We recently published a list of the 13 Most Undervalued Blue Chip Stocks To Buy According To Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) stands against other most undervalued blue chip stocks to buy according to analysts.
“Now is the Time to Revisit Portfolios”
The Fed went through with a 50 basis point cut and as things have started to get clear, investors must give their portfolio another look. On September 20, Matt Stucky, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management’s chief equities portfolio manager, appeared in an interview on Yahoo Finance to discuss why and how investors must revisit their portfolios.
He suggested that now is the perfect time for investors to sit down and reassess their investments with the help of advisors. Stucky highlights that there is currently $6.3 trillion sitting in money market funds in the asset class, which may not be as attractive after the 50 basis point cut went through. He urged investors to consider a rather diversified portfolio and suggested that sitting on cash alone is risky.
He reiterated that while investors do not need to alter their long-term strategic goals, the ones with idle cash must try to allocate or deploy that money in other investment classes. According to Stucky, garnering a solid yield or return on investment does not come without risk and investors must understand that with the current Fed decision on board, it is impossible to get that kind of yield from cash alone.
What Does the Cut Signal?
On September 19, Dennis Lockhart, Former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, appeared in an interview on Yahoo Finance to discuss the aftermath of the rate cut. According to Lockhart, the rate cut was perfectly balanced and rather optimistic in nature.
He believes that the Fed’s decision was not reactionary to anything going on in the market or the economy. The Fed is particularly confident about the inflation rate, the labor market, and the soft landing of the economy.
Lockhart suggested that the Fed will reroute and remain flexible based on how the economy is performing from meeting to meeting. According to him, the Fed will aim to maintain flexibility and the 50 basis point cut was more like a compensation to what should have happened in July.
Our Methodology
To come up with the 13 most undervalued blue chip stocks to buy according to analysts we examined multiple similar rankings, our own rankings, and ETFs to come up with the best blue chip stocks. We then chose stocks with a forward P/E ratio that was less than the S&P 500’s (22.68, as of September 22). Finally, we ranked the shortlisted stocks in ascending order of the analyst upside potential, as of September 22, 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
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Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)
Forward P/E, as of September 22: 12.3
Analyst Upside Potential, as of September 22: 13%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 92
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a financial services company that ranks ninth on our list of the most undervalued blue chip stocks to buy according to analysts. The company provides investment and wealth management services to individuals, institutions, small to medium-sized businesses, large corporations, and the government.
In the second quarter of 2024, Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) added another 278,000 net new checking accounts, bringing its fiscal half-year 2024 total to 500,000. As for the wealth management segment, the company maintained 6,100 new relationships and added thousands of small businesses in its commercial business sector. Bank of America now manages $5.7 trillion in client balances, loans, deposits, and investments in its consumer and wealth management segments.
Its financial results aside, the Tier 1 investment company is also among the top credit card issuers in the United States and has one of the best retail networks across the country. Bank of America Corporation’s (NYSE:BAC) position in the market is evident from its 69-million-individual customer base, 3,800 retail locations, and 15,000 ATMs across the United States. Overall, the company has 58 million verified digital users, with 47 million active mobile users.
Analysts are also bullish on BAC and their 12-month median price target of $45.5 points to a 13% upside from current levels. In Q2 2024, there were 92 hedge funds that held positions in the stock with total stakes amounting to $48.1 billion. As of June 30, Berkshire Hathaway was the largest shareholder with a position worth $41.1 billion.
ClearBridge Investments’ ClearBridge Value Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“We added several new positions during the quarter. Our largest new addition was Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving some 66 million consumer and small business clients across the U.S. as well as large corporations, financial institutions and governments globally. We believe that the interest rate pressure that Bank of America faced in early 2023 has subsided, and risks surrounding deposit outflows have abated, which should allow the company to improve its book value and capital growth as well as benefit from a rebound of capital markets activity.”
Overall, BAC ranks 9th on our list of most undervalued blue chip stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of BAC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BAC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.