Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (RBS), British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (BSY) & Three FTSE 100 Shares for the Week Ahead

LONDON: We’re firmly into reporting season for the quarter ending March 31, and we’ll be learning how the three months went for a number of important FTSE 100 companies. We took a look yesterday at three companies in the news next week, and here are three more:

Legal & General (LON:LGEN)
Thursday will bring us a first-quarter update from Legal & General Group, and if shareholders get another year like last year, they’ll be in for a treat. The share price has gained 40% over the past 12 months, to 167 pence, as the whole insurance sector has recovered.

Legal & General reported a 12% rise in earnings per share, or EPS, for the year to December 2012, and paid a full-year dividend of 7.65 pence per share, which represented a yield of 5.3% on the end-of-year share price. In fact, even with a small dip in 2009, the life insurer has been paying decent dividends all along.

There’s a rise in the dividend of around 10% currently forecast for this year, which would provide a 5% yield on the current share price. And even after the past year’s appreciation, the shares are still on a prospective price-to-earnings, or PE, ratio of a fairly modest 11.

British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (LON:BSY)
Also on Thursday, we should get third-quarter figures from British Sky Broadcasting Group, and that’s another company that’s had a good year — this time, there’s been a gain of a little under 30% over 12 months.

Results for the six months to December showed a 5% rise in revenue to 3.36 billion pounds, leading to an 18% jump in adjusted EPS to 24 pence per share. And that allowed the TV and telecoms provider to lift its interim dividend by 20%, to 9.2 pence per share.

A similar rise in the company’s final dividend would see a full-year payment of around 30 pence, for a yield of 3.5% on the current share price of 850 pence. Current earnings forecasts suggest a 12% rise, to 57 pence per share, putting the shares on a P/E of 15.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (LON:RBS)
Then, on Friday, it will be first-quarter time for Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Although the share price ended 2012 on a high, it has fallen back since the start of 2013 to today’s 300 pence — that’s still a rise of around 25% since this time last year, but the price did hit a rise of more than 50% at one point.

If current City forecasts come true, the bailed-out bank should be back in profit this year, with around 1.5 billion pounds coming in. Earnings forecasts indicate EPS of 24 pence per share — but individual broker forecasts are all over the place, so it’s all looking pretty much like random guesswork at the moment.

Finally, dividends can add nicely to your investment returns — they can be spent or reinvested according to your needs. Whether investing for income or growth, good old cash is always welcome.

The article 3 FTSE 100 Shares for the Week Ahead: Legal & General Group, British Sky Broadcasting Group, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group originally appeared on Fool.com.

Alan Oscroft has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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