The second quarter of 2010 was not a great one.
The broad market is finally up a bit on the year because of a recent rally, but stocks have been anything but steady. Because small-cap stocks are generally more volatile, they've experienced a bit of a greater drop than most. That's almost to be expected. However, what's interesting is that large-cap stocks have actually fallen a slight bit more than the broad index -- and these are the billion-dollar companies that usually hold up well in a recession or a double dip.
The good news is that now the market is ripe for cherry-picking. Hundreds of small and large successful companies have gotten hammered as of late, and that means there are some great value plays to be had.
To get you started, I've screened for stocks that have dropped significantly over the past three months and that are trading for very low price-to-earnings ratios. In addition, we've utilized our 170,000-strong Motley Fool CAPS investing community to select only the best of the best, those companies with either a four- or five-star ranking. Here are three of the top companies from the list:
|
Company |
13-Week Price Change |
Price-To-Earnings Ratio |
CAPS Rating (out of 5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frontline (NYSE: FRO) |
(17.1%) |
13.5 |
**** |
| Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) |
(13.9%) |
5.0 |
**** |
| Immucor (Nasdaq: BLUD) |
(10.9%) |
14.7 |
***** |
Source: CAPS data as of Oct. 20.
Frontline is a shipping company that owns and operates oil tankers in addition to bulk and ore cargo. Although the company reported positive second-quarter profits back in August, it did warn of weakness ahead, which could partially explain such a harsh 13-week drop in share price.
In addition, daily rates for crude tankers have fallen; furthermore, concerns about the global recovery and an oversupply of vessels have weighed on shares. Not to worry though, when compared to Greece-based shippers like Dryships (Nasdaq: DRYS) and Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX), Frontline has held up relatively well over the past year. Even though the Greek shippers rely more on a global turnaround than domestic wealth, the turmoil in Greece certainly hasn't helped them; both Dryships and Diana have dropped by more than 10% in the past year.
Micron, the largest U.S. maker of memory chips, has definitely taken a beating so far this year, down more than 25%. The company has been hampered by an oversupply of chips, most notably from 2007-2009, but there are signs now that the glut has ended. The company could be an incredible bargain right now; it's trading for a 5.0 P/E ratio and is rumored to be a private-equity takeover target. Another memory/flash storage player that looks extraordinarily cheap right now is SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK); it sports a P/E of 8.6 and has margins that even best Micron.
Immucor, the maker of blood-transfusion testing systems, saw volume and margins decline in the latest quarter. The company then went on to cut its earnings and revenue forecast for the year -- not something Wall Street analysts are too fond of! However, it looks like it couldn't be avoided; the demand for transfusion products is down 3%-4% in the U.S., where Immucor generates most of its sales.
However, Immucor remains a five-star stock among the 170,000 Motley Fool investors. Especially since it's trading well below its five-year average, this stock could be a real deal right now.
The Foolish bottom line
Don't let fear get the best of you -- a falling or stagnant market can be a great thing in the long term, if you take advantage of the opportunities in front of you. Fortunately for investors, there's no shortage of options, and both small- and large-cap stocks just happen to be some of the best around.
Don't see any stocks here that interest you? Try doubling down on these home run hopefuls.
