Why should you invest in value stocks?
Value stocks
Good Stocks at lower rates
This is one of the biggest advantages of value investing. The strategy helps in identifying securities that have good potential and are currently trading lower to their intrinsic value.
In theory, value stocks are considered safer than their counterpart, growth stocks, and they have a lower level of risk and volatility because they are usually found among larger, more well-established companies.
Unlike growth stocks, which typically do not pay dividends, value stocks often have higher than average dividend yields. Value stocks also tend to have strong fundamentals with comparably low price-to-book (P/B) ratios and low P/E values—the opposite of growth stocks.
Companies considered value stocks tend to have steady, predictable business models that generate modest gains in revenue and earnings over time. Sometimes you can find value stocks with companies that are in decline. Still, their stock price is so low that it understates the value of their future profit potential.
The Cons of Value Investing
Value stocks tend to underperform in bull markets. If the overall market is going up, growth stocks will usually go up more than value stocks. Only investing in value stocks means that you may miss out on some gains. It can be challenging to find truly undervalued stocks.
One of Benjamin Graham's disciples was Warren Buffett, the most famous value investor of all time. Based on Graham's teachings, Buffett seeks out companies that are undervalued in the market but have solid business plans and can develop in the long run.
Value Stocks Are Cheap
Underpinning those opportunities are very cheap valuations. Among the more than 700 stocks Morningstar covers, value stocks are now considered the most undervalued by our analysts, meaning they are trading at the biggest discounts relative to our assessments of their fair market prices.
Value investors often make decisions similar to what Ben Graham did, based on the business looking cheap, but Rule One investors know that it is better to buy a wonderful business at a fair price than a fair business at a wonderful price.
Value stocks are expected to gain value eventually when the market corrects their prices. In the unlikely event that the stock doesn't appreciate in value as was expected, investors can lose their money. Hence, value stocks are relatively riskier investments.
What are best value stocks to buy now?
- Cisco Systems Inc. (ticker: CSCO)
- Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)
- Telus Corp. (TU)
- Unilever PLC (UL)
- Sony Group Corp. (SONY)
- Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)
- Solventum Corp. (SOLV)
- Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG)
We expect lackluster global earnings growth with downside for equities from current levels.” Against this backdrop, value stocks have a strong chance of outperforming their growth counterparts in 2024.
Therefore, in high inflation periods, future earnings become less valuable and current earnings become correspondingly more valuable. Since “value stocks” are valued on their current earnings, it follows that inflationary periods are better for value stocks than for growth stocks and vice versa.
Looking back at the recessions of 1980, 1982, 1991, 2001, and 2009, we find growth tends to outperform value in the 12 months prior to a recession through to the trough of the recession. As the economy exits a recession, value tends to outperform growth. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
For example, value stocks tend to outperform during bear markets and economic recessions, while growth stocks tend to excel during bull markets or periods of economic expansion. This factor should, therefore, be taken into account by shorter-term investors or those seeking to time the markets.
Over the three-year trailing period, value stocks have also seen a 14% average annual return, far ahead of the 3.3% average annual return for growth-oriented names. During this period, small-value stocks led the Morningstar Style Box with an average annual return of 18.1%.
Value investing tends to outperform over the long term
But over a shorter period, value may outperform at a lower percentage.
By investment style, small-value stocks are the most undervalued stocks right now, trading 26% below our fair value estimate. Meanwhile, large- and mid-cap growth stocks are 8% overvalued. By sector, industrials, technology, financial services, and consumer defensive stocks look most overvalued.
Investing is long-term and involves lesser risk, while trading is short-term and involves high risk. Both earn profits, but traders frequently earn more profit compared to investors when they make the right decisions, and the market is performing accordingly.
Warren Buffet is arguably the most famous investor of all time. Even people who don't invest have heard of him. And Buffett remains a value investor at heart. He was influenced by Benjamin Graham and pays close attention to price when buying.
How do value stocks make money?
All it takes to make money with a value stock is for enough other investors to realize there's a mismatch between the stock's current price and what it's actually worth. Once that happens, the share price should go up to reflect the higher intrinsic value.
Apple is Berkshire's largest public stock holding by far. Berkshire's $155 billion Apple stake is roughly four times larger than its second-largest holding. Buffett first bought Apple shares in the first quarter of 2016, and Apple's stock price is up more than 500% since the beginning of 2016.
What's the right number of companies to invest in, even if portfolio size doesn't matter? “Studies show there's statistical significance to the rule of thumb for 20 to 30 stocks to achieve meaningful diversification,” says Aleksandr Spencer, CFA® and chief investment officer at Bogart Wealth.
| Stock | Expected Change in Stock Price* |
|---|---|
| Mastercard Inc. (MA) | 14.2% |
| Salesforce Inc. (CRM) | 7.2% |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) | 11.3% |
| Intuit Inc. (INTU) | 11.1% |
- DaVita Inc. ( ticker: DVA)
- DraftKings Inc. ( DKNG)
- Extra Space Storage Inc. ( EXR)
- First Solar Inc. ( FSLR)
- Gen Digital Inc. ( GEN)
- Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT)
- Nvidia Corp. ( NVDA)
- SoFi Technologies Inc. ( SOFI)
