In this article, we are going to discuss the 10 best affordable blue chip stocks to buy now.
The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high on April 17, as hopes of a de-escalation in the Middle East war and robust earnings expectations in the current Q1 earnings season drew investors back into risk assets. The index recovered all its losses since the beginning of the war and is now up 3.90% since the beginning of 2026, as of the writing of this piece.
According to big banks, the US consumer spending has remained resilient despite the high oil prices, while the pipeline for deals and IPOs was robust. According to data from LSEG, the S&P 500 companies are projected to earn a combined $605.1 billion for the first three months of 2026, up from a forecast of $598.7 billion at the beginning of the quarter.
That said, the high hopes of a fully open Strait of Hormuz have dwindled over the weekend after Washington and Tehran clashed over the current blockade. Moreover, the ongoing ceasefire is set to expire this week, and with still no deal in sight, there are again looming concerns of a renewed escalation.
With that said, here are the Best Affordable Blue Chip Stocks to Buy Right Now.
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
Our Methodology
To collect data for this article, we used our stock screeners to identify blue chip companies that boast a market cap of over $50 billion. We then shortlisted the stocks that had a share price of less than $50 and a forward P/E ratio of below 15, as of April 17. We then limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. The following are the Best Affordable Blue Chip Stocks to Invest in.
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 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
10. BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)
Share Price as of April 17: $44.59
Forward P/E Ratio: 14.97
BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) is a British multinational company recognized worldwide for quality gasoline, transport fuels, chemicals, and alternative sources of energy such as wind and biofuels.
On April 16, TD Cowen trimmed its price target on BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) from $46 to $44, while maintaining a ‘Hold’ rating on the shares. The analyst firm revised its model after the energy giant signaled exceptionally strong oil trading performance in the first quarter, which is expected to partially offset the lower Upstream realizations.
While BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) expects a windfall from the soaring oil prices triggered by the US-Iran war, its overall oil and gas production is projected to be broadly flat in the first quarter. Moreover, the energy firm expects its net debt to surge to between $25 billion and $27 billion at the end of Q1, up from just over $22 billion in the previous quarter, mainly due to movements in working capital.
On the other hand, the analysts over at UBS turned more bullish on BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) on April 15, upgrading the stock from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Buy’ (read more details here).
9. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)
Share Price as of April 17: $43
Forward P/E Ratio: 13.37
Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) is a senior crude oil and natural gas production company, with continuing operations in its core areas located in Western Canada, the UK portion of the North Sea, and offshore Africa.
On April 9, Wells Fargo analyst Sam Margolin bumped the firm’s price target on Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) from C$47 to C$61, while maintaining an ‘Equal Weight’ rating on the shares. The raised target reflects an upside potential of almost 4% from the current share price.
Wells Fargo revised its oil price forecast to $75 per barrel for Brent and $70 per barrel for WTI following the announcement of the US-Iran ceasefire, with talks currently ongoing for a long-term solution. Similar to 2022, the analyst sees this pullback as a mid-cycle correction that creates an entry point for a more orderly revaluation of well-positioned stocks.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) completed a strategic acquisition in the first quarter of 2026. As a result, the company raised its output target to 1.62 million-1.67 million boepd for FY 2026, up from 1.59 million-1.65 million boepd previously.
8. Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)
Share Price as of April 17: $35.47
Forward P/E Ratio: 13.37
Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) is an international energy company headquartered in Norway, with over 25,000 employees in around 20 countries worldwide.
Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) revealed on April 16 that it expects the Q1 earnings from its marketing, midstream, and processing business to exceed its $400 million guidance, driven mainly by the significant volatility as a result of the US-Iran war. Moreover, the company’s gas trading business had also benefited from the price spikes during the cold spell earlier this year in the US, as well as from the “geographic spreads” in the gas market in Europe.
Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) became the latest European energy giant to signal stronger earnings in the upcoming Q1 report, following similar announcements by BP, Shell, and Total. Despite the ongoing ceasefire, Brent crude futures have soared by over 30% since the United States and Israel began their first strikes on Iran.
That said, Danske Bank recently turned bearish on Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR), downgrading the stock from ‘Buy’ to ‘Hold’ (read more details here).
7. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)
Share Price as of April 17: $36.67
Forward P/E Ratio: 13.24
Next on our list of the Affordable Blue Chip Stocks is Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD). It is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products, and petrochemicals.
On April 16, TD Cowen analyst Jason Gabelman bumped the firm’s price target on Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) from $34 to $38, while maintaining a ‘Hold’ rating on the shares. The raised target reflects an upside of just under 4% from the current price level.
The revision comes after TD Cowen updated its estimates to reflect the limited upside from LPG exports, which could become more significant depending on spot exposure and a facility ramp-up. The analyst firm expects any such benefits to remain largely contained this year.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) is known for its strong commitment to shareholders and long dividend history, highlighted by its growing distribution for 27 consecutive years. The midstream operator currently boasts a robust annual dividend yield of 6%, putting it among the 14 Value Stocks with Highest Dividends.
6. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)
Share Price as of April 17: $40.52
Forward P/E Ratio: 12.00
Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) is a leading global healthcare company, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark.
Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) announced on April 14 that it was partnering with OpenAI to deploy artificial intelligence across its business. The strategic partnership will allow the Wegovy-maker to better use AI to analyze complex datasets, identify promising new drugs, and reduce the time it takes for a medicine to move from the research stage to patient use.
Sam Altman’s OpenAI will assist Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) in training its global workforce, enhancing AI literacy, and boosting productivity across departments. The drugmaker revealed that pilot programmes would begin across research and development, manufacturing, and commercial operations, with full integration planned by the end of this year.
Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) also clarified that the initiative was not intended to cut its current workforce, but to lift the productivity of its employees and curb the pace of future hiring.
Mike Doustdar, President and CEO of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO), commented:
“This partnership is one important step in positioning Novo Nordisk to lead in the next era of healthcare. There are millions of people living with obesity and diabetes who need treatment options, and we know there are therapies still waiting to be discovered that could change their lives. Integrating AI in our everyday work gives us the ability to analyse datasets at a scale that was previously impossible, identify patterns we could not see, and test hypotheses faster than ever. This means discovering new therapies and bringing them to market faster than ever before.”
While we acknowledge the potential of NVO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NVO and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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