Europe’s financial crisis has sent the continent’s stocks reeling, and that creates an excellent buying opportunity, says strategist Scott Bleier of Create Capital.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index has dropped 19 percent over the last year.
“Many of the great European companies are now trading at valuations [equal to] their 2008-2009 lows," Bleier tells Yahoo.
“Everybody hates Europe. It’s time to start looking at it. Betting on the end of the world is a bad bet.”
Bleier recommends three stocks in particular — for their cheap valuations, strong yields and global orientation, which insulates them somewhat from Europe’s woes.
AstraZeneca (Ticker: AZN)
This U.K. drug company isn’t the strongest in the world, but it’s trading at only six times earnings and has a dividend yield over 6 percent, Bleier says.
ABB (ABB)
This Swiss engineering company is "the G.E. of Europe," Bleier says. “It’s a high quality company with very good management” and a dividend yield of more than 4 percent.
Total (TOT)
The French oil company trades at a 35 percent discount to U.S. behemoth Exxon Mobil, but its footprint just as big. “If the economy comes back even a little bit, energy takes off.”
David Herro of Oakmark International shares Bleier’s bullishness on European stocks. The continent’s financial woes are “manageable,” he tells Fortune magazine. "If you look at the economic history of the world, problems come and problems go.”
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