When browsing the market for bargain opportunities in U.S.-listed stocks, investors may want to consider the following stocks, as they meet the criteria below:
- A price-earnings ratio of less than 20.
- A lower enterprise value-to-Ebitda ratio versus the historical mean of the S&P 500 over the past eight years (which is currently 10.54).
- Robust dividend growth over the past three years.
Comcast Corp
The first stock that qualifies is Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, Financial), a Philadelphia-based global media and telecommunications company.
The stock was trading at $42.01 per share at close on Friday for a market cap of $188.21 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 13.55 (versus the industry median of 16.93) and an enterprise value-to-Ebitda ratio of 7.27 (versus the industry median of 8.76).
Comcast Corp.’s three-year dividend growth rate is 9.60% versus the industry median of -30.70%.
GuruFocus assigned a score of 4 out of 10 to the company's financial strength and 9 out of 10 to its profitability.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of overweight and an average target price of approximately $55.63 per share.
Manulife Financial Corp
The second stock that makes the cut is Manulife Financial Corp (MFC, Financial), a Canadian insurance and asset management company serving individuals and institutional clients in North America and internationally.
The stock closed at $17.52 per share on Friday for a market cap of $33.67 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 4.81 (versus the industry median of 10.68) and an enterprise value-to-Ebitda ratio of 3.16 (versus the industry median of 7.24).
Manulife Financial Corp.'s three-year dividend growth rate is 8.70% versus the industry median of 4.40%.
GuruFocus assigned a score of 6 out of 10 to the company's financial strength and 7 out of 10 to its profitability.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of hold and an average target price of $21.11 per share.
Target Corp
The third stock that meets the criteria is Target Corp. (TGT, Financial), a Minneapolis-based operator of almost 2,000 discount stores in the U.S. where consumers can find a large assortment of consumer defensive goods, including groceries, apparel, home products, toys and electronics.
The stock closed at $155.36 per share on Friday for a market cap of $72.04 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 11.04 (versus the industry median of 15.99) and an enterprise value-to-Ebitda ratio of 6.89 (versus the industry median of 9.28).
Target Corp.'s three-year dividend growth rate is 7.80% versus the industry median of 2.95%.
GuruFocus assigned a score of 6 out of 10 to the company's financial strength and 8 out of 10 to its profitability.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of overweight and an average target price of $201.89 per share.
