TipRanks
3 “Strong Buy” Stocks That Are Still Undervalued
After a year that most of us want to forget, 2021 is shaping up to start with stability and an even keel. The election is safely behind us, the new Biden Administration promises a ‘no drama’ approach, a closely divided and hyper-partisan Congress is unlikely to enact any sweeping legislation, reform or otherwise, and COVID vaccines are ready for distribution. It’s a recipe for a calm news cycle.Which makes it a perfect time to buy into the stock market. Investors can read the tea leaves, or study the data – whatever their preferred mode of stock analysis – and use this period of calm to make rational choices on the stock moves. Using the TipRanks database, we’ve pulled up three stocks that present a bullish case. All three meet a profile that should interest value investors. They hold unanimous Strong Buy consensus ratings, along with a ‘perfect 10’ from the Smart Score. That score, a unique measure, evaluates a stock based on 8 factors with a proven high correlation to future overperformance. A ‘10’ score indicates a strong likelihood that the stock will rise in the coming year. And finally, all three of these stocks present with double-digit upside potentials, indicating that they are still undervalued.UMH Properties (UMH)We’ll start in the real estate investment trust (REIT) sector, with UMH Properties. This company, which started out after WWII in the mobile home industry, later become the premier builder of manufactured housing. Today, UMH owns and manages a portfolio of 124 manufactured housing communities, spread across 8 states in the Northeast and Midwest, and totaling well over 23,000 units. As a REIT, UMH has benefitted from the nature of manufactured houses as affordable options in the housing market. UMH both sells the manufactured homes to residents, while leasing the plots on which the properties stand, and leases homes to residents. The company’s same-property income, a key metric, showed 8.6% year-over-year increase in the third quarter.Also in the third quarter, UMH reported a 16% yoy increase in top line revenue, showing $43.1 million compared to $37.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Funds from Operations, another key metric in the REIT sector, came in at 11 cents per share, down from 14 cents in 3Q19. The decrease came as the company redeemed $2.9 million in Series B Preferred Stock.REIT’s are required to return income to shareholders, and UMH accomplishes this with a reliable dividend and a high yield of 4.7%. The payment, at 18 cents per common share, is paid quarterly and has been held stable for over a decade.Compass Point analyst Merrill Ross believes the company is in a sound position to create value for both households and shareholders.”We believe that UMH has proven that it can bring attractive, affordable housing to either renters…
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