AJ Bell investors are buying these UK stocks! Should I join in?

Panicked global stock markets continue to grow. But some UK stocks continue to attract bargain hunters.

Here are two London Stock Exchange that company AJ Bell customers have purchased. Should I snap at him myself?

Lloyds Banking Group

There’s a lot to like Lloyds Bank (LSE:LLOY) on paper. The business is trading at a seven-fold forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. It also has a dividend yield of 5.8%.

This perhaps explains why FTSE 100 The bank is the second most popular among investors AJ Bell in the seven days to March 15. It accounted for 8.1% of all purchase orders during that period.

I’m not tempted to buy Lloyds despite the low share price, though. And not only because of the growing fear of the crisis in the entire banking industry. In fact, the bank’s low exposure to riskier assets eases my fears of a crisis here.

I have long been concerned about the lack of companies in overseas markets. With the UK economy facing slow growth, Lloyds could struggle to generate good long-term earnings.

I also worry about the impact of rising competition from challenger banks. The likes of Starling Bank and Monzo are quickly eating into the stock market of high street banks with better savings and loan rates and superior online platforms.

Higher interest rates could continue to boost Lloyds’ bottom line. The Bank of England’s policy tightening pushed Lloyds’ underlying net interest income 18% higher in 2022, to £13.2bn. But on balance I think there are better UK stocks to buy now.

SSE

I, for example, prefer to take shares in green energy producers SSE (LSE:SSE) today. Even if the global economy falls off a cliff, these British stocks can expect earnings to remain stable. This explains why the share price has also remained stable despite the wider market these days.

Demand for electricity remains unchanged as long as the economy grows and downturns, after all. But that’s not the only reason I’m going to buy it today. As a long-term investor, I am attracted by the huge growth potential of renewable energy providers like this.

Wind energy providers like SSE will play a key role in helping the UK achieve its net zero emissions target. This means that, even if bad weather conditions destroy profits now and again, in the longer term, earnings here can balloon.

I also like this FTSE 100 operator for accelerating investment in green operations. They have plans to increase their renewable energy output fivefold by the end of the decade. The ability to meet this target was boosted following Ofgem’s decision in December, too, to speed up the connection of offshore wind assets to the country’s electricity grid.

SSE shares accounted for 7.5% of all buy orders placed through AJ Bell over the past seven days. I think the bright long-term outlook – coupled with the huge 5.5% forward dividend yield – makes it a top buy right now.