Expand Energy and Comcast Look Good Based on Book Value
Posted: November 10, 2026
November 9, 2026 (Maple Hill Syndicate) – Gimme that old-time religion.
Some people say that book value is an old-fashioned measure. I say it’s not.
What is book value? Take a company’s assets. Subtract its liabilities. That’s the company’s net worth, or book value. A stock’s price divided by the company’s book value per share is a standard measure beloved by value investors for the past century.
It was good enough for Benjamin Graham, for example.
Here are a few stocks that look good to me now, selling near, or less than, book value.
Comcast
Selling for slightly under book value is Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), the broadband provider and entertainment giant. It owns Universal Pictures, the NBC television network, Peacock streaming service, DreamWorks, Telemundo, and the Universal theme park.
I believe the sum of the parts is worth more than the current price of the whole. Comcast apparently believes the same, as it has announced plans to spin off NBC Universal, which includes many of the businesses listed above.
Comcast is unpopular with Wall Street, garnering only nine “buy” recommendations among the 29 analysts who cover it. They are worried about people cutting the cord on cable service. But as I see it, Comcast has a diverse revenue stream.
Molson Coors
Even more unpopular is Molson Coors Beverage Corp. (TAP), which suffers from declining beer sales. Only five analysts recommend it, out of 22 who follow it.
Molson Coors shares trade at 0.69 times book value and less than nine times earnings. It is trying to diversify away from depending exclusively on beer. One promising area is cocktails-in-a-can, occupying about 10% of the alcoholic-drink market.
About seven months ago, Molson Cools acquired Atomic Brands, to accelerate its penetration of that market. I figure that Molson Coors already has some prowess in canning, distribution and marketing, which should help.
Expand Energy
Much more popular is Expand Energy Corp. (EXE), a natural-gas producer created by the 2024 merger of Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy. Of 29 opinions from analysts, it gets 22 “buys.” You may remember that the two predecessor companies struggled under heavy debt.
They used to, but Southwestern paid down its debt gradually, while Chesapeake’s debt was erased by its bankruptcy proceedings in 2020-2021. Expand’s balance sheet looks good to me, with debt only 24% of stockholders’ equity.
Expand shares trade right around book value, even though the company recently has boasted an after-tax profit margin of 21%.
Ingles Markets
Ingles Markets Inc. (IMKTA) is a chain of close to 200 grocery stores, mainly in the Southeast and often in small-town locations. Its shares sell for about 91% of book value.
The stock has underperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Total Return Index over the past decade, returning 138% (including dividends) while the index returned 317%. This year, however, it’s beating the market. It’s completely neglected by Wall Street, partly because it’s family-controlled.
Seaboard
Earnings jumped more than 32% at Seaboard Corp. (SEB) in the past four quarters, but the stock sells for only 0.61 times book. This company, too, is family-controlled.
Based in Merriam, Kansas, the company has an eclectic business mix. It raises pork, mills grain, makes ethanol, trades commodities, and does ocean shipping (in the Americas). It also produces electricity in the Dominican Republic and owns a 52% interest in Butterball turkey.
It has been profitable in 14 of the past 15 years. The stock usually sells for a little above book value, so I think it’s a bargain now.
Performance
Once a year, for 26 years, I’ve recommended a few stocks selling for a modest multiple of book value – sometimes “below book.”
The average return on these recommendations has been 18.7%. Over the same 26 one-year periods, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Total Return Index has averaged 12.8% Of the 26 sets of recommendations, 18 have shown a profit and 17 have beaten the index.
Bear in mind that my column results are hypothetical and shouldn’t be confused with results I obtain for clients. Also, past performance doesn’t predict the future.
My low-price-to-book value picks also did well in the past year. They returned 30.0% compared to 9.2% for the S&P 500. Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH) had the best return, about 54%, as it was acquired by Dream Finders Homes.
Reinsurance Group of America Inc. (RGA), United Fire Group Inc. (UFCS) and Citizens Financial Group Inc. (CFG) all beat the index, returning 42%, 34% and 24% respectively. Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG) lagged, losing 4%.
Disclosure: I don’t currently own the stocks discussed in today’s column, personally or for clients. I’ve owned Seaboard off and on in the past.
John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments in Newton, Massachusetts. His firm of clients may own or trade securities discussed in this column. He can be reached at jdorfman@dorfmanvalue.com.