Finding value in the market: Stocks are trading at extreme valuations

It is difficult to find value in a market which is trading at its all-time highs. However, given the lopsided growth, stocks are trading at extreme valuations. There are many Nifty stocks available two standard deviation (SD) above (or below) their financial metrics like price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-book (P/B) and enterprise value (EV)-to-Ebitda.
 
Recent winners such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) are trading at a P/E two SD above, while state-owned ONGC is available two SD below. Experts say, the market is rewarding companies with strong growth potential, while punishing those where there is a cloud of uncertainty. The consolidated, 2018-19 consensus earnings estimates for Nifty stocks has increased by 0.2 per cent in the past one month, but the index has risen five per cent.
 
Stocks like TCS, Tata Steel and Infosys have seen some upward revision in their consensus 2018-19 earnings expectations. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Vedanta and HPCL have seen their earnings estimates being cut.