When a segment of investors immediately write off a dividend as stock soon as it goes on a cold streak, without knowing the cause, that’s when go take a look. Now add in some investor fear relative to economic conditions, along with extreme market volatility, and this makes the perfect recipe for finding potentially great dividend stocks trading at low valuations. In our view this recipe is all but complete given what we are now seeing in the markets so all that there is left to do now is review the companies.
The Price/Book Value Ratio is a great place to start when using a price-multiple valuation metric to see what companies may be heavily undervalued or overvalued. Now generally, if a company has an extremely low ratio, such as 1 or lower, that means that it's trading at or below break-up value -- that the sum of the parts of the company is now technically worth more than the company as a whole. This indicates that the market may be severely mispricing this company, or that something is fundamentaly wrong with it. Either way, it's definitely a sign that a company deserves further inspection to see what potential it may offer.
We first looked for dividend stocks with low price-multiple valuations (P/BV < 1) to see what type of dividend paying "break up" stock opportunities are available. From this narrrowed list, we then focused only on companies that have outperformed the S&P 500 over the last month, which in our view is often a good indication that something may have materially improved or changed.
This list ranked from highest to lowest by P/BV ratio:
1. ACE Ltd. (ACE)
Sector | Financial Services |
Industry | Insurance - Property & Casualty |
Market Cap | $23,996M |
Beta | 0.61 |
The company offers property and casualty insurance, along with reinsurance services. The company’s P/BV ratio is 1.00 and has a dividend yield of 1.92%. ACE has increased by 16.51% in the last month. The short interest was 1.10% as of 09/30/2011.
2. Ares Capital Corporation. (ARCC)
Sector | Financial Services |
Industry | Asset Management |
Market Cap | $3,124M |
Beta | 2.01 |
The firm invests in long-term mezzanine debt along with first and second lien senior loans. The company’s P/BV ratio is 1.00 and has a dividend yield of 9.19%. ARCC has increased by 11.09% in the last month. The short interest was N/A as of 09/30/2011.
3. Magna International. (MGA)
Sector | Consumer Cyclical |
Industry | Auto Parts |
Market Cap | $8,817M |
Beta | 1.39 |
The company offers automotive systems and components. The company’s P/BV ratio is 1.00 and has a dividend yield of 2.55%. MGA has increased by 13.58% in the last month. The short interest was N/A as of 09/30/2011.
4. Nelnet, Inc. (NNI)
Sector | Financial Services |
Industry | Credit Services |
Market Cap | $990M |
Beta | 1.29 |
The company offers education planning and financing to schooling. The company’s P/BV ratio is 1.00 and has a dividend yield of 3.73%. NNI has increased by 10.27% in the last month. The short interest was 5.30% as of 09/30/2011.
5. PNM Resources Inc. (PNM)
Sector | Utilities |
Industry | Utilities - Regulated Electric |
Market Cap | $1,553M |
Beta | 0.65 |
This a holding company that invests in energy and energy-related businesses. The company’s P/BV ratio is 1.00 and has a dividend yield of 2.79%. PNM has increased by 7.95% in the last month. The short interest was 3.70% as of 09/30/2011.
6. TCF Financial Corporation. (TCB)
Sector | Financial Services |
Industry | Banks - Regional - US |
Market Cap | $1,748M |
Beta | 0.70 |
The firm offers a variety of banking services to both retail and institutional customers. The company’s P/BV ratio is 1.00 and has a dividend yield of 1.83%. TCB has increased by 21.68% in the last month. The short interest was 7.10% as of 09/30/2011.
7. Tidewater, Inc. (TDW)
Sector | Industrials |
Industry | Integrated Shipping & Logistics |
Market Cap | $2,534M |
Beta | 1.26 |
The company provides offshore supply support services to the energy industry. The company’s P/BV ratio is 1.00 and has a dividend yield of 2.05%. TDW has increased by 6.85% in the last month. The short interest was 9.80% as of 09/30/2011.
8. Delhaize Group SA. (DEG)
Sector | Consumer Defensive |
Industry | Grocery Stores |
Market Cap | $6,616M |
Beta | 0.62 |
The company operates food supermarkets around the world. The company’s P/BV ratio is 0.99 and has a dividend yield of 2.87%. DEG has increased by 14.55% in the last month. The short interest was N/A as of 09/30/2011.
9. Fulton Financial Corp. (FULT)
Sector | Financial Services |
Industry | Banks - Regional - US |
Market Cap | $1,924M |
Beta | 0.88 |
The company is a multi-bank financial holding company. The company’s P/BV ratio is 0.99 and has a dividend yield of 1.77%. FULT has increased by 19.65% in the last month. The short interest was 2.00% as of 09/30/2011.
10. Viad Corporation. (VVI)
Sector | Industrials |
Industry | Business Services |
Market Cap | $393M |
Beta | 1.41 |
The company provides travel and recreation services in North America. The company’s P/BV ratio is 0.99 and has a dividend yield of 0.83%. VVI has increased by 9.35% in the last month. The short interest was 5.20% as of 09/30/2011.
We hope this list helps as investors do their own due diligence and research on low-valuation dividend stocks with bullish momentum.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
