If you are a contrarian investor looking for investment ideas, one of the best places to start your search is the list of companies hitting 52-week lows. These are stocks that are, clearly, unloved by investors and, perhaps, the declines are also overdone.
Right now, you'll find that Intuitive Surgical (ISRG -0.92%), United Parcel Service (UPS -1.14%), and PepsiCo (PEP 4.18%) are all near their 52-week lows. Here's a quick look at each one and why they could be right for your portfolio today.
1. Intuitive Surgical is building a foundation
In the second quarter of 2025, Intuitive Surgical placed 395 of its da Vinci surgical robot systems, which was up from 341 in the same quarter of 2024. The number of procedures performed with a da Vinci system rose 17% year over year. Basically, the healthcare company is continuing to grow its installed base of surgical systems. This is hugely important, even though investors are worried about short-term changes in the business environment.
The reason why Intuitive Surgical's 25% decline from its 52-week high is so interesting is that selling new da Vinci systems isn't the company's most important business. In fact, selling surgical robots only accounted for around 25% of the top line of the income statement in the quarter. The rest of the company's sales come from parts and services, which are recurring income streams. In other words, every new da Vinci sold helps to build the opportunity for future growth in parts and services.
Intuitive Surgical looks expensive on an absolute level, so only growth investors will likely be interested. However, its price-to-sales, price-to-earnings, and price-to-book value ratios are all below their five-year averages. So, the sell-off could be a growth at a reasonable price (GARP) opportunity for more aggressive investors.
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2. United Parcel Services is a turnaround story
The first thing that most investors will probably be drawn to with United Parcel Service, or UPS as it is more commonly known, is its nearly 7.7% dividend yield. Be cautious; this is more of a turnaround story than an income story. Basically, the company is working to reset its business, and that risks the possibility of a dividend reset as well. This is why the stock is off its 52-week high by over 35%.
The list of changes that have taken place at UPS is material. There was a new, and more costly, union contract. Management has been making capital investments in technology to increase profitability. The investments being made have resulted in facilities being shut down and sold. And the company is trying to fine-tune its customer base, so it is focused on its most profitable end markets.
That last step has included the pre-emptive decision to drastically reduce UPS's relationship with Amazon, its largest customer, but one that is also low-margin.
Basically, there are a lot of up-front costs in UPS's turnaround plan. And that has investors worried about the future. But the necessary nature of package delivery and the fact that it would be hard, if not impossible, to replicate UPS's infrastructure, suggest a turnaround is likely. Just go in knowing that the lofty dividend yield could be riskier than it seems.
3. PepsiCo is a Dividend King with a high yield
If you are an income investor, you'll probably find PepsiCo more to your liking. The yield is lower at 4%, but the likelihood of the dividend surviving the current headwinds this consumer staples giant faces is fairly strong. After all, a company doesn't become a Dividend King without dealing with bad times now and again. Right now is a bad time.
There are a couple of issues. First, consumer staples stocks in general have been having a rough go of it thanks to a push for healthier fare from consumers. PepsiCo's strongholds of soda, salty snacks, and packaged food aren't exactly in the sweet spot right now. Second, PepsiCo's business is underperforming key peers, so Wall Street is extra negative. That's fair, but given the company's strong long-term history as a business, it's probably short-sighted.
Consumer staples giants like PepsiCo have a strong history of adjusting to consumer trends. Sometimes it takes longer than other times, but that can open up an opportunity for income investors who think in decades and not days. Now is probably a good time to consider adding PepsiCo to your dividend portfolio if you don't already own it.
Three different options for three different investors
You'll find all kinds of stocks on the 52-week low list, which is the really exciting part for contrarian investors. Sometimes you'll see a GARP opportunity like Intuitive Surgical pop up. Other times, the list will include solid turnaround stories like UPS. And the list of down-and-out stocks may even include some reliable dividend stocks like PepsiCo from time to time.
If you keep looking, regardless of your investment approach, you'll eventually find something attractive to own.
