We recently published a list of Top 12 Extreme Value Stocks to Invest In Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) stands against other top extreme value stocks to invest in right now.
Are Value Stocks About to Overtake Growth Stocks?
On March 11, Chris Grisanti, MAI Capital Management chief market strategist, joined CNBC for an interview to talk about the recent developments in the market. He noted that the growth stocks tend to go up and down really quickly, what a lot of investors miss while investing is that along with choosing a good company you also have to choose a good entry price. This has been the case for the last 7 years as the valuations have gotten out of control as the growth stocks have largely outperformed value stocks. Grisanti believes that now the market is going back to the point where the value stocks will take over the growth sector.
Grisanti thinks something different is happening in terms of the current market slowdown. He does not think that this downturn is due to over exuberance. Grisanti explained that over the past years the norm has been that the tech stocks get ahead and later pull the market down a bit towards a natural and healthier price correction. This is different as per the chief market strategist, currently there are economically sensitive stocks leading the way down. We have banks, airlines, financials, and the industrials tanking. He pointed out that this is the first time in 3 years that the market is telling the fears of an economic slowdown. Moreover, Grisanti further explained that usually the market can fall on irrational fears however become self fulfilling automatically. However, the current slowdown seems different from the usual scenarios.
Through the first two months of 2025, the market has been mediocre and the Mag Seven were down slightly. However, the banks were up high single digits and the airlines were also up. Now, it has all turned around, tech continues to go down and has been joined by the economically sensitive sectors as well, which is a “Yellow Signal” for the market. Grisanti likes stocks that are trading cheaper than the market and he thinks it is not a bad time to start selecting companies that are cheap and can meet the earnings expectations.
Our Methodology
To curate the list of top 12 extreme value stocks to invest in right now, we used the Finviz stock screener, Seeking Alpha, and Yahoo Finance as our sources. Using the screener we aggregated a list of value stocks trading between a forward P/E of 5 t0 10, with earnings expected to grow in the current and next year. Next, after sorting the list by market capitalization we cross checked the forward P/E of each stock from Seeking Alpha and expected earnings growth from Yahoo Finance. Lastly, we ranked the list in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders, as of Q4 2024. Please note that the data was recorded on March 12, 2025.
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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A customer walking into a bank branch, expressing the convenience of consumer banking services.
Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)
Forward P/E Ratio: 6.57
Earnings Growth This Year: 31.66%
Earnings Growth Next Year: 20.38%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 25
Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) is a British multinational universal bank that offers personal and business banking, wholesale and commercial banking, and private and investment banking solutions. On March 4, Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the stock from Neutral to Outperform with a price target of 370 GBP.
Ariel Global Fund in its Q4 2024 investor letter noted that they bought shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) as they anticipate the shares will increase in value due to a recovery in global capital markets and growth in net interest income. This growth is expected to be driven by macroeconomic hedging and asset flows. Moreover, the fund noted that the bank plans to expand its investment banking advisory business. In addition, the bank’s US credit card business offers opportunities for a potential sale or a quicker earnings recovery. Ariel Global expects Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) to distribute £3 billion and £10 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases between 2024 and 2026 and achieve a return on tangible common equity of about 12%. It is one of the top extreme-value stocks to invest in right now.
Ariel Global Fund stated the following regarding Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“We bought global bank and financial services provider, Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS). We expect shares to benefit from a recovery in global capital markets and net interest income (NII) growth driven by macroeconomic hedging and asset flows. The bank is also planning to expand its investment banking advisory business. Moreover, its U.S. credit card business presents opportunities for either a potential sale or a quicker earnings recovery. Taken together, we see a reasonable path for Barclays to pursue its return targets, which include the distribution of £3 billion and £10 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases between 2024 and 2026 and achieving a return on tangible common equity of about 12%.”
Overall, BCS ranks 9th on our list of top extreme value stocks to invest in right now. While we acknowledge the potential of BCS 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 BCS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
