These stocks are attractively valued and are expected to make new highs
There’s a growing dominance of technology stocks in the stock market. But for investors who want to diversify their portfolio, there’s a whole batch of names outside the flashy tech world that also make for attractive investments. Stocks have continued rallying since last month, starting June on a strong note. The S & P 500 is up 1.3% month-to-date, while the 30-stock Dow has added 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite about 2.4%. Only four companies in the “Mag Seven” — Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet — added more market value than the rest of the broad-market index in May, however, leading some investors to seek out alternative, but still safe, parts of the market that have strong growth potential. “Although the concentration risk in the market is about as elevated as it’s ever been with ~28% of the index domiciled in just 5 stocks, valuations under the surface are far more reasonable for the average stock,” Strategas Securities analyst Ryan Grabinski wrote in a Wednesday note. “Valuations are high, but there’s value under the surface.” Using LSEG, we searched for stocks outside the concentrated tech universe that are expected to reach new highs. The stocks meet the following criteria: Upside to average price target of more than 10% Attractive valuation: Forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18 or less Average 5-year price-to-earnings ratio of 18 or less Trading within 10% of its 52-week high Take a look at the names we found below. And to search for more stocks, use the CNBC Pro Stock Screener Tool here . Oil and gas corporations Marathon Oil , Chevron and Exxon Mobil are among the names that have a forward P/E ratio that’s less than the stock’s 5-year average P/E ratio, which generally indicates that stock values should grow in the future. These major energy names have already rebounded this year as concerns about a recession and weak oil demand have failed to materialize. Invesco Energy Fund ‘s senior portfolio manager Kevin Holt thinks Chevron’s performance in the second half of this year could be determined by whether or not it wins its fight with Exxon over lucrative offshore oil assets in Guyana. Exxon has raced past Chevron this year, however, gaining 12.8% and outperforming the energy sector and broader market, while Chevron is up about 4.6%. Marathon, meanwhile, has advanced 15.4%. ConocoPhillips on May 29 agreed to buy Marathon in an all-stock transaction worth $17 billion. Citizens Financial Group and Fifth Third Bancorp , among several other regional bank names, also made the list. The stocks have added 3% and 4.8% this year, respectively. Citizens Financial has a forward P/E ratio of 12.1 and five-year P/E of about 15, while Fifth Third’s forward P/E is 11.1 and its five-year slightly lower, at about 10.8. Fifth Third is a “stable operator that we expect will block and tackle its way to generating the greatest alpha in our regional banks coverage over the next 12 months,” Wolfe Research analyst Bill Carache wrote in a May 31 note, saying that positive catalysts for the stock include stronger loan growth, healthy reserves, buyback capacity and notable operating efficiency. Carache upgraded Fifth Third to outperform from peer perform and reiterated his $43 price target, which indicates about 19% upside potential from Friday’s close. Automotive manufacturer General Motors also made the cut. Analysts polled by LSEG think shares have about 18% upside potential, and the stock also has an attractive forward P/E ratio of about 4.77, by far the least of the group. Other attractive stocks that could reach new highs include homebuilder Pultegroup and insurance company Allstate .
