In this article, we will look at the 10 Undervalued Defensive Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
On August 9, Jeff DeGraaf, chairman of Renaissance Macro, appeared on CNBC’s ‘Power Lunch’ to talk about his perspective on the equity market and more. He said that markets are still in an uptrend and he is still bullish.
He also believes that the year will end higher than where we are today, and that it is just a matter of the next six weeks that are going to be a little choppy.
READ ALSO: 10 Most Profitable NYSE Stocks to Buy Now and 10 Oversold NYSE Stocks to Buy Now.
DeGraaf reasoned that this is because we are not seeing the internal momentum that tells us to really chase stocks, using that weakness to leg into it instead of getting aggressive on chases, particularly on things that have popped around earnings and the like.
With these trends in view, let’s look at the top undervalued defensive stocks to buy according to analysts.
A financial analyst looking through a microscope at stocks to determine their market value.
Our Methodology
We reviewed financial media reports and ETFs to compile an initial list of defensive stocks with a forward P/E below 15 and selected the top 10 stocks with the highest analyst upside potential. We also added the number of hedge fund holders as of Q1 2025, sourcing the hedge fund sentiment data from Insider Monkey’s database. The list is sorted in ascending order of analyst upside potential.
Note: All data was recorded on August 9.
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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Undervalued Defensive Stocks to Buy According to Analysts
10. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN)
Forward P/E: 10.34
Analyst Upside: 22.70%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) is one of the best undervalued defensive stocks to buy according to analysts. On July 28, Mizuho lowered the firm’s price target on The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) to $2.50 from $3, keeping a Neutral rating on the shares.
The firm told investors in a research note that it adjusted targets in the food producer group ahead of the Q2 earnings season. It added that while the low stock valuations in the sector are attractive, they are overshadowed by growth concerns.
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) is a prominent US-based company specializing in natural and organic foods, as well as personal-care products.
It operates in over 75 countries, offering various items across snacks, baby products, beverages, meal components, and personal care.
The company’s brand portfolio includes Terra Chips, Garden Veggie Snacks, Garden of Eatin’ snacks, Hartley’s Jelly, Joya and Natumi plant-based beverages, and others.
Its customer base generally includes supermarkets, natural food stores, specialty and natural food distributors, mass-market, and club stores.
9. Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)
Forward P/E: 12.5
Analyst Upside: 24.56%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21
Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) is one of the best undervalued defensive stocks to buy according to analysts. In a report released on August 1, Robert Ottenstein from Evercore ISI maintained a Buy rating on Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV), setting a price target of $4.00.
The rating update came after Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) reported its fiscal Q2 2025 results on July 31, with net revenue (organic) growth of 3.4% and top-line performance driven by net revenue per hectoliter (NR/hl) growth of 8.4%.
Normalized profit for the quarter rose 15.2% to R$2.8327 billion compared to R$2.4591 billion in fiscal Q2 2024. This growth was attributed to lower income tax expenses and EBITDA growth, particularly offset by higher net financial results.
Normalized EBITDA (organic) grew by 7.6% with all of the company’s reporting segments delivering EBITDA growth.
Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) produces, distributes, and sells beverages. Its offerings include carbonated soft drinks, beer, and other non-alcoholic and non-carbonated products. The company’s operations are divided into the following geographical segments: Brazil, Central America and the Caribbean (CAC), and Canada.
Hedge Fund Resource Center