Investing alongside you, fellow Silly buyers, right here’s a collection of shares that a few of our contributors have been shopping for throughout the previous month!
Airtel Africa
What it does: Airtel Africa gives cellular telecommunication providers to 14 nations throughout the African continent.
By Mark Hartley. I purchased Airtel Africa (LSE: AAF) shares a couple of months in the past after the worth dipped close to a three-year low. This got here after underwhelming Q2 2025 outcomes, with earnings per share (EPS) lacking expectations by 80%. Regardless of the drop, I’ve felt assured within the group’s long-term potential for a while so the low worth appeared like a great alternative. It has since recovered 51%, making it one of many best-performing shares in my portfolio.
Nonetheless, it nonetheless faces important dangers from foreign money devaluation in Nigeria, one among its core markets. Rising gasoline costs pose one other danger as the corporate makes use of turbines to energy its distant cell towers. To mitigate the losses, the corporate is working to scale back its publicity to overseas alternate, having paid down $809m in foreign exchange debt publicity. Regardless of the rising worth, the inventory nonetheless seems undervalued with a ahead price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of solely 7.
Mark David Hartley owns shares in Airtel Africa.
Ashtead Expertise
What it does: Ashtead Expertise is a number one subsea gear rental and options supplier for the worldwide offshore vitality trade.
By Ben McPoland. I just lately purchased extra shares of Ashtead Expertise (LSE: AT.). The specialist rental agency continues to advance, fueled by its acquisition-driven development technique.
For 2024, it expects income to succeed in £168m, a 52% year-on-year improve, with underlying working revenue exceeding the consensus forecast of £46.6m.
Within the full-year buying and selling replace, CEO Allan Pirie commented: “With one of many largest and most technologically superior rental fleets within the trade and a continued give attention to operational excellence, we stay assured within the Group’s capability to generate substantial long-term worth for shareholders.”
I agree with that, although the corporate’s development depends on offshore oil, gasoline, and renewables markets. Financial downturns or declining vitality costs might scale back exploration and capital expenditure, resulting in decrease demand for rented gear.
At current although, Ashtead Expertise is in a robust place. Ongoing market demand and document buyer backlogs give it confidence that development will proceed by 2025.
A ultimate attraction for me right here is the valuation. At 528p (as I write), the inventory is buying and selling at simply 10 instances forecast earnings for 2026.
Ben McPoland owns shares in Ashtead Expertise Holdings.
Bakkavor
What it does: Bakkavor is a recent ready meals group, supplying supermarkets with merchandise similar to bread, pizza, prepared meals and salad.
By Roland Head. FTSE 250 agency Bakkavor (LSE: BAKK) shouldn’t be a family identify, however its merchandise are discovered on the cabinets of all of the UK’s main supermarkets.
I just lately added this enterprise to my portfolio. I see it as a gentle grower and was inspired by 2025 forecast earnings development of 10%. That costs the inventory on simply 12 instances forecast earnings, with a tempting dividend yield of 5.9%.
I’m additionally reassured by the continued affect of the corporate’s founders, Agust and Lydur Gudmundsson. They management virtually 50% of the shares and sit on the board.
Outdoors the UK, Bakkavor additionally operates within the US and China. China seems like the primary danger to me, for buyers. Along with geopolitical dangers, the China enterprise is at present comparatively small and loss making.
Nonetheless, I don’t see this as a motive to keep away from Bakkavor, which seems first rate worth to me at present ranges.
Roland Head owns shares in Bakkavor.
Video games Workshop
What it does: Video games Workshop manufactures tabletop gaming merchandise together with fashions, paints and manuals.
By Royston Wild. Fantasy wargaming big Video games Workshop (LSE:GAW) loved one other barnstorming yr in 2024, rising 35% in worth since 1 January.
But it fell sharply from document closing peaks of £142.70 per share in December, and dropped additional following half-year financials final month. I used this as a possibility to extend my holdings.
There’s been no spooky information coming from the Warhammer maker in latest weeks. Certainly, January’s replace confirmed gross sales up 14% within the six months to 1 December, helped by licensing revenues hovering 149% within the interval.
Video games Workshop could endure some near-term turbulence if client spending stays weak. But this hasn’t proved an impediment to its breakneck development story simply but. This displays largely its area of interest product strains and constant buyer base.
I stay supremely assured within the FTSE 100 agency’s long-term outlook. The tabletop gaming phase has scope for additional important development. And Video games Workshop’s movie and TV cope with Amazon might supercharge royalty revenues within the years forward.
Royston Wild owns shares in Video games Workshop.
Glencore
What it does: Glencore is without doubt one of the world’s largest pure useful resource firms with operations throughout 35 nations.
By Andrew Mackie. As a die-hard worth investor, I spend lots of my spare time looking for shares that I imagine are undervalued relative to their long-term prospects. Buying and selling at ranges not seen since early 2022, Glencore (LSE: GLEN) is close to the highest of that record.
Within the years forward, I envisage a mismatch within the supply-demand dynamics for a lot of of its commodities, particularly copper.
It’s no nice secret that demand for copper is rising throughout the globe. Electrical energy grids are creaking on the seams as demand for electrical energy from the likes of knowledge centres and EVs proceed to develop. And now with a US administration eager to rebuild its nation’s manufacturing prowess, I can’t see something aside from demand growing.
Set this in opposition to a world investor group extra interested by chasing tech shares larger, and what has been the outcome? An trade starved of capital, danger averse and with little incentive for exploration.
Sustained low commodities costs (primarily due to weak Chinese language demand) continues to overwhelm on its share worth. This stays one of the essential short-term dangers. However trying a decade out, I stay bullish.
Andrew Mackie owns shares in Glencore.
