5 Cheap Beginner Stocks to Buy

2. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

PE Ratio (TTM) as of March 28: 10.66

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 100

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) was spotted on 100 hedge funds’ portfolios at the close of Q4 2022. These funds held collective stakes worth $5.17 billion in the company. As of December 31, Greenhaven Associates is the most prominent shareholder in the company and holds a stake worth $643 million.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has returned 23.58% to investors over the past 6 months, as of March 28, and is trading at a PE multiple of 10x. The stock is placed second on our list of the best cheap stocks to buy now.

This March, RBC Capital revised its price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to $132 from $150 and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares.

Here is what Vltava Fund had to say about JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) in its third-quarter 2022 investor letter:

“We regard JPM to be the strongest and best- managed bank in the world. It is a leader in investment banking, commercial banking, credit cards, and asset management. Its size (the largest bank in the USA, with nearly USD 4,000 billion in assets) and diversification give it a strong competitive advantage that is compounded by its cost advantages and the high costs to clients associated with switching banks. JPM’s management prides itself on running the only large bank to avoid major instability over the long term.

JP Morgan’s quality and strength first became fully evident in 2008 under the leadership of its CEO Jamie Dimon. Not only did JP Morgan help to stabilize the market by taking over the failing Bear Stearns in the spring of that year, but throughout the Great Financial Crisis it was the only big US bank that did not require government assistance and it was highly profitable even in the difficult year of 2008.

A well-functioning and efficient bank can be a very good long-term investment, because the interest compounding effect works well here. JPM’s return on equity (ROE) is well into the double digits and this puts it in a good position to continue producing better long-term returns than does the market. JPM has been very profitable even during years when interest rates were close to zero. The current – and perhaps not temporary – return to somewhat more normal, higher interest rates should have a significantly positive impact on the bank’s interest income and overall profitability.”