These stocks are historically cheap and favored by Wall Street analysts into the second half

Published Thu, Jun 24 20212:44 PM EDTUpdated Thu, Jun 24 20213:25 PM EDT

If stocks seem richly valued after a strong first half of 2021, investors may want to consider these relatively cheap stocks that are beloved by Wall Street analysts. CNBC Pro looked at three valuation measures widely-watched by investors. We found the S & P 500 stocks that are trading below or near their average valuations of the past three years based on the following three standards: Within 5% or below its average forward price-to-earnings ratio of the last three years Within 5% or below its average forward price-to-cash flow ratio of the last three years Within 5% or below its average forward price-to-sales ratio of the last three years From that pool, we filtered for stocks well-liked on Wall Street; we screened for names that at least 60% of analysts say to buy. Out of those shares, we identified stocks that have at least 10% upside to their average 12-month price target. Take a look at CNBC Pro's screen of historically cheap stocks favored by the Street. (Source: FactSet) CNBC Pro's list features several utilities stocks. American Electric Power , Edison International and NiSource make the screen. "As the market potentially enters a new phase with more frequent and bigger corrections, defensive value sectors such as utilities, consumer staples, and real estate could benefit," Ned Davis Research's Ed Clissold wrote in a mid-year outlook report released June 14. Value stocks trade at prices perceived to be relatively cheap based on future earnings, sales and cash flow. Defensive stocks are shares that tend to be stable regardless of how the overall market performs. Health care stocks and their dependable cash flows also snag a few spots on CNBC Pro's screen. Women's health-focused medical technology firm Hologic , health care distributor McKesson and biopharmaceutical company Vertex Pharmaceuticals are on the list. "Health care is an area where we do still think that there's some good relative value and some good relative growth. And that's an area where you're actually not playing the macro factors. It tends to be a little bit more idiosyncratic...so health care seems like a good place to be," ClearBridge Investments portfolio manager Margaret Vitrano told CNBC. Tech giant Amazon also makes an appearance on CNBC Pro's screen. The retail stock is up more than 7% in 2021. Comparatively, Big Tech peers Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet are up about 25% and 40%, respectively. But Amazon's relatively lagging performance this year means investors may see its price as attractive. "Amazon has clearly disrupted the online and brick and mortar retail space, and shows no signs of slowing their push for dominance across categories," Wells Fargo's Ike Boruchow said in a note released Wednesday.

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If stocks seem richly valued after a strong first half of 2021, investors may want to consider these relatively cheap stocks that are beloved by Wall Street analysts.