Generally, when stock prices fall -- or in some cases, plummet -- there isn't much for investors to be excited about. However, if you are looking for dividend stocks that can provide regular income, as well as offering the potential for long-term share price gains, one good way to begin is by sifting through the currently hated stocks to uncover diamonds in the rough.
Two that may fit that bill are Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI -4.92%) and Ford Motor Co. (F -0.48%). Both have fallen out of favor and are trading at forward price-to-earnings ratios of 10 and 7, respectively, while offering solid dividend yields of 3.3% and 5.5%.
Getting fit
The subhead above was a common theme over the past year for Ford and its investors, although it rang hollow with Wall Street because Ford provided few details about how exactly it planned to get fit and turn its business around. That's finally less of an issue now that the company has announced specifics about its plans to reduce costs and refresh its lineup.
For automakers, it's fairly simple: It's easier to sell a lineup of new, or recently refreshed, vehicles. Ford is aiming to have the freshest lineup in North America of all the full-line automakers by 2020, replacing roughly 75% of its current vehicle portfolio, and adding four new truck and SUV nameplates. This will move the average showroom age of its vehicles down from 5.7 years to 3.3 years – a huge improvement for an automaker that's desperate to prove to Wall Street it can reignite top-line growth.
In addition, Ford is improving its operations to ensure more of each top-line dollar falls down to the bottom line. One example: Ford's has set a target to cut its product-development time from sketch to showroom by 20%. Another example is simplification: Ford reduced the orderable variations of its SUVs by 80% since 2014, and it plans to move from vehicle platforms to flexible architectures to reduce cost, improve quality and increase efficiency.
Image source: Ford Motor Co.
Perhaps most important to investors is that Ford is shifting its sales mix. It's no secret that SUVs and trucks carry fatter margins and haul in the majority of the company's profits. That's why Ford is reallocating $7 billion in capital from passenger car development to SUVs. According to LMC Automotive, Ford's SUV sales are estimated to grow 20% to more than 950,000 by 2020, which would be roughly double the industry's growth pace.
At a time when Ford is preparing to freshen its vehicle portfolio, focus on more profitable products and improve its operations, a 5.4% dividend yield and price-to-earnings ratio of 7 makes it a compelling dividend stock right now -- especially considering management has planned for its dividend to be sustainable during a sales slowdown.
Show me the growth
If you're searching for a cheap stock offering a juicy dividend yield, look no further than Hanesbrands. The maker of such recognizable brands such as Hanes and Champion trades at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 10.5, per Morningstar.com consensus estimates, and offers investors a solid 3% dividend yield.
Investors have been cautious about Hanesbrands due to higher commodity costs, the conservative outlook for U.S. brick-and-mortar retailers, and the costs of increased marketing investment to support product innovation. However, the company has plenty to offer investors thanks to its supply chain, brand power, and growth through strategic acquisitions.
In fact, just recently Hanesbrands completed its acquisition of Australian apparel seller Bras N Things, a global leader and marketer of underwear and intimate apparel with a strong e-commerce business. It's a solid acquisition when investors consider it has an effective 100% consumer-direct business model, has struck a chord with millennials, and is expected to be accretive to Hanesbrands' 2018 earnings. If you haven't kept track, and you could be forgiven for not counting, Bras N Things is Hanesbrands' ninth commercial acquisition over the past eight years.
Those acquisitions have helped power Hanesbrands' revenue higher, despite sluggish U.S. store traffic. Going forward, however, Hanesbrands plans to develop more premium products. That makes perfect sense: As the company estimates its products to be in nearly 90% of U.S. households already, offering those same consumers a step-up brand could drive incremental revenue gains. One example it recently brought to market is its premium Comfort Flex Fit men's boxer brief line -- Hanes' biggest underwear launch in four years. It expects to invest more than $10 million in the development, design and marketing of the Comfort Flex Fit line, including a national TV advertising campaign.
HanesBrands also launched Project Booster, a program expected to drive the company's vision of selling more, spending less and generating cash. Over the next few years, the company expects to derive tens of millions of dollars in cost synergies from its acquisitions, net cost savings from Project Booster, and manufacturing efficiencies in general -- all which should support near-term margin growth.
Both Ford and HanesBrands are out of favor with Wall Street, but while both have much work to do, their dividend yields make them solid income plays. And if they regain traction with Wall Street, they could reward long-term investors who buy in at a low point.
