The stock market is near fresh new all-time highs. Traders continue to be excited about the possibilities of artificial intelligence, semiconductors and other such cutting-edge innovations.
Companies like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) have seen their share prices soar to the stratosphere on the promise of these developments. At the same time, the return of meme stocks offer traders another promising, if speculative, short-term opportunity.
But for long-term investors, this sort of market action can seem troubling. Valuations are reaching ever loftier peaks, and the risks of a major market correction are increasing. After such a huge market rally, stocks could easily be set for a tumble later this fall.
The good news is that investors can still find great places to put money to work with a larger time horizon. These three undervalued blue-chip stocks are all selling for less than ten times forward earnings today and offer appealing dividend yields as well.
Verizon (VZ)
Verizon (NYSE:VZ) is one of the three dominant mobile phone carriers in the United States.
The company is known for its high-quality network that can offer more reliable coverage and faster data connections compared to rivals. Verizon couldn’t build this on the cheap, however. In recent years it spent tens of billions of dollars annually to fund this aggressive network expansion.
These capital expenditures depressed Verizon’s free cash flow, limited dividend growth and raised concerns around the company’s long-term debt obligations. Given the surge in interest rates, Verizon’s heavy investments could end up costing more to finance going forward.
But the tide has turned. Verizon is now well past the peak of its capital expenditure cycle. Management has suggested 2024 will be a year of increasing moderation on spending. Throw in possible interest rate cuts, and Verizon’s financial footing looks increasingly secure. At the same time, the network investments are paying off. Verizon has shown increasingly strong wireless subscriber trends in recent quarters and has scored several analyst upgrades as a result.
VZ stock has rallied sharply from last year’s lows. Even so, this option in undervalued blue-chip stocks is still on offer for less than nine times forward earnings while offering a 6.5% dividend yield.
CVS Health (CVS)
CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) has not been feeling well lately. Shares of the pharmacy store giant were down more than 30% year-to-date before last week’s slight rebound.
Pharmacy stocks have been under pressure for years now. Margins have fallen on sales of food, drinks and consumer wellness products sold in the front of the store. And drug pricing and reimbursement has also been volatile, leading to uncertainty on profit margins for the core drug business.
That said, CVS is on better footing than other pharmacy chains. That’s because CVS has made a major business pivot and become a leading integrated healthcare giant. It bought one of the country’s large pharmacy benefit managers, which helps CVS lock-in more stable pricing.
It also acquired Aetna, an insurance giant, giving CVS both horizontal and vertical integration across its business model and allowing CVS to offer consumers a one-stop shop for a great number of medical needs and services.
Investors are rightly skeptical of the economics of standalone pharmacies, and this has helped push CVS stock down to less than nine times forward earnings. However, this valuation misses the impact of CVS’ larger and more diversified business model which insulates it from the near-term pressure on the brick-and-mortar pharmacy operations.
Toyota (TM)
For several years, the pureplay upstart electric vehicle companies were sucking up all the oxygen in the room. Investors extrapolated rapid growth rates for companies like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) as evidence that the legacy automakers were set to be a dying breed.
However, the existing powerhouses weren’t going to go out without a fight. Take Toyota (NYSE:TM) for example. Just take a look at Toyota’s first quarter 2024 sales figures. Overall Toyota saw a robust 22% increase in sales which is great on its own. That’s especially true given the somewhat challenging auto industry conditions today.
What really jumps off the page is the fact that Toyota’s electrified vehicle sales in March soared 61% year-over-year. Toyota sold 78,157 electric vehicles simply for the month of March alone. Even more impressively, electric accounted for 36% of Toyota’s overall sales.
Toyota’s successful move into electric vehicles and its ability to withstand competitive threats has led the market to start to reevaluate TM stock. Shares have rallied more than 50% over the past year as momentum builds. Even so, the stock is going for just ten times forward earnings today.
On the date of publication, Ian Bezek held a long position in VZ stock. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
