We recently published a list of 12 Best Affordable Stocks To Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) stands against other best affordable stocks to buy.
Economic and Market Outlook 2025
There has been a growing debate regarding whether the economy of the United States will have a soft landing. A recent report by Vanguard titled “Beyond Landing” released on November 25 discusses the economic outlook for the year ahead. The report highlighted that global inflation has significantly decreased over the past two years, nearing the target of 2%. However, this decline has been inconsistent across different regions, with many developed markets experiencing slowdowns due to monetary policy adjustments. The United States stands out as an exception, showcasing robust economic growth and full employment despite restrictive monetary policies.
READ ALSO: 10 Best Small-Cap Stocks Ready To Explode and 10 Cheap NASDAQ Stocks To Invest In Now.
The report raised critical questions about whether the US has achieved a “soft landing” or if high interest rates will eventually lead to a “hard landing.” The narrative has largely focused on the Federal Reserve’s ability to time rate cuts effectively to facilitate painless disinflation. Vanguard suggests that the strong growth and falling inflation in the US may be better explained by supply-side dynamics, such as increased labor productivity and a surge in available labor, rather than solely by Federal Reserve policies.
Regarding the 2025 outlook, the firm anticipates that US real GDP growth may decline from around 3% to closer to 2%, influenced by potential policy risks like trade tariffs and stricter immigration regulations. Core inflation is expected to remain above 2.5% for most of 2025. The firm also predicts that interest rates will stabilize at levels higher than those seen during the 2010s, fostering better returns in cash and fixed-income markets over the next decade. However, they express caution regarding equity markets due to elevated valuations. The report highlights a tension between momentum and valuation in risk assets, suggesting that while some stocks may continue to perform well, their high valuations could pose risks if economic conditions change unexpectedly.
A couple watching their favorite show on TV, enjoying the entertainment network service.
Our Methodology
To compile the list of the 12 best affordable stocks to buy right now, we used the Finviz stock screener, Yahoo Finance, and Seeking Alpha. Using the screener we shortlisted stocks trading below a Forward P/E of 15, as of December 4, and that are expected to experience earnings growth this year. Next, we sorted our initial list by market capitalization and cross-checked the Forward P/E of each stock from Seeking Alpha and earnings growth from Yahoo Finance. Lastly, we ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders as per Insider Monkey’s database for Q3 2024.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? 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).
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
Forward P/E Ratio: 10.23
Earnings Growth This Year: 6.05%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is one of the best affordable stocks to buy right now. It operates as one of the largest media and internet providers in the United States. The company owns renowned brands such as Telemundo, Universal Pictures, and NBC.
The consumer trend towards traditional media distribution channels is subsiding, thereby creating trouble for media companies like Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). As a result of this trend and the ending of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), the company lost 29,000 Connectivity & Platforms Customer Relationships and 87,000 Domestic Broadband Customers.
However, regardless of the decrease in customer relationships, the company did well in increasing its Broadband revenue by 2.7% year-over-year, driven by a 3.6% increase in average revenue per user. Moreover, to tackle the customer relationship issue, management has shifted its focus to its wireless segment and added 319,000 new domestic customer lines during the quarter. Its streaming service platform Peacock also proved to be successful as paid subscribers improved by 29%, propelled by the 2024 Summer Olympics. Looking ahead management aims to retain its competitive edge within the broadband segment, while further improving its wireless and subscription services.
Overall, CMCSA ranks 9th on our list of best affordable stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of CMCSA to grow, 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 CMCSA 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.
