The three securities listed below could be of interest to investors, as their forward price-earnings ratios are lower than the S&P 500's historical average of 15. The projections of future earnings are based on data from Morningstar analysts.
Merck & Co. Inc
The first stock that qualifies is Merck & Co. Inc (MRK, Financial), a Kenilworth, New Jersey-based drug giant.
Merck has a forward price-earnings ratio of 12.80 (versus the industry median of 18.61), which results from Thursday's closing price of $84.02 per share and analyst expectations for net earnings per share (EPS) of approximately $6.56 for the next full fiscal year.
The stock price has fallen by nearly 6% over the past year for a market capitalization of $212.57 billion and a 52-week range of $65.25 to $92.06.
GuruFocus has assigned a rating of 5 out of 10 for the company's financial strength and a rating of 8 out of 10 for its profitability.
Wall Street sell-side analysts recommend an overweight median rating with an average price target of $96.84 per share for the stock.
AbbVie Inc
The second stock that qualifies is AbbVie Inc (ABBV, Financial), a North Chicago, Illinois-based drug major.
AbbVie has a forward price-earnings ratio of 8.81 (versus the industry median of 18.61), which derives from Thursday's closing price of $106.71 per share and analyst expectations for EPS of approximately $12.11 for the next full fiscal year.
The stock price has risen by 18.3% over the past year for a market capitalization of $188.39 billion and a 52-week range of $62.55 to $109.15.
GuruFocus has assigned a rating of 3 out of 10 for the company's financial strength and a rating of 8 out of 10 for its profitability.
Wall Street sell-side analysts recommend an overweight median rating with an average price target of $116.80 per share for the stock.
Novavax Inc
The third stock that qualifies is Novavax Inc (NVAX, Financial), a Gaithersburg, Maryland-based late-stage biotech developer of vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases.
Novavax has a forward price-earnings ratio of 8.25 (versus the industry median of 30.19), which derives from Thursday's closing price of $128.18 per share and analysts' expectations for EPS of approximately $15.54 for the next full fiscal year.
The stock price has skyrocketed over the past year for a market capitalization of $8.16 billion and a 52-week range of $3.65 to $189.40.
GuruFocus has assigned a rating of 3 out of 10 for the company's financial strength and a rating of 1 out of 10 for its profitability.
Wall Street sell-side analysts recommend an overweight median rating with an average price target of $188.50 per share for the stock.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned.
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