It looks as if the stock market recovery is well under way. However, some FTSE 100 companies are still trading at deeply discounted valuations and appear to offer value for money.
While the outlook for these companies might not improve dramatically in the short term, they could deliver capital growth over the long run as the economy recovers from the coronavirus crisis.
Here are two such FTSE 100 companies that may be worth buying today while they still appear cheap.
Should you invest £1,000 in Aviva right now?
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FTSE 100 value
FTSE 100 media group ITV (LSE: ITV) has seen its share price fall more than 40% since the beginning of 2020.
Management’s decision to scrap the dividend dented investor sentiment. The company has also been hit by plunging advertising revenue. Ad sales fell by a staggering 40% during the first month of the pandemic. The group’s prospects have also been hit by the decision to scrap hit show Love Island this summer.
However, while ITV’s revenues have collapsed over the past few months, the company has experienced something of a boom in demand for content. The number of viewers watching its channels hit levels not seen for a decade in April and May. Meanwhile, online revenues grew by 18% in the first half of its financial year.
These figures suggest that when demand from advertisers returns, the FTSE 100 business may see a sudden increase in revenues.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed at this stage, and it may be some time before ITV returns to normal. Still, with the shares down 40% since the beginning of the year, they appear to offer a wide margin of safety at current levels.
This may mean it’s a relatively attractive investment that could help you play the stock market recovery.
Growing sales
Another FTSE 100 share that could produce impressive returns over the coming years is Aviva (LSE: AV).
This insurance giant has also suffered from deteriorating investor sentiment due to a dividend cut. Aviva announced that it was suspending its final dividend for 2019 at the beginning of April.
Since then, the FTSE 100 blue-chip has faced plenty of criticism from its investors, but management has stuck to its guns. It is planning to review the dividend policy later this year.
Still, despite this setback, the company seems to be coping well in the current crisis. According to a recent trading update, Aviva estimates the claims impact of Covid-19 on its general insurance division was just £160m net of reinsurance.
Further, demand for the company’s products has remained strong throughout the crisis. New business sales of life insurance policies were up 28% year-on-year during its first quarter.
Therefore, now could be the right time to buy a slice of Aviva for the long term. The stock remains down a third since the beginning of the year, despite the firm’s robust underlying fundamentals.
As investor sentiment towards the business continues to improve, it could enable you to generate high returns over the long term.
