With the market near all-time highs, it isn't as easy as you might like to find stocks that are on sale. Generally you have to look at companies that are out of favor for some reason. When looking at investment opportunities of this kind, however, careful investors will focus on safety. Here are three stocks that appear to be on sale, but have the financial strength to live through the troubles they are currently dealing with: ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), and A. O. Smith (NYSE: AOS).
The big knock against energy stocks like Exxon today is that they are part of the global warming problem. While that is true, oil is still in high demand, and likely to remain a key part of the energy market for decades to come. The problem investors have with Exxon specifically is that its production has been weak, and fixing the issue is going to cost a lot of money -- as much as $35 billion a year through 2025. That said, Exxon's efforts to turn production around are starting to bear fruit, so it looks like it is spending wisely.
Image source: Getty Images