Depending upon who you talk to, we're headed for either another market correction or we're in the early stages of a bull market. I tend to be in the former camp, as the market still seems a tad overvalued and will snap back a bit before the next bull market begins. That's why I'm focused on growth stocks that are undervalued.
Here are two undervalued growth stocks, each with low entry prices, that you could load up on for just $1,000.
1. Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab (SCHW +2.00%), the financial services giant that is one of the largest brokerages in the U.S., has been hit hard this year by the turmoil in the banking industry. Although known as a brokerage, Schwab is also an asset manager and a bank, so it dropped along with the rest of the banking industry. Also, news of a potential block sale of Schwab stock by an institutional investor sent the stock tumbling earlier this month. Year to date, Schwab is down about 31%, trading at about $57 per share.
It's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is down to about 15, which is as low as it has been in a decade, except for early 2020 when the pandemic first hit and caused a sharp but brief market crash. And it has continued to grow, coming off its second-best February ever with $41.7 billion in net new assets.
NYSE: SCHW
Key Data Points
Analysts forecast 10% year-over-year revenue growth in the first quarter with a profit margin of 45% to 47%. In addition, about 80% of its deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and it is well capitalized with more than $100 billion in cash on hand and another $300 billion available from other sources.
Schwab should start to see additional earnings power from the 2020 acquisition of TD Ameritrade, which it is in the process of integrating into its operations. During the next five years, analysts forecast earnings per share (EPS) growth of more than 16% per year -- the same rate of growth it has enjoyed on average during the past five years. At this low valuation, Schwab looks like a solid buy right now.
2. AssetMark Financial
AssetMark Financial (AMK +0.00%) has developed a turnkey asset management program (TAMP) that its customers, mostly independent financial advisors, can tap into to provide their clients with various investment management functions. AssetMark can outsource the entire asset management program to its advisor clients, or outsource certain functions, like portfolio management, back-office support, investment research, reporting and communications, portfolio analytics and modeling, and other functions.
As an asset manager, AssetMark's performance is influenced by the movement of the overall market. But it has been able to outperform in down markets, such as last year, when the stock fell only 12%. That's because its services are even more essential when markets are down, which the numbers bear out. Last year, it increased the number of advisor clients by 7.5% and its platform assets by 25.5% year over year.
NYSE: AMK
Key Data Points
The company continues to grow, as it looks to shed its TAMP label to become a full service wealth management platform. Its recent acquisition of Adhesion Wealth, which provides wealth management technology solutions to investment advisors and asset managers, will expand its offerings. The company has been growing rapidly and has forecast annual EPS growth of 32% during the next five years. It has also seen its valuation come down to a P/E of 22, which is a great value for this growth stock.
AssetMark is trading at about $31 per share and the stock is up 34% already this year. Even if the market does retreat, AssetMark still expects roughly 10% growth in assets on its platform in 2023, and 20% year-over-year revenue growth. And as we emerge from this volatile market toward the next bull market, the company, a leader in the market, should see continued growth since asset managers thrive in bull markets.
Not only are both Schwab and AssetMark undervalued, but they have relatively low entry prices, so you could buy multiple shares of each for an investment of $1,000. Neither would be a bad place to put your investment dollars, particularly now, with valuations down.
