Giving Thanks: For Post-Holiday Undervalued Stocks

With an awful Thanksgiving week trading session topping off a bad month for stocks, plenty of investors are combing the ashes now for solid companies with bargain shares. They’re not hard to find.

We set the YCharts Stock Screener Monday morning to look for large caps trading at a price to earnings ratio of less than 10. We also asked the screener to cut out companies with less-than-strong fundamentals, and we asked for dividend yields north of 3%.

The resulting list of 49 companies includes plenty of worthy contenders for long-term investment portfolios. Here’s a look at four of these that get perfect 10s – great fundamentals and share price value rankings -- from YCharts Pro.

Harris (HRS)

Shares of Harris, which makes communication systems used on battlefields and elsewhere, have fallen as government spending cuts for defense have grown more certain. But Harris’ technology serves more than just defense departments. Sales to emergency response departments (police, firefighters, etc.) and airports (for air traffic control) played significant roles in boosting its revenues in recent years.

Harris Corporation Revenues TTM Chart by YCharts

Budget delays on national and local levels always hurt Harris, but in the end, its products are more often than not deemed critical. YCharts Pro considers the shares undervalued.

Autoliv (ALV)

Stockholm-based Autoliv is the leading company for auto safety technology, making components like air bags, seat belts and sensors that see potential crashes. It spent recessionary downtime on efficiency projects, and as a key supplier to the major auto makers, it’s considered particularly well-set to thrive whenever car sales ever take off again.

Autoliv Operating Margin TTM Chart by YCharts

Autoliv’s share price dropped earlier this year when authorities in the U.S. and Europe began investigating it and many other auto parts makers for possible anticompetitive practices. While there’s no indication of how, or if, Autoliv might be specifically impacted by the investigation, analysts generally agree that the company is strong enough to handle any fallout.

Intel (INTC)

Intel has baffled even its fans in the market lately with sales and profit results beyond what many thought possible for a chip-maker. At a time when personal computer makers are almost universally reporting sales slow downs, Intel’s financial results have been quite nice.

Intel Corporation Revenues TTM Chart by YCharts

Intel credits emerging markets for the growth. Warren Buffett apparently believes there are still long-term gains to be had in the company too, as his Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) bought $200 million of its shares during the third quarter, a tiny piece of Intel’s market cap but a nice vote of confidence.

General Dynamics (GD)

Shares of General Dynamics have dropped with the rest of the defense contractors recently, but the general consensus about the company’s long-term prospects remains positive. Buffett also picked up this one last quarter.

The company has several ways to thrive in the civilian world, mainly by selling Gulfstream jets around the globe. That business, which relies on individual and corporate buyers, is booming. A perpetually-rising dividend also helps smooth out the ups and downs associated with military budgets.

General Dynamics Corporation Dividend Chart by YCharts

Dee Gill is an editor for the YCharts Pro Investor Service which includes professional stock charts, stock ratings and portfolio strategies.