Most stocks are priced at a premium right now. Wall Street knows it. I know it. You know it. In fact, the Shiller cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings (CAPE) ratio is at its highest level since early 2000 during the heady dot-com days.
But that doesn't mean that every stock is trading at a nosebleed level. Here are three stocks you can still buy on sale in a ridiculously expensive market.
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1. AbbVie
AbbVie's (ABBV 0.89%) shares currently trade at close to 7.9 times expected earnings. To put that into perspective, the S&P 500's forward earnings multiple stands at 20.4. The average forward price-to-earnings ratio for pharmaceutical stocks in the index is 13.3.
To be sure, there's a reason why AbbVie is cheap. The company faces biosimilar competition in the U.S. for Humira beginning in 2023. The autoimmune disease drug generated 36% of AbbVie's total revenue in the second quarter.
However, AbbVie has other products that should help take up the slack once Humira's sales begin to decline. Newer autoimmune disease drugs Rinvoq and Skyrizi are already blockbusters. The acquisition of Allergan brought growth drivers including antipsychotic Vraylar and migraine drug Ubrelvy into AbbVie's lineup.
With these and other products plus pipeline candidates on the way, AbbVie should be able to deliver solid growth throughout this decade except in 2023. It also offers a juicy dividend yield of nearly 4.8% that will reward investors even during the one trough year.
2. Enterprise Products Partners
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD 0.56%) is another stock that's inexpensive relative to the overall market. Shares of the midstream energy company trade at 11.1 times expected earnings.
Arguably an even better valuation metric to use for Enterprise is price-to-free-cash-flow. The company's shares trade at near the lowest level in the past five years using this metric.
Yes, there's a concerted effort to decrease the use of fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions. However, the demand for fossil fuels will likely continue to grow (albeit at slower rates than in the past) to help meet the world's energy needs. Enterprise's pipelines, storage, processing, and transportation assets will be needed for decades to come.
Wall Street analysts project that the stock could jump 16% over the next 12 months. And that doesn't include Enterprise's dividend yield of nearly 7.4%. But the company's prospects aren't just favorable over the next year. This cheap energy stock is one that you can buy and hold for the long term.
3. Viatris
Few stocks are as dirt cheap right now as Viatris (VTRS) is. Shares of the biosimilars and generic-drug maker trade at only 3.7 times expected earnings. Viatris even trades less than its book value.
One main reason why Viatris is so inexpensive is the increased competition for the company's complex biosimilar and generic products. In particular, sales for respiratory drug Wixela and birth control patch Xulane have eroded.
However, analysts think that Viatris could rebound strongly. The consensus price target reflects a 46% upside potential for the stock.
Over the longer term, Viatris' pipeline should be able to get the company on a solid growth trajectory. Several biosimilars and complex generics are either awaiting approvals or are in late-stage clinical testing. In the meantime, Viatris pays a dividend that yields 3.1%.
