Value stocks don’t disappear just because the stock market hits record highs. Even with the FTSE 100 trading near all-time highs, there are still companies being mispriced. And institutional analysts are quietly taking notice.
With that in mind, here are two that currently sit near the top of institutional Buy lists.
A recovery hiding in plain sight?
First up is Croda International (LSE:CRDA) – a speciality chemicals group supplying high-performance ingredients to the cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and agriculture sectors worldwide.
The shares have fallen more than 70% since 2022, largely because the post-pandemic collapse in Covid vaccine demand wiped out a significant chunk of revenue overnight.
Needless to say, it’s been a painful reset for shareholders. But for prospective investors, the consensus among the analyst teams at Barclays, UBS, JP Morgan, and Berenberg is that the market has drastically oversold.
Underlying operating margins are forecast to expand from 17.4% in 2025 to 18.4% this year, and further still to 19.5% in 2027 on the back of a £100m cost savings programme. Free cash flow also surged in the second half of 2025, while the crop protection segment delivered 14% revenue growth last year.
In other words, we might already be in the early innings of a multi-year recovery. However, that doesn’t mean a recovery’s a certainty.
Croda’s Consumer Care segment faces intensifying competition from lower-cost manufacturers in China and India, which is undercutting margins and slowing progress. And with a complex global supply chain, any further trade disruption from US tariffs could squeeze earnings faster than management’s current guidance assumes.
Those are risks investors will have to consider carefully.
Income and growth in one package
Aviva‘s (LSE:AV.) another top pick right now. And the business is one of the UK’s largest insurers and wealth managers, covering life insurance, general insurance and retirement savings for millions of customers across the UK, Ireland and Canada.
Once again, multiple institutional analysts have issued Buy ratings with price targets ranging from 670p to 760p. At today’s price of around 630p, the median target implies upside of roughly 13.5%. Add in the chunky 6.3% dividend yield, and total returns could approach 20% over the next 12 months.
So what’s driving this optimism? The answer’s structural demand.
With an ageing population, the UK retirement savings market is growing rapidly, and Aviva’s one of the few large-scale insurers positioned to capture a meaningful share of that expansion. The integration of its Direct Line acquisition has already delivered flat premium growth. Subsequently, net insurance margins are on the rise.
But like all investments, there are some key risks to watch out for, most notably execution. Integrating a major acquisition while simultaneously scaling the wealth management operation is a complex balancing act. Any slip in claims ratios, integration costs, or retirement outflows could weigh on the share price quickly.
So what’s the verdict?
Both Croda and Aviva are value stocks that the experts believe are being underpriced in a market that has seemingly been moving ahead without them. But with both businesses posting increasingly encouraging results, it may not be long before the rest of the market wakes up and recognises their progress.
That’s why I think both businesses deserve a closer look today.
Should you invest £5,000 in Aviva Plc right now?
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Zaven Boyrazian does not hold any positions in the companies mentioned.
