Constant bombardment of news and making decisions based on day to day market updates gives a false sense of knowledge which often distracts investors and distorts their long-term outlook. When we examine the investment philosophies of those who made it while investing in the stock market, we notice a common theme: successful investors and billionaires don’t give in to the temporary pressures and keep their horizons vast and outlook wide.
For example, Stanley Druckenmiller, one of the most famous hedge funds and billionaires, often talks in detail about his journey in the investing world. There was a time he used to spend hours and hours analyzing a stock based on its fundamentals and then present his research report to his bosses. But Druck learned a lesson: he has to look at the factors that actually cause a stock price go up or down. Druckenmiller said many investors, even the experienced ones, don’t have a clue what makes their stocks rise and fall.
Staying disconnected from the short-term news cycle does not mean at all that you don’t pay attention to the important market forces at work. For example, the Federal Reserve is currently in a wait and see more when it comes to inflation. The central bank controls the most important lever in the economic system: credit/money. Coincidentally, Druckenmiller has been extremely vocal about the importance of liquidity and he’s been talking about the importance of paying attention to the central bank’s moves for years. Druckenmiller once said:
"The major thing we look at is liquidity, meaning as a combination of an economic overview. Contrary to what a lot of the financial press has stated, looking at the great bull markets of this century, the best environment for stocks is a very dull, slow economy that the Federal Reserve is trying to get going… Once an economy reaches a certain level of acceleration… the Fed is no longer with you… The Fed, instead of trying to get the economy moving, reverts to acting like the central bankers they are and starts worrying about inflation and things getting too hot. So it tries to cool things off… shrinking liquidity… [While at the same time] The corporations start having to build inventory, which again takes money out of the financial assets… finally, if things get really heated, companies start engaging in capital spending… All three of these things, tend to shrink the overall money available for investing in stocks and stock prices go down…"
In this backdrop, it’s important to see which stocks are currently cheap and have the potential to rebound once the economy comes out of the volatility and uncertainty.
Our Methodology
For this article we consulted at least 10 mainstream and credible financial news media outlets and compiled a list of stocks that were repeatedly labeled as cheap and undervalued by financial news media.
Several media outlets we consulted believe Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) is an undervalued stock. In August Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) posted second quarter results. Adjusted EPS in the quarter came in at $0.14, beating estimates by $0.05. Revenue in the quarter jumped 32.7% year over year to $1.09 billion, surpassing estimates by $80 million.
As of the end of the second quarter, 26 hedge funds out of the 910 funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC).
Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities in August said that Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)’s performance has been weak over the past few months amid growth concerns but he believes this weakness could be temporary. Goldman Sachs also named Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) among its list of stocks that could see potential growth catalysts in the coming months. Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) will announce Q3 results in October and analysts will be watching the company’s AI-related progress or announcements.
A total of 29 hedge funds out of the 910 funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) as of the end of the June quarter.
Here is what RiverPark Large Growth Fund has to say about Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:
“SNAP shares were our top detractor for the quarter on its July decline from weaker revenue growth relative to guidance (which had been reduced in May) and the fact that management did not provide an outlook for 3Q. Shares subsequently rebounded somewhat as the company announced better-than-expected near-term revenue growth, while announcing a broadbased cost restructuring.
Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB)’s PE ratio as of September 20 stands at 14.85.
A total of 29 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database of 910 hedge funds were long Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB). The biggest stakeholder of Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) during this period was Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group which owns a stake worth over $90 million.
In its fiscal Q4 earnings call Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB)’s management talked about future expectations and said:
"As we think about the phasing for the year, we expect the first quarter adjusted earnings growth rate to be the lowest of the year due to the concentration of higher inflation, increased marketing and selling expenses, the highest quarter impact from lower pension income and some costs related to a nonmaterial cyber incident. As you know, we don’t provide quarterly guidance. Given the unique dynamics in Q1, however, we expect first quarter adjusted EPS likely in the upper $0.80 range with momentum building as the year progresses. As I wrap up guidance, capital expenditures are expected to be approximately 4.7% of net sales. Our priorities for fiscal 2024 include select capacity expansion projects, including the recently announced Goldfish investment, our headquarter consolidation and other programs to support our Snacks margin improvement plan as well as important IT and productivity investments."
Restaurant chain company Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) ranks 10th in our list of the cheap stocks to buy today according to media. TD Cowen called Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) its top SMID (small and mid-cap) pick after the company posted strong Q2 results.
Cowen praised Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)’s 98% franchised business model with operational simplicity and robust "omni-channel" digital penetration for pick-up and third-party delivery. Cowen’s analyst Andrew Charles said he’s “excited” about Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)’s ability to reach a target of $2 million AUV in 20206.
As of the end of the second quarter of 2023, 31 hedge funds in Insider Monkeys database of funds had stakes in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING).
Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund made the following comment about Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) in its first quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) is a franchisor and restaurant operator that specializes in cooked-to order chicken wings in a fast-casual setting. The stock performed well, driven by continued quarterly results in excess of Wall Street expectations. Wingstop continues to benefit from its new chicken sandwich, a new relationship with a leading food delivery service, and chicken wing input costs that are moderating.”
Human capital management and payroll software solutions company Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) ranks 9th in our list of the cheap stocks to buy according to media. In August Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) posted fiscal Q4 results, beating estimates on both EPS and revenue. Adjusted EPS in the period came in at $1.32 beating estimates by $0.19. Revenue in the quarter jumped 35% year over year to $308.5 million, beating estimates by $6.94 million.
As of the end of the second quarter of 2023, 34 hedge funds out of the 910 funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY). The biggest stakeholder of Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) was Greg Poole’s Echo Street Capital Management which had a $171 million stake in the company.
TimesSquare U.S. Small/Mid Cap Growth Strategy made the following comment about Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Some industry influences in the Information Technology sector weighed on our relative performance, such as the market preference for hardware over software. That included this quarter’s greatest detractor, Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY). A provider of cloud-based payroll and human capital management software for medium-sized organizations, Paylocity reported revenues, earnings, and forward guidance that were higher than anticipated. The company won new clients, which combined with cross selling and higher employment levels at existing clients added to Paylocity’s growth. However, it seemed that Paylocity was caught by negative market sentiment for either employment-related stocks or high growth software, and its shares retreated by -19%. That was counter to our view on its fundamentals, so we added to Paylocity on that weakness.”
VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE:VICI) is a high-yield dividend stock in our list of cheap stocks to buy now according to the media. VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE:VICI) recently announced a 6.4% increase in its quarterly dividend.
As of the end of the second quarter of 2023, 40 hedge funds out of the 910 funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE:VICI). The biggest stakeholder of VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE:VICI) during this period was Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group which owns a $164 million stake in the company.
Baron Real Estate Income Fund made the following comment about VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE:VICI) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“We remain optimistic about the Fund’s triple net gaming REIT investments in VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE:VICI) and Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. The companies primarily own quality casino and gaming real estate properties. They have attractive dividend yields in the 5% to 6% range that are well covered, accretive acquisition growth opportunities, and are, in our opinion, attractively valued.
Luxury fashion brands company Tapestry, Inc. (NYSE:TPR) has a PE ratio of 7.79 as of September 20. In August Tapestry, Inc. (NYSE:TPR) upped its quarterly dividend by a whopping 16.7%.
As of the end of the second quarter of 2023, 40 hedge funds out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long Tapestry, Inc. (NYSE:TPR).
Energy company EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) ranks 6th in our list of the cheap stocks to buy according to the media. However, recently, Scotiabank downgraded EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) to Sector Perform.
As of the end of the second quarter of 2023, 51 hedge funds out of the 910 funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT).