Six to buy
Babcock International
Shares in this defence contractor have climbed by 40% over the past 12 months as the war in Ukraine prompts more military spending. Babcock is much cheaper than comparable defence players, with the shares on 9.4 times this year’s expected earnings, compared with 15.8 for BAE and 21.4 for Rolls-Royce. Recent disposals of non-defence assets have streamlined operations and helped to de-leverage the balance sheet. This sector always carries risks from “murky politics” and contract disputes, but the shares