10 Cheap Blue Chip Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

2. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108

Forward P/E as of April 18: ~15.4x

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) operates as an entertainment company. Wolf Research upped the company’s stock to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Peer Perform,’ highlighting durable strengths in its core businesses even during broader worries related to recession. The firm lauded The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s long-term advantages throughout its theme parks, cruise lines, and streaming operations. Analyst Peter Supino of Wolfe Research opines that, in the entertainment business, the company can gain from the measures to restrict the practice of password sharing.

Furthermore, the analyst expects tailwinds from linear TV’s decline and streaming bundles. The analyst opines that The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s experiences business can benefit from launches of new cruise ships as well as updates to its theme parks. The company’s diverse content portfolio, consisting of strong franchises, offers a robust foundation for fueling streaming subscriber growth. Several of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s franchises have global popularity, aiding international expansion of the streaming services. Therefore, by effectively using its content portfolio throughout the streaming platforms, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) possesses the potential to grow its subscriber base, drive engagement, and reduce churn.

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its Q1 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“While we had already begun to shift toward a more defensive positioning entering the quarter, we made a number of adjustments in response to the rapid-fire developments in both economic and political policy. Among our largest new positions during the period was The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), as we believe that it has turned a corner on building out its streaming service, which should help margins inflect higher and help drive better earnings than the market currently anticipates. The shift in management’s strategy, from “market share growth at all costs” to a more focused approach on improving pricing should also help to improve both profitability and margins, and we believe that there remains meaningful upside compared to other streaming service providers at similar scale.”