In this article, we will take a detailed look at the 11 Best Fundamentally Strong Penny Stocks To Invest In. For a quick overview of such stocks, read our article 5 Best Fundamentally Strong Penny Stocks To Invest In.
Investors spent most of 2023 looking over their shoulders for the next Fed decision and that next important CPI or jobs report. And despite clear signals that the inflation is declining and the Fed plans to start cutting rates next year, the debate on whether or not we are out of the woods yet is not over.
Binky Chadha, Deutsche Bank chief global strategist, is one of the biggest bulls in the market. His base cases says the S&P 500 would reach 5,100 by the end of 2024. Despite his bullish views, Chadha recently said in a program on CNBC that the cloud of the possibility of recession remains as “thick as ever” going into 2024. The analyst said that there was a consensus opinion that growth was going “off the cliff,” but that notion proved wrong which is why markets have been rallying.
Chadha said that the Fed’s latest announcement regarding rates and indication of a dovish policy stance decreases the possibility of recession. He said that in this environment we should look for upgrades in the macro consensus.
Some analysts also believe the strong momentum seen by tech stocks like Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is expected to continue in 2024 as well.
Focusing on Fundamentals
One of the biggest open secrets in the markets is that wise investors almost always look beyond short-term market cycles and focus on the long-term horizon. Whether or not we would see recession in 2024 becomes meaningless if you are only interested in investing in strong businesses that are poised to grow forever. In other words, it all comes down to the fundamentals and simple investing rules.
As legendary value investor Mohnish Pabrai says in his famous book The Dhandho Investor:
“Simplicity is a very powerful construct. Henry Thoreau recognized this when he said, “Our life is frittered away by detail . . . simplify, simplify.” Einstein also recognized the power of simplicity, and it was the key to his breakthroughs in physics. He noted that the five ascending levels of intellect were, “Smart, Intelligent, Brilliant, Genius, Simple.” For Einstein, simplicity was simply the highest level of intellect. Everything about Warren Buffett’s investment style is simple. It is the thinkers like Einstein and Buffett, who fixate on simplicity, who triumph. The genius behind E=mc2 is its simplicity and elegance. Everything about Dhandho is simple, and therein lies its power. ….The psychological warfare with our brains really gets heated after we buy a stock. The most potent weapon in your arsenal to fight these powerful forces is to buy painfully simple businesses with painfully simple theses for why you’re likely to make a great deal of money and unlikely to lose much. I always write the thesis down. If it takes more than a short paragraph, there is a fundamental problem. If it requires me to fire up Excel, it is a big red flag that strongly suggests that I ought to take a pass.”
Methodology
For this article we first used a stock screener to identify stocks trading under $5 which meet the following conditions:
- -Are profitable
- -Have EPS growth of over 5% over the past 5 years
- -Have positive sales growth over the past 5 years
- -Have Buy or better ratings from Wall Street analysts
By applying the above conditions we got a list of penny stocks. From this dataset we picked 11 stocks with the highest number of hedge fund investors.
11. Information Services Group, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:III)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 10
Technology research & advisory company Information Services Group, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:III) ranks 11th in our list of the best fundamentally strong penny stocks to invest in. The stock has a dividend yield of over 3.9%.
In November Information Services Group, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:III) posted third quarter results. Adjusted EPS in the quarter came in at $0.11, beating estimates by $0.01.
As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, 10 hedge funds out of the 910 funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Information Services Group, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:III). The biggest stake in Information Services Group, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:III) was owned by Gregg J. Powers’ Private Capital Management which owns a $22 million stake in Information Services Group, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:III).
10. Ring Energy Inc (NYSE:REI)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 11
Ring Energy Inc (NYSE:REI) ranks 10th in our list of the best fundamentally strong penny stocks to buy now according to hedge funds. During its third quarter, Ring Energy Inc’s (NYSE:REI) adjusted EPS came in at $0.13, beating estimates by $0.01. Revenue fell 0.8% year over year to $93.68 million, beating estimates by $1.76 million.
In addition to mature companies like Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), hedge funds are also increasing exposure to risky stocks like Ring Energy.
9. Iteris Inc (NASDAQ:ITI)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 11
Iteris Inc (NASDAQ:ITI) was one of the best performers in 2023, having gained about 50% in value. The technology solutions company Iteris Inc (NASDAQ:ITI) in November posted fiscal Q2 results. GAAP EPS in the quarter came in at $0.01, missing estimates by $0.01. Revenue in the period jumped 10.9% year over year to $43.6 million, beating estimates by $2.08 million.
For the fiscal third quarter Iteris Inc (NASDAQ:ITI) guided for a revenue range of $41.0 million to $43.0 million, vs. consensus of $42.89 million.
