10 FTSE 100 Shares to Soar in a Market Revival

LONDON -- You don't need to be investing for long to understand that some shares are a wilder ride than others. There is a statistical measure for this: the "beta." This encapsulates how volatile a share has been compared with the index.

Here are the FTSE 100's 10 largest high-beta shares.

I expect that each of the five shares below will continue exaggerating the market's movements and produce big gains if the bull market resumes.

Barclays
After starting the year at 262 pence, Barclays shares rose to a high of 333 pence when the FTSE 100 peaked in May. Since then, the shares have dropped back to 297 pence.

It is often argued that Barclays shares are a geared play on the success of the market. Price movement so far this year would seem to bear this out. However, Barclays could generate big returns for shareholders even in a lackluster market.

That is because, at less than 300 pence, Barclays shares are very cheap. Barclays is forecast to make 36.6 pence of EPS (earnings per share) in 2013. That puts the shares on a 2013 P/E of 8.1. The average FTSE 100 stock trades on a P/E of 13.6. Earnings and dividends are forecast to rise further this year and next.

Royal Bank of Scotland
The market was shocked recently by the announcement of RBS boss Stephen Hester's planned departure. Before the news broke, the shares traded at 326 pence. Two days later, they closed at 315 pence.

Hester has been key to the bank's rehabilitation. As a shareholder in RBS, I am very disappointed to be losing his talents. Now, RBS needs to find another experienced bank boss that the market has confidence in. You don't find those on Craigslist...

Shareholders will be hoping that the conduct of the board and government does not prevent RBS finding a capable banker that is willing to take the job.

RBS is forecast to make 31.4 pence of EPS in 2014. That equates to a 2014 P/E of just 10.1.

Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds shares have remained at around their peak despite recent market falls. On Friday, the shares closed at 61.3 pence, hardly moved from their recent two year high of 63 pence.

Lloyds is much closer to privatization than RBS. Its business is also considered less dependent on investment banking revenues than Barclays. Perhaps as a result, its shares trade at a higher rating.

Lloyds shares are today available at 13.5 times forecasts for 2013, falling to 10.4 times the expected number for 2014. As its balance sheet improves, Lloyds also looks increasingly likely to begin paying shareholder dividends.

Unlike RBS and Barclays, Lloyds shares are trading at a premium to the company's net tangible asset value.

Weir Group
Glasgow-based Weir Group provides engineering services to the mining, oil and gas, and power industries. Customers in these sectors have little control of the price that they receive for their product. As a result, Weir is supplying to a customer base that must trade its way through market boom and bust. This impacts market perceptions of Weir's own prospects. The result is a high-beta share price.

A quick look at Weir's five-year record suggests that the market may not be giving the company due credit. Weir is one of those exceptional companies that has managed to grow sales, profits, and dividends year on year for the last five years.

More growth is expected in the next two years, leaving the shares on a 2014 P/E of 12.9.

Legal & General
Shares in Legal & General have lost 10% since the recent market peak. The company owns a substantial investment management business. As such, the market often bids up the L&G share price during market rises and rushes to sell when the FTSE steps back.

That seems unfair, given the company's robust track record. Even in the depth of the financial crisis, L&G continued to pay a dividend. Only in 2008 did the company record a material decline in earnings.

At 171 pence, Legal & General is selling at 11.1 times broker forecasts for 2013. Further growth is expected the next year, pushing that P/E down to 10.4. A dividend of 8.5 pence per share is forecast this year, meaning a prospective yield of 5%.

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