3 cheap FTSE 250 stocks to consider buying right now

The world’s stock markets are pulling back from the Trump tariff slump, so might that mean a new bull run for the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250? It’s been a while since we’ve had a lengthy mid-cap growth spell. But I see a few stocks that look like they could be set for a few years of gains.

Turned a corner?

I can’t see demand for health services doing anything but grow. But companies holding real estate have suffered falls in asset values. Maybe that’s why Primary Health Properties (LSE: PHP), the real estate investment trust which holds and leases out healthcare properties, is down by a third in the past five years.

PHP’s been in a bidding battle for Assura in the same business. It looks like it’s been beaten by a consortium of funds, though the ink isn’t dry on any contracts yet. Could there be a bid for PHP? I don’t know, and I’d never buy on speculation. But the share price has started to pick up.

Being partly funded by borrowing, it’s at risk from interest rates. I could see continued short-term price weakness, but with a forecast 7% dividend yield, it has to be one to consider for the long term.

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Cheap defence

QinetiQ (LSE: QQ.) looks cheap to me. In a March update, the company spoke of “tough near-term trading conditions“, which have led to “further delays to a number of contract awards“.

There’ll be a £140m impairment charge plus some one-off charges this year. And forecasts predict a loss per share with FY results due on 22 May.

Short-term ups and downs are common in the defence sector which depends on long-term contracts. But it must hold the share price back.

QinetiQ is in a low-debt situation and has just extended its share buyback programme to £200m. Forecasts put the 2026 price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio at 15.5, dropping to 13.5 by 2027.

We could have another weak year for the share price. But with sector giant BAE Systems on a P/E of 24, I think QinetiQ has to be worth considering as a defence investment.

Bargain retailer

B&M European Value‘s (LSE: BME) a discount retailer owning the B&M and Heron Foods chains. In these days of renewed cut-price supermarket wars, it’s got to be a dodgy stock to think about buying now, right?

I don’t think so, partly beacause of the stock valuation. Forecast earnings growth for the next few years is modest. But it puts the forward P/E at only 10 and falling.

The forecast annual dividend looks reasonable at 4.4%. But the cherry has to be special dividends. Specials are even less guaranteed than ordinary dividends — that is, not at all. But the company has been doubling its total payouts in recent years with specials.

The main risk I see is that the share price could slump if that trend falters. But if it continues, B&M would be worth a closer look for long-term income.

The post 3 cheap FTSE 250 stocks to consider buying right now appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Alan Oscroft has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended B&M European Value, BAE Systems, Primary Health Properties Plc, and QinetiQ Group Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.