The stock market crash of early 2020 continues to run roughshod over investor confidence. Buying interest in UK shares remains thin on the ground as stock pickers fear another market meltdown. The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 are currently trading at multi-week lows as Covid-19 newsflow rattles nerves.
This smacks of a wasted opportunity, in my opinion. History shows us that UK shares always recover strongly from stock market crashes. Let’s not forget that the FTSE 100 gradually recovered from the last market crash caused by the 2008 banking crisis to hit record highs around 7,750 points in August 2018.
The Covid-19 outbreak poses a significant threat to the global economy. But remember that the FTSE 100 doubled in value from the depths of the 2008 market crash to those highs a decade later. I reckon UK shares could deliver another spectacular recovery following the pandemic too, helped by historic monetary stimulus from central banks.
3 dirt-cheap UK shares
I for one plan to keep on investing following the 2020 stock market crash. There’s simply too many top-quality UK shares that can’t be ignored at current prices. Give me a few minutes to fill you in on some of the companies on my own personal watchlist:
- Primary Health Properties looks particularly cheap right now. It trades on an undemanding forward price-to-earnings growth (or PEG) reading of 1.2. It carries a bulky dividend yield just shy of 4% too. Demand for its primary healthcare facilities has boomed lately as the Covid-19 crisis has pushed hospital capacity to breaking point. I’m tipping demand for its properties to continue booming, as Britain’s ageing population drives broader healthcare investment.
- The explosion in online gambling makes GVC Holdings one to watch in the years ahead. Its share price has fallen recently after the UK taxman launched a probe related to its former Turkish business. This provides a fresh buying opportunity in my book, the firm now dealing on an undemanding forward P/E ratio of 14 times. I’m confident ripping revenues growth (particularly in the US) will propel its share price to the stars.
- UK shares that produce gold are an attractive destination as bullion prices boom. And Petropavlovsk, a Russian miner that trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 12 times, is a great pick for value chasers. Gold prices look set to keep rising well into the new decade as excessive monetary printing by central banks boosts demand for inflation-proof assets like bullion.
Buying share bargains after the market crash
These are only a handful of the great-value UK shares I’m thinking of buying today. There are many other quality stocks too good to miss after the stock market crash. And The Motley Fool’s huge library of articles and special reports can help you dig them out and get rich in the process.
