The S&P 500 currently trades at nearly 21 times its forward earnings, close to its highest level in 20 years. That's making it more challenging for investors to know where to put their hard-earned capital. No one wants to buy a stock only to see it decline sharply afterwards because they overpaid.
While the market seems richly valued these days, there are some pockets of value out there. Two stocks that are absurdly cheap right now are Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) and Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW). That makes them look like great long-term buys for investors who have a few hundred dollars to put to work today.
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A bottom-of-the-barrel valuation
Canadian energy infrastructure giant Enbridge recently updated its long-term outlook. The company expects to grow its cash flow per share by 10% in 2022 to a range of 5.20 to 5.50 Canadian dollars ($4.03-$4.27). Enbridge's stock recently traded at less than $37 a share. That means it currently fetches less than nine times cash flow. That's absurdly cheap for a company that expects to grow its cash flow at a 5% to 7% annual rate over the next several years.
Several factors help fuel Enbridge's outlook. First, the company has the financial capacity to invest CA$5 billion to CA$6 billion ($3.9 billion-$4.7 billion) per year thanks to its top-notch financial profile and post-dividend cash flow. It has already secured CA$9 billion ($7 billion) of expansion projects, which should help fuel growth in the near term. It sees billions of dollars of additional annual organic investment potential across its four business lines (gas transmission, gas distribution, liquids pipelines, and renewable power) over the next few years, with an increasing percentage of its investment going to support the expansion of lower-carbon energy sources. Enbridge can supplement organic investment with acquisitions and share repurchases to achieve its growth objectives.
That steadily rising cash flow should enable Enbridge to continue increasing its dividend as it has done for the last 27 years. Because its shares trade at such a cheap valuation, Enbridge's dividend yield is up to 7.4%, significantly higher than the S&P 500's 1.3% dividend yield. Combine that yield with Enbridge's growing cash flow and low valuation, and it could potentially produce double-digit total annual returns in the coming years.
A healthy discount to the value of its underlying real estate
Medical Properties Trust has delivered transformational growth over the last few years. The hospital-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) has acquired $11.8 billion of properties since 2019. They've helped grow the healthcare REIT's FFO per share at a double-digit annual rate in recent years.
The company's latest deals have it on track to produce $1.81 to $1.85 of normalized FFO per share this year. With its stock recently trading at around $22 per share, it fetches about 12 times its FFO. That's dirt cheap compared to some REITs, which trade at more than 25 times their FFO.
Medical Properties Trust recently took a step to highlight the underlying value of its hospital real estate portfolio, forming a joint venture with a private equity fund to own eight of its hospitals. The $1.78 billion deal valued the hospitals 48% above what the company paid for them in 2016. The transaction also brought in cash to enable Medical Properties to continue acquiring hospital-related real estate.
Because of its dirt cheap valuation, Medical Properties also offers a high dividend yield, currently above 5%. The company has grown that payout in each of the last eight years.
Combine that yield with the REIT's double-digit annual FFO per share growth rate, and it's not a stretch to think it can produce double-digit total annual returns. Over the last five years, it has certainly done that, generating a nearly 20% total annualized return.
Low-risk opportunities to earn high returns
Enbridge and Medical Properties Trust currently trade at what seems like absurdly low valuations in today's richly valued market, which is why they offer such high dividend yields. Combine those lucrative income streams with their growth prospects, and they have an excellent shot at producing attractive total returns in the coming years. That makes them look like great stocks to buy for those with a few hundred dollars to invest these days.
This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. We’re motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.
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