When we search for value, we need to find unloved stocks. We can't simply go about finding stocks that are down in price over a given period. We need to find great companies that have either succumbed to irrational market volatility or ones other investors have simply got wrong.
Some stocks are adversely affected by hysteria formulated from topical or newsworthy media trends such as politics, gold prices or some other blunt instrument which hits every stock in a sector – even the good ones.
One stock that does not deserve its current price tag is Myer (ASX: MYR). Recently Myer has been one of my favourite stocks. Since I said the company "might be the next one ready to make a move" the share price rallied to almost $3.00 but is back trading at $2.60.
In this Fool's opinion, Myer is still worthy of investors' time and money. Consumer confidence is experiencing an upwards kick and retailers' shares prices will follow. Any price below $3.00 is cheap and, at current prices, the company boasts a 6.7% fully franked dividend.
Another stock that has seemingly peaked and is on its way back down is Ausdrill (ASX: ASL). Ausdrill is a diversified, end-to-end mining services stock. The oldest investment strategy instructs us to buy stocks at their lowest price and sell them at the highest price possible. Ausdrill is seemingly offering up this opportunity to investors. After rallying to $1.90 and paying out a cent dividend, the stock has come back down to $1.40. I entered into Ausdrill around $1.14 and sold some around $1.80 but if it stays at current prices I might feel compelled to top up again.
Gold prices are low, which can mean golden opportunities for investors. Medusa Mining (ASX: MML) is an exciting low-cost gold producer. In FY13, the company managed to pull the shiny metal from the ground with an average cost of US $313 per ounce and its revenues are expected to increase in coming years because of rapidly increasing production rates, despite a lower gold price.
My favourite stock pick for September was Leighton Holdings (ASX: LEI). Since I mentioned it, the stock is up around 15% and has returned a 2.5% interim dividend. Leighton is continuing to recover from a number of cost overruns on significant projects, which brought down its $35 share price back in 2010. In recent times it has secured many new contracts and in the last week alone has won over $600 million worth. Leighton trades on a current P/E ratio of 12.
Another favourite of mine is Cochlear (ASX: COH). Cochlear is the world leader of implantable hearing devices but its share price has suffered recently. Partly due to lower revenues caused by customers holding out for its newest model (the Nucleus 6) and the introduction of a new Chinese competitor. Even with that in mind, investors could do worse than add it into portfolios.
Foolish takeaway
In the past six months the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) (^AXJO) has rallied, pushing up high yielding blue chip stocks to unsustainable levels. Thanks to their higher prices new money coming into the market will be forced to look further down the index at companies with larger growth potential. Why not beat the rush and snatch a bargain while you can?
Speaking of bargains, if you want an even better stock idea, try our favourite dividend stock for 2013-2014. We'll give you a full report on it, free! Simply click here for your FREE copy of "The Motley Fool's Top Dividend Stock for 2013-2014."
More reading
- The bull case for gold miners
- 5 tech stocks to diversify your portfolio
- 5 ways to profit from the internet
Motley Fool contributor Owen Raskiewicz owns shares in Cochlear, Ausdrill, Medusa Mining, Myer and Leighton.
