Energy the only sector not looking overvalued right now
Despite a big end-of-year rally in both oil and energy stocks, the energy sector remains attractively valued at the end of 2019. In fact, energy is the *only* sector that's attractively valued right now. XLE has a reasonable P/E of 15, a price-to-book ratio of 1.5, and a dividend yield at 3.7%. That's a solid return on capital, handily beating the 2.32% yield on treasuries and the 2.2% yield on the top dividend fund, DGRO. DGRO's P/E is over 18 and its price-to-book is 1.9, meaning that in that fund you pay quite a bit more for a lower yield.
The dividend yield on XLE has been improving for a couple years now, and I think the 4% dividend level is psychologically significant enough that we'll find a lot of support at that level. Some individual energy stocks, like ET and OXY, even offer dividends near 10% right now. In an overall extremely overbought market with some ongoing recession risk, this is a relatively safe long-term play that offers good value and solid returns. Did I mention that seasonal cycles favor oil right now? December through July are the traditional bull months for oil, according to the Stock Traders' Almanac. Rising geopolitical tensions with Iran and a cooling trade war with China also favor oil strength for the near future.
The dividend yield on XLE has been improving for a couple years now, and I think the 4% dividend level is psychologically significant enough that we'll find a lot of support at that level. Some individual energy stocks, like ET and OXY, even offer dividends near 10% right now. In an overall extremely overbought market with some ongoing recession risk, this is a relatively safe long-term play that offers good value and solid returns. Did I mention that seasonal cycles favor oil right now? December through July are the traditional bull months for oil, according to the Stock Traders' Almanac. Rising geopolitical tensions with Iran and a cooling trade war with China also favor oil strength for the near future.