Investors who want to enhance their chances to unearth high-quality companies may find value if they search for stocks with a market capitalization of at least $2 billion that are trading at no more than 1.5 times their book value.
In addition to the above criteria, the stocks below have positive recommendation ratings from Wall Street sell-side analysts.
Santos
The first company that meets the above criteria is Santos Ltd (SSLZY, Financial). Shares of the Australian oil and gas explorer and producer traded at a price of $4.95 per unit on Feb. 24 for a market capitalization of $10.31 billion.
The price-book ratio of 1.47 is higher than the industry median of 0.9.
The share price has fallen nearly 17% so far this year and now it is trading below the 35-day simple moving average line and lower than the middle point of the 52-week range of $4.28 to $6.20.
GuruFocus assigned a moderate rating of 4 out of 10 for the company’s financial strength and a positive rating of 6 out of 10 for its profitability.
Wall Street suggests an overweight rating for shares of Santos Ltd with an average price target of $5.76 per share.
Knight-Swift Transportation
The second company with the above criteria to consider is Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc (KNX, Financial). Shares of the Phoenix, Arizona-based provider of truckload transportation services in North America and Mexico traded at a price of $37.77 per unit at close on Feb. 24 for a market capitalization of $6.45 billion.
The price-book ratio of 1.14 is in line with the industry median of 1.1.
Year to date, the share price has risen 5%, but it is still below the 35-day simple moving average line. Also, it is situated before the middle point of the 52-week range of $27.03 to $40.46.
GuruFocus assigned a positive rating of 6 out of 10 for the company’s financial strength and a high rating of 8 out of 10 for its profitability.
Wall Street suggests an overweight rating for shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc and has established an average target price of $43.76 per share.
Fluor Corp
The third company with the above criteria is Fluor Corp (FLR, Financial). Shares of the Irving, Texas-based global engineering and construction company traded at a price of $13.78 per unit on Feb. 24 for a market capitalization of roughly $2 billion.
The price-book ratio of 1.24 is slightly higher than the industry median of 1.06.
The stock has fallen by 27% so far this year to below the 35-day simple moving average line. Also, the share price currently trades only a few steps away from the lower limit of the 52-week range of $13.67 to $41.91.
GuruFocus assigned a moderate rating of 5 out of 10 for the company’s financial strength and a very positive rating of 7 out of 10 for its profitability.
Wall Street recommends a hold rating for shares of Fluor Corp with an average price target of $18.20 per share.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned.
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