A Trio of Picks for the Value Investor
Value investors may want to consider the following trio of stock picks, as they represent companies that possess the following characteristics:
A price-earnings ratio that stands below 20.
A consistent history of earnings and sales generation, having grown both over the past five years with no net losses.
Optimistic recommendation ratings from Wall Street sell-side analysts.
3M Co
The first stock that meets the criteria is 3M Co (NYSE:MMM).
The Saint Paul, Minnesota-based international conglomerate saw its trailing 12-month revenue per share grow by 3.3% per annum and its earnings per share without non-recurring items grow by 1.9% per annum over the past five years. The price-earnings ratio (17.78 as of Thursday ) declined 0.9% over the period in question.
The stock was trading at a price of $151.45 per share at close on Thursday for a market capitalization of $87.11 billion and a 52-week range of $114.04 to $219.75.
GuruFocus assigned the company a positive financial strength rating of 5 out of 10 and a high profitability rating of 8 out of 10.
Wall Street sell-side analysts have recommended a hold rating and set an average target price of $161.88 per share.
Westamerica Bancorp
The second stock that qualifies is Westamerica Bancorp (NASDAQ:WABC), a San Rafael, California-based regional bank.
The company saw its trailing 12-month revenue per share grow by 1.1% per annum and its trailing 12-month EPS without NRI grow 4.4% per annum over the past five years. The price-earnings ratio (18.47 as of Thursday) declined by 1.4% over the observed period.
The stock was trading at a price of $53.18 per share at close on Thursday for a market capitalization of $1.43 billion and a 52-week range of $46.94 to $69.08.
GuruFocus assigned a moderate rating of 4 out of 10 to both the company's financial strength and its profitability.
Wall Street sell-side analysts have recommended an overweight rating for the stock and established an average target price of $62.33 per share.
United-Guardian Inc
The third stock that makes the cut is United-Guardian Inc (NASDAQ:UG), a Hauppauge, New York-based manufacturer and marketer of household and personal products in the U.S. and internationally.
The company saw its trailing 12-month revenue per share grow by 0.3% per annum and its trailing 12-month EPS without NRI grow by 3.2% per annum over the past five years. The price-earnings ratio (15.32 as of Thursday) fell by 1.6% over the observed years.
The stock was trading at a price of $14.55 per share at close on Thursday for a market capitalization of $66.17 million and a 52-week range of $10.65 to $20.89.
GuruFocus assigned the company the highest financial strength rating of 10 out of 10 and a high profitability rating of 8 out of 10.
Wall Street sell-side analysts have recommended a buy rating for this stock.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned.
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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
