It's getting to that time again on the ASX where bargains seem to be harder and harder to find. As the S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) once again approaches the all-time high of 6,875 points that it hit in late July, it's naturally a time of despondency for all of our value investors out there. But never fear! There's always value somewhere, you just have to know where to look!
So here are 2 unloved ASX shares that I think might offer some future upside to today's prices.
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
South32 shares have been in the doghouse for most of this year, very much in contrast to the company's old master BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). While BHP rode the wave of iron ore supply squeezes earlier in the year to reach a new 5-year high, South32 shares have fallen from close to $4 in February to the $2.74 we see today. South32 shares even got down to $2.36 last month, but have since rebounded slightly to today's prices.
Production issues in several mines as well as trade-war induced bearish sentiment in base metal prices have all combined to suppress the South32 share price, but commodities are notoriously cyclical, and I think the company is more than equipped to ride out these tough times – meaning today's prices might be looking cheap in a year or so's time.
Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM)
Platinum has had a very rough year – as one of Australia's most renowned asset managers, Platinum has been suffering from chronically underperforming funds and the resulting investor outflows for many months now. In contrast to its arch-rival Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG), Platinum's value-orientated investing philosophy has not performed well in this part of the investing cycle and many investors have jumped ship, leading Platinum shares to fall more than 20% over the last 12 months.
However, I think that value investing will one day have its time in the sun again – Platinum is a firm with a strong history of quality management and sound stock picking, and I think that its current malaise is not a permanent state of affairs. Therefore, it might be a good time to think about Platinum's bargain-basement share price today.
Foolish takeaway
There's an old saying that you don't make money in the stock market following the crowd. Well, the crowd is leaving these two companies well alone for now, so it might be a good time to take a look!
