UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) is a Singapore-listed property company with S$20 billion of assets under management. The property group has is spread across many aspects of the property market such as property development, property investments and hotels operations. Some of the notable properties in its portfolio include Novena Square, United Square, and Odeon Towers. Between 1 Jan and 31 Dec 2018, UOL’s total return, which includes reinvested dividends has lagged the STI index (SGX: ^STI), with the former dropping 28.8%, while the latter fell 6.5%. Is UOL a bargain at current prices? For this, the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price-to-book (P/B) ratio, the dividend yield and the net debt-to-equity ratio could provide some useful clues. The real estate conglomerate has a trailing tw

The Straits Times Index (STI) is made up of the 30 strongest and most liquid stocks listed in Singapore. Comprising close to 80% of the entire market value in Singapore, the returns that the stocks on the STI provides is essentially the market returns or benchmark returns. For investors who are new or prefer taking a hands-off approach, being able to invest in the STI can be the most practical way to invest. This is primarily because it offers several advantages such as diversifying our investment portfolio with just one investment as well as receiving the market returns without requiring much knowledge or spending time monitoring and adjusting our portfolios. Currently, there are two listed STI exchange traded funds (ETFs) – the SPDR STI ETF and the Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF – that w

2018 was a challenging year for Singapore investors. The Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), Singapore’s stock market barometer, was down by 9.8% in 2018. There are a number of stocks, however, that saw poorer performance in 2018. In this article, and the next, I will look back into the year and identify six of the index’s biggest losers. The sixth worst performer The conglomerate UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) captures the sixth spot with a 30.2% decline in its stock price in 2018. As a quick introduction, UOL is a property company that is involved in property development and management, property investments, and hotel businesses. In its latest earnings for the third quarter ended 30 September 2018, UOL reported that revenue was down 3% to S$523.8 million. Yet, UOL’s attributable profit

UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) is a property company that is involved in property development and management, property investments, and hotel businesses. At the current price of S$6.26, UOL’s shares are just slightly higher than the 52-week low price of S$6.00. This raises a question: Is UOL cheap now? This question is important because if the firm’s shares are cheap, it might be a good opportunity for investors. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. However, we can still get some insight by comparing UOL’s current valuations with the market’s valuation. The three valuation metrics I will focus on are the price-to-book (PB) ratio, price-to-earnings (PE) ratio, and dividend yield. I will be using the SPDR STI ETF (SGX: ES3) as a proxy for the market; the SPDR STI ETF is an e

Here are some of the most popular articles that have appeared on The Motley Fool Singapore’s website for the week. 3 Singapore Blue-Chip Shares That Warren Buffett Might Like Ever wanted to invest in stable companies that are part of the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI)? Look no further. In this article, I look at three blue-chips that have wide economic moats and why they could make good investments. Companies discussed in the article: Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68), DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05) and SATS Ltd (SGX: S58). 3 REITS That Have More Than 8% Yield Right Now Lawrence Nga explores three real estate investment trusts (REITs) that have distribution yields of above 8%. They are not excessively valued in terms of their book values as well. REITs discussed in the article a

Property stocks took a beating in July when the Singapore government implemented additional property cooling measures. Since then, private condominium prices have declined for two straight months, and analysts expect further corrections in the months ahead. That said, I still believe the long-term prospects of property in Singapore remains sound. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has said that it wants property prices to rise reasonably and in tandem with wage increases. As such, over the much longer time frame, property prices should increase as wages rise in Singapore. With property stocks trading some way off their peak, now may be a good time to look for bargains. Here’s a quick look at how the three blue-chip property stocks are valued now. Price-to-book ratio The price-to-book ra

Haw Par Corporation Ltd (SGX: H02) is the maker of the Tiger Balm brand of ointment. Other than its healthcare arm, it also has strategic stakes in UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) and United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11). At Haw Par’s share price of S$12.57 currently, the company has a trailing dividend yield of 2.0%, which is low for income investors. Is there room for the company to increase its dividends in the coming years? Let’s find out by using Haw Par’s free cash flow figures and other metrics. Tiger’s clues A company’s free cash flow shows how much cash the firm has to pay out dividends to shareholders, buy back shares, make acquisitions, or strengthen its balance sheet. To calculate a company’s free cash flow, we can take its operating cash flow (typicall

Haw Par Corporation Ltd (SGX: H02) owns the Tiger Balm brand of ointment. Other than its healthcare business, it also owns strategic stakes in UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) and United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11). Shares in Haw Par have fallen by some 14% since the peak seen in early-May 2018. Due to the dwindling share price, there could be some opportunity with the company. However, before a concrete decision can be made to invest, one has to look at its historical financial performance to understand if it has a strong business. With that, let’s learn more about Haw Par by looking at its critical historical financial figures. Revenue and profit We will start with the income statement. This statement, also known as profit and loss statement, shows us how much revenue a company brings in

UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) reported a respectable set of results for its third quarter against a backdrop of a difficult operating environment for property stocks due to the Singapore government’s cooling measures. UOL’s stock price has seen a pull-back of over 30% year-to-date. UOL is a Singapore listed property company with over S$20 billion of assets under management. The property group has its wings spread across many aspects of the property market such as property development, property investments and hotels operations. Here are the important points to take note of from UOL’s latest earnings report. The key numbers UOL’s revenue for the quarter was down 3% to S$523.8 million while gross profit grew 40% to S$234.9 million. Looking at the breakdown, the property devel

On 9 November 2018, Haw Par Corporation Ltd (SGX: H02) released its 2018 third-quarter earnings update. Most people in Singapore would have come across Haw Par because of its Tiger Balm ointment, which has a long history and is also globally well-known. Aside from this healthcare business, Haw Par also owns strategic stakes in both UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) and United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11), as well as commercial and industrial properties for rental income in both Singapore and Malaysia. The company also has a small leisure division which runs Underwater World Pattaya in Thailand. Here is a summary of Haw Par’s latest results: 1. Revenue increased by 14.2% for the reporting quarter, up from S$53.3 million to S$61.0 million. This was attributed mainly to a rise in the sale of

After the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released the final 3Q18 private property index data on 26 October 2018, all eyes are on the stock price performance of several property counters, including the bulge bracket names like CapitaLand, City Developments (CityDev), and UOL Group (UOL). For the 3Q18, the PPI showed a 0.5 percent rise quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), one of the slowest paces of rise this year. The index had a 3.9 per cent rise in 1Q18, and a 3.4 percent rise in 2Q18. Final new home sales figures showed 3,012 private residential units sold in the third quarter, compared to 2,366 in 2Q18. The increase in new sales could be attributed to last minute panic buying before the implementation of the new cooling measures. Source: URA However, despite that, the overall picture for rea