We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Undervalued Stocks to Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) stands against the other best undervalued stocks.
As per Evercore, the equity market rally is expected to further accelerate under the Donald Trump presidency. The S&P 500 is expected to touch 6,600 by June end. This growth in the index is expected to stem from Trump’s deregulatory agency, which should fuel corporate profits. Trump is expected to act fast to enact his policies.
The investment firm went on to add that measures such as deregulation and corporate tax cuts are expected to fuel business activity and unlock significant rally in stocks. The bull market’s 2-year run stemmed from healthy growth from mega-cap technology stocks, and high valuations are expected to further rise. Evercore hinted at data demonstrating that the average bull market witnessed an increase of 152% over 50 months, while the current market saw a run-up of only 65% over the previous 25 months.
Trump’s Next Presidency- How Will It Affect US Economy?
After Donald Trump’s win, economists and market strategists have been assessing how his economic policies might affect the broader US economy and equity markets. While the initial reaction was positive, some experts opine that Trump’s plans might fuel inflation, which will hurt consumers hoping to get some respite from it. Trump’s tax plan revolves around extending the provisions in the TCJA. The provisions are yet to expire at 2025 end. These provisions consist of lowered tax brackets and expanded standard deduction.
Trump’s campaign proposed lowering the corporate tax rate to 15% from the current rate of 21%. What will be the impact on the economy? Well, the economy might initially grow moderately under Trump’s plans. That being said, the impact might fade over time, mainly because of the effect of deporting millions of immigrants, as per Oxford Economics. As per the chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, the real GDP might grow 0.3 percentage points higher in 2026 as compared to the situation if existing policies continue. However, in 2028, the GDP growth might eventually fall to 0.6 percentage points lower in 2028 as compared to earlier projections as a result of deportations and increased tariffs.
READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In.
Inflation Under Trump’s Presidency
Consumers tend to rank inflation among their biggest economic concerns. Global economists and market strategists believe that Trump’s Presidency can reignite inflation worries. According to investing legend, Jim Rogers, Trump’s tariffs might increase domestic inflation. As a result, the US Fed will be forced to keep the interest rates high. He further added that higher tariffs on goods, commodities, and products will lead to increased global inflation.
Moreover, Trump has plans to deport millions of immigrants. This can also fuel inflation as employers will experience labor crunch, resulting in higher wages.
While there are some uncertainties regarding the potential impacts of Trump’s economic policies, market experts believe that investors can go long on stocks that remain undervalued despite the recent rally.
Our Methodology
To list the 10 Best Undervalued Stocks to Buy Right Now, we used a screener and sifted through several online rankings to extract the list of stocks trading at a forward P/E multiple of less than 15. Next, we selected the stocks which were popular among hedge funds. Finally, the stocks were ranked in the ascending order of their hedge fund sentiments, as of Q2 2024.
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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Stocks chart
Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC)
Forward P/E Ratio as of 8 November: 11.00x
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22
Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) offers financial products and services in the US, Canada, Asia, and internationally.
Market analysts are quite optimistic about Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC)’s EPS growth trajectory given the growth potential in Manulife’s Asia and Global Wealth and Asset Management (GWAM) segments. Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) continues to pursue strategic initiatives in a bid to enhance shareholder value and optimize its business portfolio. A critical development was the company’s progress in reducing its exposure to legacy risks and Alternative Long-Duration Assets (ALDA).
Given Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC)’s capital position, analysts believe that it is well-placed to pursue strategic growth opportunities, like acquisitions or investments in high-growth markets, mainly in Asia. Such investments are expected to drive long-term revenue growth and market share expansion, resulting in increased shareholder value. In Asia, Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) can capitalize on the region’s expanding middle class, higher life expectancy, and improved demand for insurance and wealth management products. Its established presence in key Asian markets places it well to capture a larger share of this growth potential.
Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) has maintained its focus on pivoting to a business model with lower risk and higher ROE. Moreover, it continues to emphasize the quality and productivity of agents in Asia. The company has been expanding its customer reach with the help of strategic partnerships and new product offerings. In Global WAM, Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) completed the acquisition of CQS, which is a U.K.-based multi-sector alternative credit manager.
Overall, MFC ranks 8th on our list of the 10 best undervalued stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of MFC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than MFC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.