As we start October, many major stock market indexes are near their all-time highs. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any cheap shares to buy. Looking through the indexes, there are plenty of companies that still trade at bargain valuations. With that in mind, here are three value stocks to consider today.
Prudential
First up, we have Prudential (LSE: PRU). It’s an insurance company that’s focused on markets across Asia and Africa.
I own this stock in my portfolio and it has been a dog recently. The main reason for this is that economic conditions in China have been very weak (resulting in less demand for financial products).
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China is now making serious moves to boost its economy, however. Last week, it announced multiple types of stimulus to help consumers, so things are looking up for the insurer.
At present, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio here using next year’s earnings forecast is just 9.2. At that multiple, I see a lot of value on the table (the FTSE 100 average is about 14).
China does remain a risk here in the short term (more government stimulus may be needed). But taking a long-term view, I think this stock has the potential to deliver attractive returns in the years ahead given the low valuation today.
eBay
Next we have a US-listed stock, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY). It operates one of my favourite online shopping platforms.
No one’s really paying attention to this stock right now. And that’s why I reckon there’s an opportunity here.
Currently, it’s very cheap. Today, the P/E ratio is just 12.6 using next year’s earnings forecast (miles below the US market average).
Meanwhile, the company is buying back a huge amount of its own shares. These buybacks should increase earnings per share, which should in turn, boost the share price (which is already in a nice uptrend).
It’s worth pointing out that eBay operates in a very competitive industry. Competition from the likes of Amazon and Temu is a risk.
ebay is making moves to increase its user base though (it just announced free selling for UK users). And I believe that at today’s price, a lot of risk is already priced into the stock.
HSBC
Finally, check out global banking giant HSBC (LSE: HSBA). It currently trades on a bargain-basement P/E ratio of just 7.2.
I tend to steer clear of bank stocks due to the fact that banking is quite a volatile industry. But this particular bank is looking more and more interesting to me.
One reason for this is that HSBC is ramping up its wealth management business. Over the next five years, the bank plans to double UK assets under management to around £100bn (this could make it one of the top five wealth managers in Britain) as investors shift away from independent financial advisers (IFAs).
Wealth management can be a very lucrative market for banks. It can also be very scalable (clients’ assets are likely to rise as global stock markets rise) and help boost growth.
Of course, economic woes in China (and globally) are a risk here. Another risk is competition from new digital banks like Revolut.
I like the risk/reward skew at the current low valuation, however. A dividend yield of near 7% adds weight to the investment case.
