With the holidays nearly upon us, it's time to start shopping -- for value stocks. I'm looking for stalwart companies with predictably strong revenues that have for some reason fallen out of favor with investors.
Science Applications International (SAIC 0.30%), Sanofi (SNY -2.27%), and Campbell Soup Company (CPB 1.29%) all fill that description quite nicely. Not only are they underpriced compared to their peers and the earnings they deliver, but all three offer the bonus of a decent dividend.
These stocks are down year to date, but based on their financial numbers, the companies all appear healthy and poised to climb.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. SAIC: New partnerships will accelerate growth
Science Applications International Corporation, or SAIC, a professional services and information technology (IT) contractor, joined the Fortune 500 list this year, although it remains a lesser-known stock compared to many high-flying tech companies. The value stock has managed to quietly increase its revenue over the past five years at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.85%.
SAIC's shares are down more than 7% year to date, despite the company's solid financials and recent government contracts that will add to its growing revenue. The company's share price provides an opportunity for investors.
In SAIC's 2021 second-quarter report, it reported $1.8 billion in revenue, an 11% increase year over year. Midway through the company's fiscal year, it showed $3.2 billion in revenue, a 10% increase over the same period in fiscal 2020. The company's $1.2 billion acquisition of Unisys Federal in March was a big factor, given its contracts with the intelligence community and the Air Force. Because of the impact of COVID-19, the company said its revenue would have been down 0.7% were it not for sales from Unisys.
SAIC's dividend is $0.37 a share, which works out to a yield of 1.94% with a very sustainable payout ratio of 24.24%.
If you compare SAIC to two of its biggest competitors, Leidos Holdings and CACI International, you can see that its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio and more importantly, its forward price/earnings-to-growth ratio (PEG), compare favorably.
CACI PEG Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
2. Sanofi: A COVID-19-proof business
Sanofi's shares are down more than 5% year to date, but the stock remains a revenue beast. It reported $31 billion in revenue through the first nine months of the year, up 5% year over year, and net income of $6.7 billion through nine months, up 5.5% compared to the same period in 2019.
It also increased free cash flow by 39.7% to $6.35 million. The company cited growth from the company's adult booster vaccines and travel vaccines, as well as a 160% year-over-year rise in the first nine months in sales from Dupixent, the company's eczema and asthma drug.
The company also has two COVID-19 vaccine candidates: MRT5500, which is expected to start human trials in the fourth quarter, and another in early clinical trials that it is working on in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK -0.92%).
Sanofi offers a quarterly dividend of $0.29, with a nice yield of 3.75%. Its payout rate is slightly high but sustainable at 50.99%.
When compared to competitors such as AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi appears a little underpriced.
SNY P/E Ratio data by YCharts
3. Campbell's Soup: Good for an ailing portfolio
Campbell's Soup may be one of those companies that people think they know, but don't. For one, the company's brands extend well beyond its soups, with V-8 juices and Prego sauces and a snacks division that includes Pepperidge Farm, among other brands.
The company's share price is down just a little more than 2% year to date, yet Campbell's has done well throughout the pandemic, benefiting from cook-at-home and grocery stock-up trends.
The company closed its 2020 fiscal year, which ended Aug. 2, with a reported $8.69 billion in revenue, 7% ahead of 2019 and the third consecutive year of an annual revenue climb. In the fourth quarter of 2020, revenue was a reported $2.1 billion, a year-over-year jump of 18%.
Its snacks division's annual sales were up a reported 11% for the year, which may not be good for your waistline, but was certainly good for the company's bottom line, which showed $592 million in net income, an improvement of 28.4% over 2019. The company also said it lowered its debt by $2.5 billion.
Campbell has kept its dividend at $0.35 per share for several years, but its yield remains high at 3% and its payout ratio is a conservative 38.83%.
The company didn't provide full-year guidance, saying only that it expected 5% to 7% growth in sales and a 13% to 18% increase in earnings per share (EPS) in the first quarter of 2021. But if you compare its P/E ratio, forward PEG, and profit margin to its competitors', the company's stock (no pun intended) is a good buy.
CPB P/E Ratio data by YCharts
Picking the right bargain isn't easy
Of the three, I like SAIC the most because it has the best forward PEG ratio and I don't think its current stock price reflects the recent addition of several big government contracts. I also like Campbell's, because grocery shopping trends are likely to last as long as pandemic stay-at-home orders loom and could extend well after the public health crisis is over. Sanofi is also a solid buy, as its already-marketed vaccines put it in a strong position, with the possibility that it could do even better if one of its COVID-19 vaccine projects achieves regulatory approval and commercialization.
