A stock market pullback since early October eliminated much of the gains in U.S. stocks in 2018 and left dozens of stocks trading at or near their lowest levels of the year. Some of these stocks are trading at new lows for good reason, but others are providing long-term investors an excellent opportunity to buy strong stocks at a steep discount. Bank of America recently compiled a list of buy-rated stocks trading within 1 percent of their 52-week lows. Here are seven of the best stocks to buy at their best prices of the past year.
Allstate Corp. (ticker: ALL)
Allstate recently dipped to fresh 52-week lows after the insurance giant reported $136 million in pretax losses related to Hurricane Michael. Analyst Alison Jacobowitz says the Michael damages are manageable, and the company has reduced its exposure to the hurricane-prone Florida residential insurance market to less than 2 percent of total policies. Losses from the California wildfires have also weighed on ALL stock, but Jacobowitz says it’s still too early to estimate the fires’ impact. In the long term, Jacobowitz says Allstate should generate above-average returns. Bank of America has a $110 price target for ALL stock.
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN)
Devon Energy is an oil and gas exploration company with 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent of reserves and roughly 600 million BOE of daily production. WTI crude oil prices have fallen from recent highs in the mid-$70s/bbl to about $50/bbl on concerns that Iranian sanctions will not significantly impact global supply. Analyst Doug Leggate says Devon should improve its capital efficiency in 2019 and will increase its allocation to its best-performing Permian acreage. Bank of America has a $65 price target for DVN stock, implying roughly 100 percent upside from recent levels.
Aptiv (APTV)
Aptiv is an auto parts company that provides vehicle electrical systems and advanced software and sensing systems for the auto industry. APTV stock is down 14 percent in the past year, recently hitting new 52-week lows on concerns about a cyclical downturn in the U.S. auto market. Analyst John Murphy says signal and power solutions revenue, operating margin and adjusted operating income were all higher than he expected in the most recent quarter, and the market has been overly pessimistic about Aptiv’s outlook. Bank of America has…
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