4 top recovery stocks? Glencore PLC, Royal Mail PLC, Saga PLC and Standard Life Aberdeen PLC

The share price performances of Glencore PLC (LON:GLEN) (GLEN.L), Royal Mail PLC (LON:RMG) (RMG.L), Saga PLC (LON:SAGA) (SAGA.L) and Standard Life Aberdeen PLC (LON:SLA) (SLA.L) have disappointed investors over the last year.

Glencore’s shares seem to have been impacted by regulatory risks, while fears surrounding the prospects for the world economy could hold them back in the short term in my view.

However, with the company focused on ramping-up its production of materials used in the batteries of electric vehicles, I think it could have a bright long-term future. A P/E ratio of 7.2 indicates to me that Glencore could offer a margin of safety.

Royal Mail’s recent update showed that its UK Letters segment continues to experience challenging trading conditions. As a result, it wouldn’t surprise me if its share price comes under further pressure in the short run.

In the long run, though, I believe that the growth potential of parcels from online shopping sales, as well as the potential for the company’s international growth, could lead to an improving financial performance from Royal Mail.

Saga’s change in CEO may mean that the over-50s insurance and travel specialist sees a further change in its strategy over the medium term.

As a result, I’m somewhat cautious about its near-term prospects. I think investors may demand a large margin of safety until more is known about its financial and operational prospects. Therefore, I’d rather wait for further updates from Saga before becoming more optimistic about its investment potential.

Standard Life Aberdeen’s share price has been unpopular since its merger in my view. The company has experienced a challenging period, although I think that its overall strategy could lead to improving financial prospects in the long run.

With a P/E ratio of around 11.7, I think the Standard Life Aberdeen share price could offer a margin of safety. However, it may take time for investor sentiment to improve due to the uncertain outlook for global stock markets at the moment.