| | | Article in today's Barron's about value stocks. Most stocks mentioned by the value pros have been discussed here also.
Nearly all investors proclaim that their favorite stocks are value stocks. But traditional value investing—often focused on stocks with low price/book or price/earnings ratios—is due for a comeback. “We’ve had nine years of systematic value underperformance,” says Scott Black, president of Delphi Management in Boston and a member of the Barron’s Roundtable. “It has been the longest period of growth outperformance in my career.”
Pzena likes Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America (BAC). All trade at or below tangible book value, a conservative measure of shareholder equity that excludes goodwill and intangible assets stemming from acquisitions. Citi arguably is the biggest value; on concerns about its global exposure, the stock is down 19% in the past year, to $42. It trades for about eight times estimated 2016 earnings and 70% of tangible book. Pzena notes the recent lows in bank valuations matched those in the financial crisis. Black has bought depressed stocks such as Boeing, Intel, and Ralph Lauren (RL). Boeing and Ralph Lauren trade for 15 times projected 2016 earnings, and Intel’s price/earnings ratio is 13. Value investor Mark Boyar is partial to media stocks. He likes Time Warner, due in large part to its HBO franchise, and Discovery Communications (DISCA), which has a 10% free-cash yield. Discovery trades well below Boyar’s estimate of its private market value. Auto makers Ford Motor (F) and General Motors (GM) trade for less than seven times projected 2016 earnings, with yields of 4.5% and 4.9%, respectively, amid concerns that the robust North American vehicle market is on the verge of slowing. But those fears seem overblown. Pfizer ’s stock (PFE) has been punished as Wall Street awaits the outcome of the company’s controversial bid for Allergan (AGN). Amgen (AMGN), another value pick, isn’t getting much credit for its drug pipeline and earnings power. Micron Technology (MU), at $11, trades near book value and at a deep discount to replacement cost. |
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