3 Five Star Undervalued Stocks

THE VALUE INVESTOR: These three UK companies are trading at significantly less than their fair value estimate according to Morningstar stock analysts

Emma Wall 23 January, 2015 | 11:36AM
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Are you a contrarian investor? Contrarian investors ignore the herd and look for quality stocks that are trading at significantly less than they believe the company is truly worth. Morningstar stock analysts estimate of the stock’s fair value; our uncertainty about how tightly we feel we can bound that fair value; and the stock’s current market price.

Our fair-value estimates are based on our projection of a company’s future cash flows, and our estimate of the appropriate discount rate to apply to those cash flows. Our analysts follow their companies daily, and if their inputs change, we update our assessment of the stock’s fair value.

Depending on where the stock is trading in relation to this fair value estimate the stock is assigned a quantitative star rating – three stars is fairly valued, one star means the stock is very overvalued, and five stars suggests the stock is significantly undervalued.

There are three UK companies currently rated as five star stocks by Morningstar analysts.

BG Group (BG.)

BG Group is an integrated energy company primarily engaged in the exploration for and production of natural gas in Egypt, the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, and Kazakhstan. It specializes in using liquefied natural gas to monetize its stranded gas resources for delivery to high-value markets in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

As an oil and gas producer, BG's main risks include falling prices. Weakening global economies and a glut of gas from domestic resources or other LNG providers could destroy margins.

BHP Billiton (BLT)

BHP Billiton is a diversified miner that supplies aluminium, coal, copper, iron ore, mineral sands, oil, gas, nickel, diamonds, uranium, and silver. BHP Billiton owns a very substantial proportion of the planet's long-life, low-cost, export-oriented, expandable mining assets. Many of these are effectively irreplaceable, with low sovereign risk and proximity to key Asian markets.

BHP Billiton faces all the environmental and operational risks associated with mining as well as the country-specific risks associated with some of its assets.

Tullow Oil (TLW)

London-based Tullow Oil is an independent oil and gas producer that targets oil in underexplored areas of the world. The company focuses largely on Africa; its key assets/acreages are in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. Beyond Africa, the company is also actively exploring in South America and the Norwegian portion of the North and Barents seas.

One of Tullow's biggest risks is a substantial and prolonged drop in oil prices, which would reduce operating cash flows, slow development plans, and reduce the value of its properties. 

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar
Rating
Tullow Oil PLC35.88 GBX-0.94

About Author

Emma Wall  is former Senior International Editor for Morningstar

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