If you want to have a higher chance to discover value opportunities, then you may want to look for stocks whose Graham blended multipliers are below 22.5. Created by Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing, the multiplier is equal to the stock's price-earnings ratio multiplied by its price-book ratio.
Therefore, value investors could be interested in the following stocks, as they meet the above criteria and are favored by Wall Street analysts.
PetroChina Co Ltd
The first stock that makes the cut is PetroChina Co Ltd (PTR, Financial), a Beijing, China-based oil and gas corporation.
The stock has a Graham blended multiplier of 7.72 as the price-earnings ratio is 10.72 and the price-book ratio is 0.72.
PetroChina Co Ltd traded at $44.90 per share at close on Tuesday for a market capitalization of $81.83 billion. The stock has risen 44.5% over the past year for a 52-week range of $30.26 to $54.50.
GuruFocus assigned a rating of 5 out of 10 to the company's financial strength and 7 out of 10 to its profitability.
Currently, the company is paying semi-annual dividends. The last distribution, $2.012 per common share, was made on Nov. 8.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of overweight and an average target price of $62.90 per share.
Citigroup Inc.
The second stock that matches the criteria is Citigroup Inc. (C, Financial), a U.S. bank major.
The stock has a Graham blended multiplier of 3.73 as the price-earnings ratio is 5.65 and the price-book ratio is 0.66.
Citigroup Inc. traded at $60.62 per share at close on Tuesday for a market capitalization of approximately $119.79 billion. The stock was down 0.50% over the past year, determining a 52-week range of $57.40 to $80.29.
GuruFocus assigned a rating of 3 out of 10 to the company's financial strength and 5 out of 10 to its profitability.
Citigroup Inc. pays quarterly dividends with the last distribution, $0.510 per common share, issued on Nov. 24.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of overweight and an average target price of $82.62 per share.
Bank of Nova Scotia
The third company that makes the cut is Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS, Financial), a Toronto, Canada-based provider of various banking products and services in the Americas and internationally.
The stock has a Graham blended multiplier of 19.57 as the price-earnings ratio is 11.65 and the price-book ratio is 1.68.
Bank of Nova Scotia traded at $71.26 per share at close on Tuesday, determining a market capitalization of $85.09 billion. The stock has risen by 32.11% over the past year for a 52-week range of $52.75 to $71.54.
GuruFocus assigned a rating of 2 out of 10 to the company's financial strength and 5 out of 10 to its profitability.
Currently, the company pays quarterly dividends, with the next one, 1 Canadian dollar ($0.78) per common share, scheduled for payment on Jan. 27, 2022. The stock offers a forward dividend yield of 4.4% as of Dec. 28.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of buy and an average target price of $89 per share.
U.S. Bancorp
The third company that makes the cut is U.S. Bancorp (USB, Financial), a Minneapolis-based regional bank.
The stock has a Graham blended multiplier of 20.10 as the price-earnings ratio is 11.42 and the price-book ratio is 1.76.
U.S. Bancorp traded at $56.75 per share at close on Tuesday, determining a market capitalization of $84.25 billion. The stock has risen by 23.21% over the past year for a 52-week range of $42.47 to $63.01.
GuruFocus assigned a rating of 3 out of 10 to the company's financial strength and 6 out of 10 to its profitability.
Currently, the company pays quarterly dividends, with the next one, $0.46 per common share, scheduled for payment on Jan. 18, 2022. The stock offers a forward dividend yield of 3.23% as of Dec. 28.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of overweight and an average target price of $67.01 per share.
