In the stock market, finding stocks at 52-week lows with the potential to yield massive price returns is a way to capitalize on undervalued assets. Certain companies hold solid fundamental strengths and strategic adaptations that extend beyond current market sentiments. Here, the focus is on seven stocks that might recover and thrive. Each company’s unique fundamental base provides a snapshot of its market valuation possibilities.
The first one on the list continues to innovate its payment solutions and enhance enterprise transaction rates. The second company is riding high on box office successes and a solid content pipeline. Meanwhile, the third one strategically adjusts its retail and pharmacy operations to address sector-specific challenges. Other companies on this list are similarly positioned at the intersection of market adversity and potential resurgence.
PayPal (PYPL)
PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) operates a digital payment platform that provides online payment solutions. The company is enhancing its branded checkout experiences for large enterprises, as evidenced by the introduction of Fast Lane. Initial testing shows promising results, with a nearly 80% conversion rate among returning users (Q1 2024). This strategic focus aims to increase transaction completion rates, driving revenue growth from enterprise clients. PayPal Complete Payments, aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), has expanded to over 34 countries and continues to add new features.
Additionally, adoption metrics reveal that merchants adopting PayPal Complete Payments integrate an average of four PayPal products, significantly increasing revenue per account compared to legacy integrations. PayPal’s consumer-focused initiatives, such as the revamped PayPal app and the introduction of the PayPal debit card, have shown tangible results. Hence, these efforts have increased engagement metrics, including a 38% rise in debit card first-time users and higher transaction activity per user.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) prevails in entertainment and digital content production. The company has derived over $1.8 billion in global box office revenues since 2024’s beginning. It leads the industry with successful releases like Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong. With significant upcoming releases, such as new Lord of the Rings movies and ongoing successful television series like House of the Dragon, the company has a solid breadth of the content pipeline.
Moreover, investments in production facilities, like the expansion at Leavesden Studios, underscore the company’s commitment to enhancing creative output while maintaining financial discipline. The sequential improvement in ad sales across direct-to-consumer and linear platforms was driven by successful events like March Madness and a robust content lineup. Resilient ad revenue growth in EMEA markets, particularly in Poland, Italy and Germany, showcases the effectiveness of legacy broadcast assets and strategic ad placement. Thus, leveraging AI and data-driven systems to optimize ad targeting and recommendation algorithms enhances consumer engagement and maximizes ad revenue potential across platforms.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NYSE:WBA) operates in pharmacy-led health and wellness services. The company’s Q3 fiscal 2024 sales grew by 2.5% (FX neutral basis) to $36.4 billion. Here, the growth is observed across its international and U.S. healthcare segments. Looking specifically at the U.S. pharmacy business, Walgreens derived a 5.7% increase in pharmacy comparable sales driven by brand inflation and volume growth.
However, Medicaid redeterminations and regulatory pressures influence overall prescription market growth. These temporary adversities have contributed to a decline in pharmacy-adjusted gross margins. Specifically, these issues are exacerbated by brand mix impacts and fluctuations in National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC) pricing.
Walgreens has initiated several strategic initiatives to counter these challenges and stabilize and revitalize its business operations. Hence, Walgreens is on the stocks at 52-week lows list due to top-line growth against pricing pressures and strategic adjustments.
New Fortress Energy (NFE)
New Fortress Energy (NASDAQ:NFE) focuses on natural gas infrastructure and logistics. The company is providing energy solutions, particularly in underserved markets. New Fortress Energy reported a robust quarterly performance with $340 million in EBITDA, aligning closely with expectations and maintaining guidance for the year ahead. Indeed, this financial stability is crucial for supporting ongoing operations and expansion efforts. New Fortress initially secured a 25 TBtu contract post-Hurricane Maria, providing substantial cost savings and reliability improvements to Puerto Rico’s energy grid.
Following this success, New Fortress expanded its operations significantly with an additional 80 British thermal units (TBtu) contract. It is doubling the fuel supply commitment from 40 to 80 TBtu. This expansion is expected to generate approximately 2 million tons of LNG annually, meeting about one-third of Puerto Rico’s current energy demand. The shift from distillate fuels to natural gas under these contracts will save Puerto Rico billions annually while significantly reducing emissions.
Overall, the strong performance, business leads, and significant investments solidify New Fortress’s presence on the 52-week lows list.
BCE (BCE)
BCE (NYSE:BCE) provides wireless, internet, TV and media services across Canada. The company’s adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 0.8 percentage points to 42.7%, while operating costs decreased by 2% annually. BCE demonstrated strong operational efficiency in Q1. This improvement highlights BCE’s effective cost-management strategies and operational discipline. BCE had its best Q1 retail Internet net additions in 17 years, up 13.9% to 31,078. A significant growth in households subscribing to mobility and internet bundles with fiber contributes to a 22% annual increase. BCE’s strong fiber optics and internet services performance underscores its competitive advantage.
Moreover, Q1 mobile phone postpaid net activations increased 4.5% to 45,247. BCE has a stable blended average revenue per user (ARPU) despite competitive pricing pressures. BCE’s wireless segment showed robust performance, significantly increasing postpaid net activations. The stable ARPU amid competitive pricing indicates BCE’s effective management of pricing and customer acquisition tactics.
In short, BCE’s solid operational efficiency and subscriber growth support its high mark on the stocks at 52-week lows list.
XP (XP)
XP (NASDAQ:XP) is a financial services company offering brokerage, investment banking and wealth management services in Brazil. The company attained a robust 28% annual growth in total gross revenue (Q1 2024). This growth was supported by the diversification of its ecosystem and strong performance in debt capital markets (DCM) activities. The corporate and issuer services segment, which contributed 12% of total revenue, saw significant annual growth of 91%, indicating XP’s effectiveness in leveraging its wholesale banking capabilities.
Additionally, XP has solid metrics for client acquisition and engagement. Total client assets grew by 20% annually, reaching R$1.14 trillion, reflecting solid inflows and market appreciation. Further, active clients increased by 16% over 12 months to 4.587 million, highlighting XP’s ability to expand its client base effectively. Moreover, the company has a growth in total advisers to 17,700, up 16% over Q1 2023. Hence, this demonstrates XP’s expanding distribution capability across various advisory channels.
CVR Energy (CVI)
CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) operates as an independent petroleum refiner and marketer, primarily in the U.S. The company attained a consolidated net income of $90 million and earnings per share of 81 cents. It derived an EBITDA of $203 million, indicating solid operational earnings. The company declared a regular dividend of 50 cents per share. This reflects a high annualized dividend yield of approximately 6%, considered best-in-class among independent refineries.
Moreover, the company processed approximately 196,000 barrels daily with a late product yield of 101% on crude oil. This indicates efficient refinery operations and high yield efficiency. Similarly, CVR Energy processed 7 million gallons of vegetable oil feedstocks at the Wynnewood renewable diesel unit. Indeed, the expansion plans include a potential conversion to 100% sustainable aviation fuel at the Wynnewood unit, highlighting future growth potential in the renewable energy sector.
To conclude, CVR Energy’s robust operational edge, earnings, and dividend yield make it a top choice among stocks at 52-week lows.
As of this writing, Yiannis Zourmpanos held long positions in PYPL, WBD and WBA. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
