LONDON: We have a number of interim updates of various kinds coming from FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE) companies next week, with quite a few of them having their first quarters ending in March. And, after a good finish for many of them for 2012, investors will be keenly waiting to see how 2013 is shaping up.
Here are three companies from the U.K.'s top index that will be bringing us news next week:
BP
It's time for a first-quarter update from BP (BP 0.13%) (BP 0.33%) next Tuesday and, after the firm's travails since the Gulf of Mexico disaster, many will be looking for signs that it's time to invest in the oil and gas giant's shares. I think the shares are cheap, and have had them in the Fool's Beginners' Portfolio since last August; but what do City analysts think?
There's a fairly strong consensus of a rise in earnings per share, (EPS) of about 40% for the year to December, which would put the shares, currently priced at 450p, on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of only around eight -- and there's a dividend yield of 5.3% forecast.
Fears of unknowns regarding the oil spill are still weighing on people's minds, but we'll at least know more about progress in fundamental performance next week.
Imperial Tobacco
After we had upbeat first-quarter news from British American Tobacco this week, next Tuesday will bring us first-half figures from Imperial Tobacco Group (LSE: IMT). And the two companies' recent share price histories could hardly be more different -- while British American shareholders have enjoyed a strong rise since the start of the year, the Imperial share price has fallen 7.5% since a January high of 2,488p, to today's 2,297p.
Forecasts for the year to September 2013 put the shares on a relatively lowly P/E of 11, and suggest a dividend yield of 5.1% -- and that yield should be nearly twice-covered by earnings. That's a lower P/E and a higher dividend yield than British American Tobacco's.
Earnings growth forecasts for this year are a bit lower at Imperial, but the shares could be the better value of the two right now.
Rolls-Royce
Shareholders of Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR -2.71%)have had a good year, with a smooth share price rise of around 38% over the past 12 months to today's 1,136p. And there was a dividend of 19.5p per share paid for 2012, giving a modest 2.2% yield on the end-of-year share price.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the shares are on a relatively strong prospective P/E of 17 based on December 2013 forecasts, so there's a fair bit of growth built into the price -- we have estimates of EPS rises of between 8% and 10% for the next two years.
So what's happening next week? Well, the aerospace engine maker is due to release an interim statement on Thursday, on the day of its AGM.
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