While the Philippine stock market continues to defy expectations of a correction, analysts continue to believe that it is time to take some money off the table as stock prices have gone up too high, too fast.

Seen to dictate the mood in the bourse this week is the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting from December 15 to 16.

Online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com said “The FOMC meeting (this) week will set the tone for regional monetary policy-making, at least for the initial leg of 2021.”

While Wall Street expects the Fed to maintain status quo on rates, 2TradeAsia.com said “any hints to keep them below historical thresholds will inspire more capital mobility, given the low cost of money, and more indirectly make yields on equities more attractive.”

Meanwhile, it noted that, “The PSEI currently trades at a rich 18 times forward price to earnings ratio, which begs the question: is a correction forthcoming? We reiterate that while corrections do not feel healthy when they form, they build the foundation for more sustainable rallies, and more often than not, open up good accumulation windows for stocks with unlocked value. Buy on dips.”

Looking forward, COL Financial is rating Century Pacific Food Inc. a buy as it is eyeing to end 2020 with earnings growth of at least 20 percent given that the company ended the first nine months of the year with a 26 percent growth in its bottom-line profits.

“Furthermore, management sees CNPF reverting to its usual earnings growth of 10 to 15 percent in 2021. This is despite the strong performance in 2020,” COL said citing company officials.

It added that, “The strong 2021 outlook is underpinned by expectations of resilient demand for its core products given its staple nature and value-for-money positioning.”

“Growth is also expected to be boosted by the recovery of tuna exports, higher demand for its coconut business, and new product innovations. Finally, reduced one-off expenses related to COVID-19 should further boost its 2021 earnings growth,” COL said.

Abacus Securities Corporation compiled a list of 15 stocks that have actually become cheaper compared to 10 months ago despite improving prospects.

Among the 15, it is recommending LT Group Inc., East West Bank, Integrated Microelectronics Inc., and Robinsons Land Corporation.

“The first three have become cheaper largely because forward earnings estimates have increased over the past 10 months which is an achievement given the pandemic,” it said.

Abacus added that, RLC is the biggest laggard in its sector despite consensus expectations that it will be the quickest to recover in terms of earnings per share.

It also sees San Miguel Food and Beverages, Universal Robina Corporation and D&L Industries as potential picks but prefers to wait for dips in their stock prices.

Abacus is also watching Manila Water because the change in management may boost its fortune while it also continues to expand in the Philippines and overseas and is historically cheap at current levels.

Puregold Price Club is also a potential pick as it is still cheap and its steady performance should give shareholders solid returns over a long investment horizon.