on year jump in revenue to US$29.5 billion.
Core net profit increased by 15.2% year on year to US$732.2 million.
Wilmar declared an interim dividend of S$0.05, the highest since its IPO.
Its Feed and Industrial Products segment should continue to do well with higher downstream margins and strong demand from tropical oils.
Higher palm oil and sugar prices should also benefit the Plantation and Sugar Milling segment.
That said, the group acknowledged that there may be disruptions and volatility in the markets it operates in due to the ongoing pandemic.
Dairy Farm International (SGX: D01)
Dairy Farm International, or DFI, is a pan-Asian retailer that operates a chain of hypermarkets, supermarkets, health and beauty, and convenience stores.
As of 30 June 2021, the group operated over 10,000 outlets and employed more than 230,000 staff.
The group’s shares closed at US$3.50 recently, not far from their 52-week low of US$3.39 on 19 August.
Sales for 1H2021 declined by 13% year on year to US$4.5 billion as pandemic restrictions have impacted the performance of the group in all its markets.
Underlying profit attributable to shareholders plunged by 69% year on year to US$32 million.
Interim dividend per share was slashed by 40% year on year to US$0.03.
Poor performance for its Chinese associate Yonghui also added to the weak performance.
DFI continues to upgrade its store formats and has relaunched its Giant brand in Malaysia.
Upscale supermarket refreshes are also being rolled out in several markets, with around 40 stores expected to be refreshed in 2021.
Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU)
Keppel DC REIT is a data centre REIT with a portfolio of 19 data centres valued at around S$3.1 billion as of 30 June 2021.
The REIT’s unit price closed at S$2.54 last Friday, close to its 52-week low of S$2.45 on 2 July.
For 1H2021, Keppel DC REIT reported a strong set of earnings.
Gross revenue rose by 9% year on year to S$135.1 million and net property income increased by 8.4% year on year to S$123.8 million.
Distribution per unit (DPU) improved by 12.5% year on year to S$0.04924.
The REIT recently announced its maiden acquisition of a data centre in Guangdong, China, for around S$132 million.
In addition, freehold property with two data centres in the Netherlands was also purchased for around S$59.9 million.
Both acquisitions are expected to add to the REIT’s DPU moving forward.
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Disclaimer: Royston Yang owns shares of Keppel DC REIT.
