After a roller-coaster ride in April and May, the UK’s FTSE 100 index is back to levels seen at end-February. As I write, the blue-chip index stands at 8,786.37 points, just 0.3% below its close on 28 February.
Having peaked at 8,908.82 on 3 March, the Footsie then plunged after President Trump introduced hefty new tariffs on US imports. At 2025’s low, the index hit rock-bottom on 7 April, plunging to 7,544.83. This left it 15.3% below its all-time record high.
Fortunately, the UK stock market has come roaring back and now lies 16.5% above 2025’s low. However, some FTSE 100 shares have fared much better than others during this turbulent period.
Footsie stars and dogs
Within the FTSE 100, there is a wide gap between winning and losing shares over the past three months.
In total, 57 stocks have risen in value, with these gains ranging from 57.7% to 0.5%. The average gain across these winners was 11.4%. This leaves 43 losers, with declines ranging from 0.3% to 29.3%. The average loss among these laggards was 8%.
As it happens, I’m always looking out for slumping stocks, as I sometimes find ‘fallen angels’ among deeply depressed shares. And I think I found one among these 43 battered businesses.
Bunzl blows up
During the latest market meltdown, I spotted one stock suffering a particularly brutal fall. On 16 April, FTSE 100 firm Bunzl (LSE: BNZL) released an underwhelming set of results. The market’s reaction was swift and savage, with shares in this British distributor of workplace supplies crashing 25.6% that day.
As a value/income/dividend investor, I thought this reaction was overdone. Hence, my wife and I snapped up stock in this potential recovery play, paying 2,275p a share for our stake. As I write, Bunzl stock hovers around 2,368p, 3.9% above our buy price. This values the group at £7.8bn, more than 36% below its 2024/25 high.
Still, I hope for a sustained share-price recovery — especially, given the shares closed at 2,538p as recently as 12 May. Meanwhile, this Footsie stock trades on 15.9 times trailing earnings, generating an earnings yield of 6.3% a year. This means that the dividend yield of 3.1% a year is covered a respectable two times by historic earnings.
Then again, Bunzl has already warned of weakness in its North American markets, so earnings will come under pressure this year. And higher tariffs — currently suspended — could depress margins even harder. And lower revenues, earnings, and cash flow might send this stock even lower.
In short, I see Bunzl as a beautiful bargain buy for fans of fallen angels to consider. And that’s why my wife and I intend to hold onto this FTSE 100 share for the long run!
