I’m not alone when I say I can’t get enough of the FTSE 250 right now. It has soared 6.5% so far in 2024, including a 2.5% jump last week. Like me, investors are clearly bullish on what the index has to offer.
I think a lot of FTSE 250 stocks can go under the radar. But for an investor like me who wants to buy undervalued shares that other investors are passing over, that’s perfect.
Here are two stocks I own. I should have some spare cash this month and I plan to increase my position in both. I reckon investors should consider buying some shares too.
ITV
Broadcasting behemoth ITV (LSE: ITV) is up there as one of my favourite FTSE 250 companies. My position in the stock is up 19.4% so far. But I only purchased shares back in April and I view ITV as a long-term investment.
Its share price has shot up 33.3% year to date. Even so, trading on 16 times earnings, I think its shares look like fair value. To go with that, the stock boasts a 6% dividend yield.
Its share price has taken a hit over the last five years due to the decline of traditional broadcasting. Factors such as rising inflation have seen ITV’s customers cut back on spending. The rise of streaming service providers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime also poses a threat.
But to counteract this, ITV continues to build out its digital capabilities. It has been making good progress with ITVX, its streaming platform. In Q1, digital advertising revenues grew 14%.
Alongside this, the business has been cracking on with its cost saving programme. It targeted £150m in savings between 2019 and 2026. At the end of last year, it had delivered £130m of annualised savings. It expects to deliver the full £150m by 2025, a year ahead of schedule.
Safestore
I also own Safestore (LSE: SAFE). Unlike ITV, it has had a rather poor start to the year. So far, it’s down 9.8%.
But now trading on just 6.6 times earnings, I reckon its shares look too cheap to pass on. That’s way below the index average of 12.
What’s more, it yields 3.8%. That’s by no means the largest payout on the index. But it’s still above the average of 3.3%. Its payout has jumped 300% in the last decade.
Its margins have been squeezed in recent years by inflation and rising debt servicing costs. That has forced Safestore to raise its prices, which has led to occupancy rates falling. Should the Bank of England decide to delay interest rate cuts, this could lead to the Safestore share price falling further.
But we’re starting to see positive signs come out of the housing market as it slowly recovers. The value of Safestore’s property portfolio rose in its latest results. The business also highlighted the impressive progress it continues to make with its expansion plans. The months ahead may be volatile. But I’m still keen to top up my position.
