Looking at a trio of big names

BUY: BHP BillitonShare price: R293.18JSE code: BIL In general, resources have been outperforming the Top 40 index over the past two years and given the dual-listed and rand-hedged nature of these companies, resources companies can be expected to continue outperforming the local index at least for the medium term. BHP Billiton has managed 52-week highs during October on the back of higher commodity prices, apparently due to the US-China trade war and a weaker rand. In August, Billiton recorded a 33% increase in underlying profit on ongoing operations and declared a record large final dividend. It has made some drastic changes to the portfolio of assets and mines that it owns to become more streamlined. This does mean its earnings have been kept down by various one-off charges relating to its restructuring, though those now seem to be out of the way. From here they can benefit from a drastically simpler portfolio of high-quality assets and persistently higher commodity prices. Billito...