The stock market may be experiencing some volatility as it continues to push up against new highs, but that doesn't mean there aren't some good values still to be found. A rising market tide lifts all boats, but some stocks are sporting supremely discounted valuations anyway.
Although waiting for a major correction would give you a chance to find more stocks with cheap valuations, Disney (DIS -0.83%), Harley-Davidson (HOG -2.24%), and Party City (PRTY -60.00%) are three companies that are bargains right now.
Image source: Disney.
Be entertained by this giant
Shares of Disney may be within a few percentage points of its all-time highs, but the entertainment and media king is still a good buy. Its theme parks are still a major attraction annually, and were the only segment for Disney that grew revenue and operating income last year.
And Disney is the 800-pound gorilla in movies. It owns the Marvel universe through its acquisition of Marvel Entertainment. And having also bought Pixar and Lucasfilm, it has the Toy Story and Star Wars franchises. Analysts at financial services firm Cowen have estimated Disney earned 61% of the movie industry's total profits in 2016.
If Disney is successful in acquiring Twenty-First Century Fox, it could also get everything from Avatar to The Simpsons. Its empire, of course, also stretches out into toys, broadcast television, and more.
Disney trades at only 16 times trailing earnings and 13 times next year's estimates, and with a modest dividend that currently yields almost 1.6%, it might be seen as a good value. Priced at just 13 times the free cash flow it produces -- and considering the company's expansion possibilities -- Disney is a bargain stock that can continue growing.
Image source: Getty Images.
A bad case of road rash
While Harley-Davidson isn't doing nearly as well as Disney, it's still a stock that investors should consider. The motorcycle king retains a lot of potential despite going through a particularly rough patch nowadays.
The motorcycle market is shrinking, and Harley's core middle-aged male buyers aren't showing up at dealerships in nearly the numbers they used to. Buyers today are younger and more urban, more of them are female -- and they are apparently looking elsewhere for their bikes. Harley sales fell 12% last quarter, and were down 7% in 2017.
Yet Harley has time. It still owns half the U.S. motorcycle market and has been able to preserve its profit margins by largely avoiding the discounting that other manufacturers do. It's also trying to build bikes that appeal to this new demographic, like an electric motorcycle that is expected to be unveiled sometime next year.
There's plenty of room to quibble about which policies it should follow to regain traction. But with such a big lead over the competition, it can afford to take the time to get it right. Trading as it does at only 12 times its free cash flow, it is a bargain stock that could roar ahead when it gets itself kick-started again.
Image source: Getty Images.
The life of the party
Shares of Party City have surged 68% from their 52-week low, and are up 31% over the last six months as Wall Street comes to celebrate the retailer's partylike atmosphere. While no business is completely immune from the impact of Amazon.com, Party City is one of a handful of businesses that look Amazon-resistant.
It operates some 880 stores. But the big kick are the 250 to 300 Halloween-themed outlets like Halloween City that spring up nationwide every fall and end up contributing about 20% to total revenue. It's the biggest holiday of the year for the specialty retailer.
But beyond its own stores, it is less well known that Party City also distributes party items to over 40,000 retail outlets worldwide. Third-party wholesale revenue amounted to $629 million in 2017, or 26.5% of its total of $2.37 billion.
Despite all the gains it's made, there is still plenty of opportunity for growth and expansion, especially since Party City is trading as if it were a broken business. Its stock is valued at only 14 times trailing earnings and seven times next year's estimates, while also going for a deeply discounted eight times free cash flow. So investors who pick up Party City stock now may have a reason to celebrate later on.
