The stock market crash in March caught a lot of investors by surprise. Unfortunately, UK shares have struggled ever since. It’s easy to see why investor sentiment has remained depressed. The coronavirus crisis continues to rumble on, and the Brexit drama continues.
However, I think investors should look past these short-term headwinds. They should focus on buying high-quality stocks for the long term instead. Today, I’m going to take a look at two of these companies, which I think are worth buying for the new bull market.
Stock market crash stocks
European gaming giant GVC Holdings (LSE: GVC) is one of a handful of companies that appear to have registered an increase in sales during the coronavirus pandemic.
The company’s latest trading updates noted an uptick in activity on its platforms, and this is expected to translate into an increase in profit for the full year.
Analysts have pencilled in a 23% increase in earnings this year. They’re also forecasting further growth of 40% in 2021. Despite this impressive growth potential, shares in the group are trading at a PEG ratio of just 0.5. That implies the stock offers a wide margin of safety at current levels.
I’m also excited about GVC’s long-term prospects. Over the past decade, the company has gone from strength to strength, snapping up smaller peers across Europe. Thanks to this acquisition streak, net income has increased tenfold since 2014.
I don’t see any reason why the company cannot continue to follow this course. As such, I think it’s one of the best UK shares to own after the stock market crash ahead of the economic recovery.
US growth
Flutter Entertainment (LSE: FLTR) is another highly successful UK gambling business. The company’s sales have grown at a compound annual rate of 25% since 2014. A series of acquisitions have helped complement organic growth.
Now the company is focused on expanding into the United States. This could be a massive market for the business. The US online gambling market is still relatively underdeveloped compared to the UK market, but activity is snowballing. To capitalise on this growth, US casino giant Caesars recently offered £2.9bn to buy Flutter’s peer, William Hill.
Caesars is after William Hill’s valuable online sports betting and casino technology and is willing to pay a pretty penny to gain access to this tech.
The deal shows just how much money there is in the US market. Flutter is well-placed to capitalise on this growth. Unlike other UK shares in the sector, it already has a toehold in the US market.
Therefore, I think it could be worth buying the stock as part of a diversified basket of UK shares after the recent stock market crash. It doesn’t look as if the group’s growth is going to slow anytime soon.
