There’s an old real estate adage that says that you should never buy the best house in a bad neighborhood. But when it comes to investing, sometimes the best stocks in the worst sectors, like Schlumberger(SLB), Citigroup (C) and AbbVie (ABBV), are excellent long-term value plays for patient investors.

Schlumberger (SLB)

The energy sector has actually bounced back pretty nicely of late, but most energy stocks are still severely depressed compared to where they were a couple of years ago. There are certainly better short-term value plays in the space than SLB. But if you want a best-in-class stock that is relatively low-risk and has positioned itself perfectly for the eventual rebound in oil prices, SLB is a great play. Not only is SLB financially healthy enough to weather the downturn in oil prices, its aggressive buyout of Cameron International Corporation (CAM) was both opportunistic and strategic.

Rival Halliburton (HAL) agreed to buy Baker Hughes (BHI) back in November 2014. The latest news on that deal is that the U.S. Justice Department is suing to block it. SLB announced its $14.8 billion buyout of CAM in August 2015, and because the two companies offer complementary product lines, SLB has already closed the deal.

SLB, which was already the world’s largest oil services company prior to the CAM acquisition, has expanded its business scope, trimmed the fat and is ready to boom when oil prices and production begin to ramp up again.

Citigroup (C)

Before you start yelling at me through your screen for declaring Citigroup the best stock in the financial sector, hear…

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