Liberty Park Capital made the following comment about Iteris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITI) in its Q2 2023 investor letter:
“Iteris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITI)’s 1Q:23 revenues were in-line with analyst estimates, but unexpected timing and staffing issues reduced EBITDA margins by nearly six percentage points (margins would have beaten estimates meaningfully without these issues). The issues now are behind the company and should reverse and provide a tailwind for margins for the rest of the year. ITI currently trades at 10x 2022 cash flow despite rapidly growing software and high-margin hardware businesses and a growing competitive moat in its smart mobility infrastructure management niche.”
8. Rimini Street Inc (NASDAQ:RMNI)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 12
Enterprise software products company Rimini Street Inc (NASDAQ:RMNI) is one of the top penny stocks to buy according to hedge funds. The stock is facing headwinds amid Rimini Street Inc’s (NASDAQ:RMNI) legal battles with Oracle. Rimini Street Inc (NASDAQ:RMNI) talked about the effects of this litigation on its guidance and other important matters during Q3 earnings call:
“For the third quarter, net income attributable to shareholders was $6.8 million or $0.08 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $405,000 or $0.0 per diluted share for the prior year third quarter.
On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the third quarter was $12.1 million or $0.13 per diluted share compared to a net income of $8.3 million or $0.09 per diluted share for the prior year third quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $18.2 million for the third quarter or 17% of revenue compared to $10 million or 9.8% of revenue for the prior year third quarter. Balance sheet. We ended the third quarter with a cash and equivalents balance of $108.2 million plus short-term investments of $19.9 million, consisting of short-term US treasuries in agency securities, bringing cash and short-term investments to $128.1 million, compared to $129.7 million on September 30th, 2022. The credit facility principal outstanding totaled $74.3 million as of September 30th, 2023.
On a cash flow basis, third quarter operating cash flow declined $8.1 million, compared to a decline of $24 million for the prior year third quarter. Deferred revenue as of September 30th, 2023, was approximately $238 million, compared to $248 million from the prior year third quarter. Backlog, which includes the sum of billed deferred revenue and non-cancelable future revenue, increased to $550 million as of September 30th, 2023, compared to $532 million for the prior year third quarter. Business outlook. The company is continuing to suspend guidance as to future financial results until there is more clarity around the impacts from current litigation activity before the US Federal Courts in the company’s ongoing litigation with Oracle.”
Read the full earnings call transcript here.
As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, 12 hedge funds out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Rimini Street Inc (NASDAQ:RMNI). The most significant stakeholder of the firm was Jeffrey Diehl’s Adams Street Partners which owns a $52 million stake in Rimini Street Inc (NASDAQ:RMNI).
Diamond Hill Small Cap Fund made the following comment about Rimini Street, Inc. (NASDAQ:RMNI) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:
“Other bottom contributors in Q3 included Rimini Street, Inc. (NASDAQ:RMNI), Lancaster Colony Corporation and Allegiant Travel Company. Shares of IT services company Rimini Street declined following a litigation ruling in Oracle’s favor, which has increased uncertainty about the company’s brand reputation among prospects and clients. We will observe closely how this unfolds over the coming quarters.”
7. Banco Santander SA (NYSE:SAN)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 14
Spanish financial services company Banco Santander SA (NYSE:SAN) ranks 7th in our list of the best fundamentally strong stocks to buy according to hedge funds. The stock has gained about 40% this year through December 15.
As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, 14 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Banco Santander SA (NYSE:SAN). The biggest stakeholder of Banco Santander SA (NYSE:SAN) was Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management which owns a $6.3 million stake in Banco Santander SA (NYSE:SAN).
6. Daseke Inc (NASDAQ:DSKE)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 15
Daseke Inc (NASDAQ:DSKE) is a flatbed and specialized transportation company. Last month Daseke Inc (NASDAQ:DSKE) posted Q3 results. Adjusted EPS in the quarter came in at $0.12. Revenue fell 13.1% year over year to $402.3 million.
Insider Monkey’s database of 910 hedge funds shows that 15 funds had stakes in Daseke Inc (NASDAQ:DSKE) as of the end of the third quarter of 2023. The biggest hedge fund stakeholder of Daseke Inc (NASDAQ:DSKE) was Michael Braner, Daniel Friedberg and Anil Shrivastava’s 325 Capital which owns a $7.3 million stake in Daseke Inc (NASDAQ:DSKE).
Unlike Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Daseke is a penny stock with risks involved.
Click to continue reading and see the 5 Best Fundamentally Strong Penny Stocks To Invest In.
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Disclosure. None. 11 Best Fundamentally Strong Penny Stocks To Invest In was initially published on Insider Monkey.
