There are a number of great companies in the market today. By using the ModernGraham Valuation Model, I've selected the five undervalued companies reviewed by ModernGraham trading closest to their 52-week low. Each of these companies has been determined to be suitable for the Defensive Investor according to the ModernGraham approach. Defensive Investors are defined as investors who are not able or willing to do substantial research into individual investments, and therefore need to select only the companies that present the least amount of risk. Enterprising Investors, on the other hand, are able to do substantial research and can select companies that present a moderate (though still low) amount of risk.
Here are the five undervalued companies for the Defensive Investor near 52 week lows:
Franklin Resources Inc.
Franklin Resources (BEN, Financial) performs very well in the ModernGraham model and is suitable for both Defensive and Enterprising Investors. In fact, the company passes all of the requirements of both investor types, which is a rare accomplishment indicative of the company's strong financial position. As a result, all value investors should feel very comfortable proceeding to the next part of the analysis, which is a determination of the company's intrinsic value.
When it comes to valuation, it is critical to consider the company's earnings history. In this case, the company has grown its EPSmg (normalized earnings) from $2.23 in 2011 to an estimated $3.49 for 2015. This is a strong level of demonstrated growth, which is well above the market's implied estimate of 3.03% annual earnings growth over the next 7-10 years.
Here, actual growth in EPSmg over the last several years has averaged over 11% annually, so the market is expecting a very significant drop in earnings growth. The ModernGraham valuation model reduces the historical growth to a more conservative figure, assuming that some slowdown will occur, but still estimates a growth figure much higher than the market's implied rate. Therefore, the model returns an estimate of intrinsic value well above the current price, indicating the company is significantly undervalued at the present time. (See the full valuation)
Ralph Lauren Corporation
Ralph Lauren (RL, Financial) performs well in the ModernGraham model and is suitable for both Defensive and Enterprising Investors. The Defensive Investor is only concerned with the poor PB ratio, while the Enterprising Investor has no initial concerns. As a result, all Enterprising Investors should feel very comfortable proceeding to the next part of the analysis, which is a determination of the company's intrinsic value.
When it comes to valuation, it is critical to consider the company's earnings history. In this case, the company has grown its EPSmg (normalized earnings) from $4.76 in 2011 to an estimated $7.81 for 2015. This is a strong level of growth and is well above the market's implied estimate of only 4.33% annual earnings growth over the next 7-10 years.
Here, actual growth in EPSmg over the last several years has averaged nearly 9.6% annually, so the market is expecting a very significant drop in earnings growth. The ModernGraham valuation model reduces the historical growth to a more conservative figure, assuming that some slowdown will occur, but still estimates a growth figure much higher than the market's implied rate. Therefore, the model returns an estimate of intrinsic value well above the current price, indicating the company is significantly undervalued at the present time. (See the full valuation)
Fossil Group Inc.
Fossil Group (FOSL, Financial) performs well in the ModernGraham model and is suitable for both Defensive and Enterprising Investors. Both investor types are only initially concerned by the lack of dividend payments. As a result, all value investors should feel very comfortable proceeding to the next part of the analysis, which is a determination of the company's intrinsic value.
When it comes to valuation, it is critical to consider the company's earnings history. In this case, the company has grown its EPSmg (normalized earnings) from $1.68 in 2011 to an estimated $6.01 for 2015. This is a strong level of growth and is well above the market's implied estimate of only 1.68% annual earnings growth over the next 7-10 years.
Here, actual growth in EPSmg over the last several years has averaged nearly 16% annually, so the market is expecting a very significant drop in earnings growth. The ModernGraham valuation model reduces the historical growth to a more conservative figure, assuming that some slowdown will occur, but still estimates a growth figure much higher than the market's implied rate. Therefore, the model returns an estimate of intrinsic value well above the current price, indicating the company is significantly undervalued at the present time. (See the full valuation)
Quanta Services Inc.
Quanta Services (PWR, Financial) passes the initial requirements of both the Defensive Investor and the Enterprising Investor. Both investor types are only initially concerned by the lack of dividends. As a result, all value investors should feel very comfortable proceeding to the next part of the analysis, which is a determination of the company's intrinsic value.
When it comes to that valuation, it is critical to consider the company's earnings history. In this case, it has grown its EPSmg (normalized earnings) from $0.74 in 2011 to an estimated $1.57 for 2015. This is a fairly strong level of demonstrated growth and outpaces the market's implied estimate for annual earnings growth of only 4.64% over the next 7-10 years.
In recent years, the company's actual growth in EPSmg has averaged around 22.7% annually, and while the ModernGraham valuation model reduces the actual growth to a more conservative figure when making an estimate, the model still returns an estimate of intrinsic value well above the current price, indicating that Quanta Services is significantly undervalued at the present time. (See the full valuation)
Cummins Inc.
Cummins (CMI, Financial) performs well in the ModernGraham model and is suitable for both the Defensive Investor and the Enterprising Investor. The Defensive Investor is only initially concerned with the high PB ratio while the Enterprising Investor has no initial concerns. As a result, all value investors should feel very comfortable proceeding to the next part of the analysis, which is a determination of the company's intrinsic value.
When it comes to valuation, it is critical to consider the company's earnings history. In this case, the company has grown its EPSmg (normalized earnings) from $5.78 in 2011 to an estimated $8.88 for 2015. This is a strong level of demonstrated growth, which is well above the market's implied estimate of 3.74% annual earnings growth over the next 7-10 years.
Here, actual growth in EPSmg over the last several years has averaged over 10.7% annually, so the market is expecting a very significant drop in earnings growth. The ModernGraham valuation model reduces the historical growth to a more conservative figure, assuming that some slowdown will occur, but still estimates a growth figure much higher than the market's implied rate. Therefore, the model returns an estimate of intrinsic value well above the current price, indicating the company is significantly undervalued at the present time. (See the full valuation)
What do you think? Are these companies a good value for Defensive Investors? Is there a company you like better? Leave a comment on our Facebook page or mention @ModernGraham on Twitter to discuss.
ModernGraham is a website focused on value investing based on a modernized version of Benjamin Graham's methods. The site offers individual valuations of over 500 companies.
Disclaimer: The author did not hold a position in any company mentioned in this article at the time of publication and had no intention of changing those holdings within the next 72 hours.
