The FTSE 100 continues to recover from the 2020 stock market crash. But UK share investors aren’t exactly champing at the bit to load up on UK blue chip shares. Indeed, the Footsie dropped back below the technically and psychologically critical 7,000-point marker again in recent sessions and closed at its lowest since early April too.
I don’t plan to stop searching for the best FTSE 100 stocks to buy, however. Firstly, there are plenty of big-cap UK shares I think should thrive even if the Covid-19 crisis drags on for longer. And secondly, I invest in stocks with a view to holding them for the long haul (a decade or more). Over this sort of time scale, many Footsie shares will likely still deliver terrific shareholder returns even if a slower-than-expected economic recovery occurs.
With all this in mind, here are two top FTSE 100 stocks I’d buy in August.
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A UK share I already own
I think that Ashtead Group (LSE: AHT) is one of the best growth stocks to buy to ride the construction market recovery. I already own this FTSE 100 share in my Stocks and Shares ISA. And I’m excited by what its focus on North America will bring as infrastructure spending looks set to balloon. Analysts at Technavio think that the global construction equipment rental market will enjoy incremental growth of $28.1bn between 2021 and 2025. And they think that North America will account for almost 40% of total growth this year.
This is why City analysts think annual earnings at Ashtead will rise 14% in the current fiscal period. I think this UK blue-chip share’s a top buy despite the risks created by its M&A-led growth strategy. The FTSE 100 firm has a terrific track record on this front but the past is not always a reliable guide to future performance. And things like overpaying for an asset, unexpected costs emerging, and synergies failing to deliver expected results can be common.
Another FTSE 100 firework
I believe B&M European Value Retail (LSE: BME) is another top FTSE 100 growth stock to buy for my portfolio this August. The stratospheric growth of supermarkets Aldi and Lidl, clothing retailer Primark, general merchandise seller The Range (to name just a few) over the past decade shows that value is one of the hottest games in town. And this UK share, through its B&M ‘variety stores’ and Heron Foods food outlets, is in one of the prime places to exploit this theme. The boffins at IGD think the discount end of the UK retail market will soar almost 24% in size between now and 2026 to be worth £34.4bn by the end of the period.
Okay, City analysts reckon B&M will endure a 23% earnings fall this fiscal year. But I’m confident that the FTSE 100 company will bounce back strongly thereafter, aided by its store expansion scheme. I think this is one of the best retail stocks I can buy despite intense competition from other low-cost variety stores like Home Bargains and Poundland.
