Value investors may be interested in these stocks for the following reasons:
- These stocks do not appear too expensive, as their earnings are trading for not more than 20 times their price.
- These stocks have a consistent history of earnings and sales generation. The top and bottom lines have grown over the past five years and no losses were recorded.
- These stocks have received positive recommendation ratings from Wall Street sell-side analysts.
Merck & Co
The first stock that meets the above-listed criteria is Merck & Co Inc MRK.
The Kenilworth, New Jersey-based drug giant saw its trailing 12-month revenue per share grow by 4.5% and its trailing 12-month earnings per share without non-recurring items (EPS without NRI) increase by 1.1% over the past five years. The price-earnings ratio (20 as of Friday) has slightly declined over the period in question.
The stock was trading at a price of $76.25 per share at close on Friday for a market cap of $193.39 billion and a dividend yield of 3.04%.
GuruFocus assigned the company a moderate financial strength rating of 5 out of 10 and a very positive profitability rating of 8 out of 10.
Wall Street sell-side analysts recommend an overweight rating for this stock with an average target price of $95.81 per share.
Alliant Energy Corp
The second stock that meets the above-listed criteria is Alliant Energy Corp LNT.
The Madison, Wisconsin-based distributor of electricity and natural gas in the Midwest region saw its trailing 12-month revenue per share consolidate at a 0.6% average annual growth rate over the past five years while its EPS without NRI grew by about 7.2% per year. The price-earnings ratio (19.38 as of Friday ) went down 2.1% over the period in question.
The stock was trading at a price of $45.15 per share at close on Friday for a market cap of $11.06 billion and a dividend yield of 3.2%.
GuruFocus assigned a low score of 3 out of 10 to the company's financial strength but a very good score of 7 out of 10 to its profitability.
As of April, Wall Street sell-side analysts recommend two buy ratings and five hold ratings for this stock. Their estimates on the price target average $54.75 per share.
Idacorp
The third stock that meets the above-listed criteria is Idacorp Inc IDA.
The Boise, Idaho-based distributor of electric energy in the United States saw its trailing 12-month revenue per share jump by 1.4% and its EPS without NRI grow by 4.1% over the past five years. The price-earnings ratio (18.58 as of Friday ) declined by 1.1% over the observed years.
The stock was trading at a price of $85.47 per share at close on Friday for a market cap of $4.31 billion and a dividend yield of 3.04%.
GuruFocus assigned the company a moderate rating of 4 out of 10 for its financial strength and a very positive rating of 7 out of 10 for its profitability.
Wall Street sell-side analysts recommend an overweight rating for this stock with an average target price of $102 per share.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any security mentioned.
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