Blink and you may have missed it, but the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and ASX 200 shares experienced something of a 'mini-crash' during the month of August.
We are now just two sleeps away from September and Spring. But the first half of August was certainly a rough period for the ASX 200 Index. Between 1 and 21 August, the ASX 200 dropped from 7,450.7 points all the way down to 7,115.5 points – a fall worth a nasty 4.5%.
Of course, since then, the index has rebounded strongly, bouncing 2.8% from that low up to the 7,310 levels we are seeing today.
In hindsight, it appears that this mini-crash was a fantastic buying opportunity for many ASX 200 shares, especially those that could be classed as value stocks. So today, let's discuss two value stocks that I would have loved to buy in the midst of this August mini-crash.
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A pair of ASX 200 value stocks I would have loved to buy in the mini-market crash
Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)
Coles had the misfortune of delivering its latest earnings report, covering the 2023 financial year, right at the back end of the August mini-crash on 22 August. These earnings, which outlined higher costs and lower profits, but an increase in Coles' revenues and dividends, saw the company hit a new 52-week low of $15.70 a few days later.
I think around then would have been a great time to pick up some Coles shares. Even today, despite a 3% recovery from those lows, I think Coles is looking like a great value play. The company is currently rocking a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 20.5, with a fully-franked dividend yield of over 4%. That looks like an ASX 200 value stock to me.
That compared pretty favourably against Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW). Coles' arch-rival currently trades on a P/E ratio of 28, with a dividend yield of 2.75%.
Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV)
Speaking of Woolies, let's talk about the drinks and pubs business that Woolworths spun out back in 2021. Endeavour Group has also had a shaky August, again dragged down by a poorly received earnings report.
Endeavour has green numbers to show all around though, with revenues, earnings, profits and full-year dividends all up in FY23. Even so, the Endeavour share price dropped from around $6 before the earnings came out to a new all-time low of $5.33 that we saw last week.
Again, I think this is a great opportunity for this ASX 200 value stock. Endeavour has an extremely resilient business model, dominated by the popular and dominant bottle shop chains BWS and Dan Murphy's. Right now, you can buy into the company at a P/E ratio of just 18.66.
