How to Identify Undervalued Stocks 2024

Identifying undervalued stocks - companies whose share price is trading below its 'fair' value - has long been the quest of hedge fund managers, legendary investors like Warren Buffett and individual traders and investors alike. But of course, finding high-quality undervalued shares and buying them in the hope of trading them back to 'fair' value requires some know-how.

In this article, you will learn what undervalued stocks are and how to find them, the most important financial ratios to find the 'fair' value of a company and how you can trade them.

• 3 Undervalued Stocks for 2024
• What are Undervalued Stocks?
• Identifying Undervalued Stocks using Financial Ratios
• How to Invest in Undervalued Stocks in 4 Steps
• FAQs on Undervalued Stocks
• About Admiral Markets

3 Undervalued Stocks for 2024

Below are just a few undervalued stocks to consider for this year.

1. Boeing - One of the most undervalued stocks in the aerospace sector

Boeing (BA) was once the most successful company in the United States. However, the aerospace giant has had a very tough few years. In fact, nearly all air travel companies were affected by the coronavirus lockdown and geopolitical tensions over the past few years. While most of these stocks are lower, Boeing shares have dropped nearly 80% from a record high in March 2019 to a multi-year low in March 2020.

This led the company's share price to be trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.02 which - according to this ratio - means the stock is undervalued. However, the key to value investing is to find high-quality companies that can move back to the 'fair' value to try and capitalise on the rise in the company's worth and share price. 

While Boeing was nearly on the brink of bankruptcy the Fed's decision to purchase corporate bonds allowed the aerospace company to raise $25 billion from private investors. Analysts are cautiously bullish on the aerospace sector. While Boeing has had issues with the safety of some of its aircraft an increase in air travel and the reopening of China could help the company in the long term. 

2. General Motors - Is the pause in dividend payments actually a positive sign?

General Motors (GM) is an American multination company that is home to car brands such as Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. The company which is headquartered in Detroit manufactures vehicles in 15 countries.

The auto industry is very cyclical with higher car purchases in the summer than in the winter. The impact of the coronavirus stalled large purchases as more individuals lost their jobs or became furloughed. There are still major supply constraints that have developed as China still deals with a resurging Covid wave. However, the reopening of China's economy in early 2023 could help the car maker. 

There are other factors that classify General Motors as an undervalued stock. The company has a low price-to-earnings ratio of 6.17 which is expected to grow over the next few years. Last year, the company also announced plans that it will not reinstate its dividend at this time - even in spite of record profitability. This immediately weighed on the share price but the company's plan is to use the excess capital to accelerate its electric vehicle plans which is a huge growth sector. 

Therefore, there are reasons why General Motors (which has been recording good profitability in recent earnings reports) is considered a strong company that could be classed as an undervalued stock. 

3. Carnival - A long-term stock for patient investors

Carnival (CCL) is a British-American cruise operator that currently has the world's largest fleet with over 100 vessels across 10 cruise line brands. As governments enforced the 'non-essential travel' restriction due to the coronavirus, cruise line companies and most other types of travel and leisure companies felt the pinch.

In fact, Carnival's share price has been in a steady decline since the beginning of 2018, falling nearly 90% lower. However, the situation presented by the coronavirus is forcing companies to change business structures and models, leaving the bigger players in an industry to take control.

If Carnival can survive the crisis, it could be in a good position to lead the way higher as demand picks up, although this is a long-term situation as covid-variants such as delta and omicron have mooted demand for cruise line travel.

Carnival shares are dual-listed on the London Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange.  Currently, the US-listed shares have a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.3 which is below the market average of 16.9, classing Carnival as a top undervalued stock UK. 

Analysts are forecasting for the world's biggest cruise operator to start growing meaningfully in 2023, presenting some interesting opportunities for long-term, patient investors.

What are Undervalued Stocks?

An undervalued stock, or underpriced stock, is a publicly-traded company whose share price is lower than its 'fair' value. You are probably thinking how a company can ever get in that situation as surely a large hedge fund or investor in 'the know' will have snapped up the undervalued shares pretty quickly.

The reality is that there are many different reasons why a stock could be undervalued, such as:

• Market crash: In a market panic investors typically think emotionally rather than rationally. This means panic selling can cause a decoupling between an asset's current price and 'fair' value causing some high-quality companies to become undervalued stocks.

• Company-specific problem: There are times when a company may go through some fundamental issues caused by negative news, fraud, a scandal or even political and economic changes. This means the company's share price may drop significantly if investors choose to sell and invest elsewhere until the problem gets resolved.

Investors would typically use these scenarios to buy undervalued shares due to the fundamental assumption that the share price will correct back to the asset's 'fair' value over time. However, an undervalued stock is not necessarily just any stock that is cheaper than it was before. The key is to look for high-quality stocks whose share price is under its 'fair' value, rather than just at a low price.

A good example would be to use the investing ethos of legendary investor Warren Buffett. Dubbed the 'Oracle of Omaha', Buffett learnt his trade from the 'father of value investing' Benjamin Graham. Their ethos is to buy undervalued stocks of high-quality companies that will grow over the next five, ten and 15 years.

Did you know that with the Admiral Markets Invest.MT5 account you can buy stocks and ETFs from 15 of the largest stock exchanges in the world? Account-holders can also:

• Open an account with just a €1 minimum deposit.
• Invest from just $0.02 per share on US stocks and just 0.1% on UK stocks.
• Enjoy minimum transaction fees of just $1 on US stocks and £1 on UK stocks.
• Receive free real-time market data, with no delays, at no extra cost.
• Create a stream of passive income by collecting dividend payouts.

Identifying Undervalued Stocks using Financial Ratios

How to find an undervalued stock? There are a variety of ways to find undervalued stocks. The most common fall into a form of fundamental analysis or technical analysis but usually a combination of both.

There are two types of fundamental analysis: a top-down analysis and a bottom-up analysis.

In a top-down analysis, an investor would first analyse the bigger picture or the broader economic trend before finding companies that could perform well in such times. The bottom-up approach involves analysing a company's fundamentals first and then looking at the bigger picture.

Technical analysis is quite different and only involves the analysis of a company's share price. Traders would typically look for repeated chart patterns and use technical indicators to find suitable stocks to trade on.

Nowadays, most traders use a combination of both types of analysis. However, when identifying undervalued stocks there are some very specific financial ratios and metrics investors like Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham would use. Let's take a look at some of these.

1. Price to Earnings Ratio (P/E)

The price/earnings (P/E) ratio compares a company's stock price against how much profit the company is making. It is one of the most popular ways to measure a company's value.

The P/E ratio is calculated by taking the current price of a stock and dividing it by the company's earnings-per-share number. A low P/E ratio could mean the company's stock price is undervalued. This is because you're paying less (the price) for the amount of profit the company is generating (the earnings).

While the ratio by itself is a useful metric it becomes more powerful when compared to the industry average. For example, the P/E ratio of an energy company like British Petroleum (BP) would be compared to the P/E ratio of other energy companies like Royal Dutch Shell. If a company's P/E ratio is below the industry average it could be a sign the stock price is undervalued.

2. Price to Earnings Growth Ratio (PEG)

The price to earnings growth ratio (PEG) looks at the P/E ratio compared to the percentage growth in annual earnings per share, usually for the next five years. This gives investors a sense of the company's future earnings potential.

PEG is calculated by taking the P/E ratio and dividing it by the expected annual earnings per share growth rate. Investors would typically look for a company with a low PEG as these companies are considered as undervalued. The PEG ratio is typically seen as a more reliable indicator when trying to identify undervalued stocks.

3. Price to Book Ratio (P/B)

The price to book ratio (P/B) is used to measure a company's stock price to the company's book value. A company's book value is the value of its assets minus liabilities, divided by the total amount of shares issued.

The P/B ratio is calculated by dividing the company's market price per share by its book value per share. This tells the investor how much money they would get if the company was liquidated. Investors would typically look for a P/B ratio of between zero to one to indicate a potentially undervalued company.

4. Return on Equity (ROE)

The return on equity (ROE) ratio measures a company's overall profitability against is equity. The ratio is calculated by dividing the net income of the company by its shareholder equity. The outcome is a percentage based figure.

A high return on equity (ROE) figure shows the company is generating a high income relative to the amount shareholders have invested. In this scenario, the company would be deemed as potentially being undervalued.

5. Dividend Yield

The dividend yield is a popular quoted financial ratio. It is used to describe the ratio between a company's annual dividends and its share price. Dividends are the portion of profits that are paid to shareholders.

To calculate the dividend yield, you simply divide the annual dividend by the share price. Companies with solid dividend yields are more likely to be stable and return profits to shareholders. You can learn more about dividends in the 'Best Dividend Stocks for Income' article.

Did you know that you can access fundamental and technical analysis research tools from the Admiral Markets Premium Analytics section? When you open an account have a look at the extra tools that can help you make better and more informed decisions regarding the markets you are trading. 

How to Invest in Undervalued Stocks in 4 Steps

With Admiral Markets, you can buy shares in US companies with a competitive commission of just 0.02 USD per share and with a low minimum commission of just $1.0. You can also invest in undervalued UK stocks with a competitive commission of just 0.1% of your investment value with a low minimum commission of £1.0.    

1. Open an account with Admiral Markets to access the Dashboard.   
2. Click on Trade on one of your live or demo accounts to open the web platform.   
3. Search for your undervalued stocks name at the bottom of the Market Watch window and drag the symbol onto the chart.   
4. Use the one-click trading feature, or right-click and open a trading ticket to input your trade size, stop loss and take profit level.

FAQs on Undervalued Stocks

About Admiral Markets

Admiral Markets is a multi-award winning, globally regulated Forex and CFD broker, offering trading on over 8,000 financial instruments via the world's most popular trading platforms: MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Start trading today!

This material does not contain and should not be construed as containing investment advice, investment recommendations, an offer of or recommendation for any transactions in financial instruments. Please note that such trading analysis is not a reliable indicator for any current or future performance, as circumstances may change over time. Before making any investment decisions, you should seek advice from independent financial advisors to ensure you understand the risks.