5 Undervalued Companies For The Defensive Investor Near 52 Week Lows

There are a number of great companies in the market today. By using the ModernGraham Valuation Model, I’ve selected the five undervalued companies reviewed by ModernGraham trading closest to their 52 week low. Each of these companies has been determined to be suitable for the Defensive Investor according to the ModernGraham approach.

Defensive Investors are defined as investors who are not able or willing to do substantial research into individual investments, and therefore need to select only the companies that present the least amount of risk. Enterprising Investors, on the other hand, are able to do substantial research and can select companies that present a moderate (though still low) amount of risk.

Be sure to check out the history of this screen to see which companies have been selected in the past.

Here are the five undervalued companies for the Defensive Investor near 52 week lows:

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP)

Helmerich & Payne Inc. qualifies for the more conservative Defensive Investor or the Enterprising Investor. The company passes all of the requirements of both investor types, a rare accomplishment. As a result, all value investors following the ModernGraham approach based on Benjamin Graham’s methods should feel comfortable proceeding with the valuation.

As for a valuation, the company appears to be undervalued after growing its EPSmg (normalized earnings) from $3.24 in 2011 to an estimated $4.77 for 2015. This level of demonstrated earnings growth outpaces the market’s implied estimate of 1.85% annual earnings growth over the next 7-10 years. As a result, the ModernGraham valuation model, based on Benjamin Graham’s formula, returns an estimate of intrinsic value above the price. (See the full valuation)

Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN)

Franklin Resources Inc. qualifies for both the Defensive Investor and the Enterprising Investor. The company passes all of the requirements of both investor types, a rare accomplishment indicative of the company’s strong fundamentals. As a result, all value investors following the ModernGraham approach based on Benjamin Graham’s methods should feel comfortable proceeding with further research into the company.