Where To Shop For Bargains

Even in a pricey market, investors can find shares trading at a discount.

- Daren Fonda

Finding bargains in the stock market takes digging these days. After years of gains, most stocks are hovering near record highs. And by nearly every measure of value, the market looks pricey. “You’re being forced to pay more for almost anything you buy,” says James Tierney, manager of AllianceBernstein Concentrated Growth fund. // Investors can rummage through the cheapie bin, looking for stocks with ultralow price-earnings ratios. But buying so-called deep value stocks isn’t for the faint of heart: Their shares tend to be inexpensive because of a downturn in their business, and they may not rebound soon (see the box on page 51). // Yet bargain hunters aren’t entirely out of luck. Banks and other financial firms, for instance, trade at an average 36% discount to Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, based on the stocks’ book value (assets minus liabilities), according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Some media companies also look inexpensive, along with technology firms that aren’t as pricey as the stars of the tech world but still have strong prospects. // The following seven stocks are bargains you can bet on for the long term. Our picks are profitable and leaders in their fields, but their shares trade at reasonable prices because of pressures in their industry or company-specific challenges. Eventually, we think those issues will subside. And for now, investors can buy these stocks at an attractive discount to the broad market or to industry averages. That should help set up strong returns, even if the stocks’ prices rise only enough to get back to long-term average valuations. (Prices, returns and other data are through December 8.)

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