Friday newspaper share tips: Travis Perkins and RELX two long term investments to consider

The building materials group said on Thursday that its full-year earnings are likely to be at the lower end of market expectations due to weakness in the repair, maintenance and improvement market.

It’s not the only company in the sector warning about this – Tempus noted Wolseley warned of competitive conditions last month, while brickmaker Michelmersh highlighted a soft summer. But the company’s chief executive insisted it’s just a temporary blip with autumn demand picking up, and hasn’t affected his five-year plan.

“Nothing that has happened should have affected the strategy to increase the number of basic merchanting stores and grow market share, while adding to footfall through these by putting in the company’s specialist retailers, such as Toolstation.”

After Thursday’s drop in share price, Tempus believes it was overdone and the long-term strategy will provide benefits in due course, and advised it’s worth buying now for the long term.

Over at The Telegraph, Questor looked into RELX which reaffirmed its outlook for the full-year. The media group posted a 3% jump in underlying revenue growth in the first nine months thanks to a strong performance from its risk and business information unit.

While it had a steady performance, Questor is seeing it as a positive as it can seem attractive to long term investors. The business historically provided reference material for lawyers, accountants, scientists and medical professionals in print, but is shifting to digital.

Questor said with shares trading on 19 times forecast earnings, they command a premium compared to the wider market, but it remains a stock to hold for the long term.