BAE Systems (LSE: BA) shares have held firm over the last turbulent week. That’s hardly surprising. It’s a defence stock and sadly, demand is booming right now.
Shares in the FTSE 100 stock have been driven upwards by years of rising geopolitical fears, and now we have a new worry on our hands. Over five years, the BAE System share price is up 345%, with dividends on top. It’s up 33% over 12 months. Yet performance over this last troubling week has been underwhelming. It’s up a modest 1.5%.
That’s far better than most of the FTSE 100 of course, which is down 4% so far this week. But with BAE Systems looking expensive on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 28.6, investors are clearly wary of buying at today’s price.
FTSE 100 defensives
Full-year results on 18 February showed a 12% increase in 2025 underlying operating profit to £3.32bn, beating expectations, with the order backlog hitting a record £83.6bn. But that’s all priced in now. Fellow FTSE 100 defence stock Babcock International Group is flat over the last week. It’s also pricey, with a P/E nudging 27.
I think both are still worth considering with a long-term view, but a number FTSE 100 stocks have shown more endurance this dreadful week, including three in my SIPP.
BP is unsurprisingly my best performer, with the oil giant up 3.72%. Some may have expected an even bigger response. BP may still deliver it. Brent crude has climbed from just over $70 a barrel to $85 in a week, and some forecasters have suggested it could top $100 or even $200.
With a trailing yield of 5% I think BP is worth considering for income and growth, although nobody should assume oil will climb inexorably upwards. BP could retreat at speed if politicians find a way out of current uncertainty as we hope they will.
BP and Bunzl are worth considering
My favourite FTSE 100 turnaround stock, distribution and outsourcing specialist Bunzl, has chosen a strange moment to recover, climbing 3.43% in a week. It’s still down 27% over 12 months though, as sales and profits turn bumpy after years of steady growth.
Monday’s full-year results (2 March) show it’s not out of the woods yet. But Bunzl has a fabulous track record of hiking dividends every year stretching for more than three decades, and still looks good value with a P/E of 12.5. That’s up from 10.6 just a few days ago, so it’s getting pricier.
Another recent cut-price SIPP purchase, London Stock Exchange Group, is continuing its nervous recovery from the recent panic over AI potentially destroying the business models of data and analytics companies. Its shares have climbed 2.87% this week, but are still down 25% over one year. I’m still a bit edgy about the impact of AI, which causes panic wherever it goes, but I think it may be worth considering for braver investors.
Some FTSE 100 stocks I don’t hold have done even better. Admiral Group is up 5% this week, while Airtel Africa, RELX and Rentokil Initial have all beaten anything in my SIPP. Despite today’s uncertainty, there are still plenty of growth and dividend income opportunities on the FTSE 100 today.
