The FTSE 100 has experienced one of its most severe crashes on record this year. Many investors have fled the market in search of safer investments elsewhere as a result.
However, buying bargain FTSE 100 shares now could be a great way to improve your income prospects over the long term.
With that in mind, here are two FTSE 100 shares that I’d buy for a passive income right now.
FTSE 100 income stocks
As one of the UK’s largest food and drink retailers, Morrisons (LSE: MRW) appears to have what it takes to weather a prolonged economic slowdown.
The supermarket sector has gone through a period of profound change over the past few weeks. Morrisons seems to be coping well.
It has hired an extra 3,500 people to expand its home delivery operations and extended the opening hours of its stores.
A well-timed deal with online behemoth Amazon has also helped the FTSE 100 business. Last year the two companies enhanced their relationship. They agreed on a further expansion of their “ultrafast same-day online grocery” service. Following this expansion, Morrisons’ online service now serves 90% of the UK population.
Further, the FTSE 100 retailer provides around half of Amazon’s grocery offerings as a wholesaler. Management has a long-term target of £1bn annual wholesale revenue.
These initiatives suggest the company can navigate the coronavirus crisis and drive sales and profit growth over the long run.
The group’s essential nature also implies that the dividend is here to stay. The stock currently supports a dividend yield of 4.7%.
As such, if you are looking for a predictable company to provide a passive income stream, it could be worth taking a closer look at this FTSE 100 champion.
Global giant
Another FTSE 100 giant that could provide investors with a passive income stream is the pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN).
Demand for the company’s products and treatments should only grow over the long term. The group has been investing billions of pounds over the past few years in developing new therapies. It has had particular success in the field of oncology.
Astra has developed several treatments for this market. These have the potential to generate billions of dollars of sales over a year.
As cancer is unfortunately not going to go away any time soon, this suggests that Astra should continue to see robust demand for its treatments for many years to come. This sales growth should support long term dividend growth.
Therefore, Astra seems to be in a relatively strong position to overcome the current challenges facing the global economy. With a dividend yield of 2.7% at the time of writing, this defensive income champion could produce high returns for investors over the long run.
As the FTSE 100 giant has been an acquisition target in the past, I wouldn’t rule out another approach from a larger suitor in the future.
