Recent declines in the FTSE 100 have thrown up some attractive bargains. Income seekers, in particular, are spoilt for choice when it comes to finding undervalued blue-chip income stocks.
Here are two FTSE 100 dividend stocks that I would buy to retire on today.
GlaxoSmithKline
Healthcare is one of the most defensive sectors in the market. This implies that healthcare stocks could be great long-term income investments. One of the largest healthcare companies in the FTSE 100 is GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK).
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Recent trading updates from this organisation show that it is currently firing on all cylinders. At the end of October last year, the company raised its earnings outlook for 2019 for the second consecutive quarter on the back of robust sales of Shingrix, its shingles vaccine. Overall sales rose a staggering 11% to £9.4bn.
As Glaxo continues to invest billions in developing its treatment pipeline, this trend looks set to continue. CEO Emma Walmsley has spent a great deal of time and effort trying to refocus the company’s research and development spending.
These efforts already seem to be paying off. Initial reports suggest that the company’s oncology division is having a lot of success developing new treatments, which could be fundamental to Glaxo’s sales growth over the long run.
Today investors can snap up a share of this pipeline, as well as the rest of Glaxo for just 14.5 times forward earnings. That’s a discount of around 10% to the rest of the UK pharmaceutical industry. On top of this attractive valuation, the stock also supports a dividend yield of 4.5%.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) has similar attractive qualities. The company has prioritised research and development over the past few years, and these efforts are now really starting to yield results.
Indeed, City analysts are forecasting a 110% increase in group net profit for 2019. Followed by growth of 19% in 2020.
Based on these numbers, the stock is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 23. That’s quite a bit more expensive than Glaxo. However, Astra’s faster growth rate seems to justify the higher multiple. Also, the stock supports a dividend yield of 2.8%.
One of Astra’s most attractive qualities is its rapidly expanding oncology business. The company has been focusing its research and development efforts on cancer medication for some time. While it has taken years for these investments to begin to pay off, analysts believe the group’s patience will yield impressive returns.
Estimates vary, but analysts believe the company could have several oncology treatments already under development that have the potential to generate billions of dollars of sales individually throughout their lifespan. That’s without taking into account the potential sales growth these treatments could achieve when combined with other products.
As such, even though the stock might look expensive, it could be worth paying a premium to invest in its future growth potential.
