The table above shows the 10 stocks in the S&P Composite 1500 Index that are trading at the lowest level to 2015 earnings estimates with mostly “buy” ratings from analysts.

It proves that, despite talk of an overheated market, there are still bargains to be had. The stock market’s been holding up nicely this summer — and the S&P 500 Index reached an all-time high today — as investors have put aside worries about overvalued stocks.

This may remind you of “Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” the Stanley Kubrick film from 1964. But for long-term investors, especially those making regular contributions to 401(k) or other retirement accounts, a sharp, short-term drop in prices could be welcoming.

For investors looking to pick long-term winners, there are many ways to get started.

Retail stocks, for example, tend to be driven by domestic sales to a much greater degree than earnings.

You can also focus on growth of sales per share, which has the advantage of taking into account the dilution to shareholders when companies issue additional stock to raise cash or make generous handouts to executives.

But earnings per share is still an important measure, and some investors are looking for long-term value, rather than for instant growth by jumping on a bandwagon. And increases in earnings estimates generally push stock prices up over time.

One way to highlight stocks for further study is to look for the cheapest stocks relative to the following year’s consensus earnings estimates, and with most companies having reported their second-quarter results, this is a good time to do just that.

We pared the above list to companies with majority support among sell-side analysts.

All 10 of the stocks trade for less than nine times consensus 2015 earnings per share. To put those valuations in perspective, the S&P 500 SPX, -1.11% trades for 15 times aggregate consensus 2015 EPS estimates, while the S&P MidCap 400 MID, +0.29% trades for 16.3 times and the S&P SmallCap 600 SML, -0.60% goes for 16.5.

Stock valuations based on forward P/E have been rising for several years, and the S&P 500 hasn’t traded at this high a multiple since 2005, according to FactSet.

Of course, there are different reasons why the 10 stocks are trading so cheaply. Some are in industries that have fallen out of favor, while others suffer from sluggish earnings or sales growth.

Here’s how these stocks have performed over various periods:

This table shows the growth of second-quarter sales per share for the 10 companies:

All of the companies improved sales per share, except for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. GT, -4.12% , which reported a 5% decline in second-quarter net sales. Goodyear CFO Laura Thompson said on a conference call that a decline in non-tire sales was “driven primarily by lower third-party chemical sales in North America.” That effect will wear off, she said.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. MNTA, -0.13% showed the strongest growth in sales per share, with second-quarter sales of its enoxaparin medication, a generic version of Lovenox, which is used to prevent blood clots. But the company is still losing money, as it continues to battle in court to bring its generic version of Copaxone to market. Copaxone is made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries TEVA, +2.04% and is used to treat multiple sclerosis.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review of a federal circuit court decision that would have allowed sales of the generic drug beginning in May, but Momenta Pharmaceuticals still hasn’t started selling its version of Copaxone. Teva will argue its case before the Supreme Court on Oct. 15.

The company showing the second-fastest growth in sales per share is Encore Capital Group Inc. ECPG, -0.97% , which purchases pools of distressed consumer debt at discount, and then attempts to recover from borrowers. The huge increase in revenue was driven by a 26% increase in purchased loans and receivables secured by property-tax liens. The company on Aug. 7 announced an agreement to purchase Atlantic Credit & Finance, which will grow its loan portfolio by 14%.

Prudential Financial inc. PRU, -0.64% ranks a distant third, with sales per share growing 10%. The life insurer and investment manager enjoyed a significant rise in annuity and asset-management fees. The strong stock market has been a major boon to Prudential, and the prospect for rising interest rates makes this stock worth a close look.

Like all insurers, Prudential invests most of the premiums it collects in low-risk securities, and earnings have suffered for years because of historically low interest rates. The Federal Reserve has kept the short-term federal funds rate in a range of zero to 0.25% since late 2008, and that policy is expected to be reversed in 2015. Investment revenue made up 27% of Prudential’s second-quarter revenue, so a sustained rise in interest rates should bode well for the company and the entire life insurance industry.

Atwood Oceanics Inc. US:ATW is an offshore-drilling contractor. The company’s 9% increase in sales per share mainly reflected increased expense reimbursement from clients. The company’s contract-drilling revenue rose only 1%, and as you can see on the table below, its EPS declined as expenses increased.

Here are year-over-year EPS comparisons for the group:

General Motors Co. GM, -1.31% showed the largest decline in earnings, brought about by this year’s epic round of vehicle recalls and litigation. New CEO Mary Barra is hoping to book the bulk of the company’s recall expenses this year. Looking ahead, with auto sales continuing to heat up and so many new products in the pipeline, it appears this is a good time to scoop up shares of GM at their current low P/E.

Rowan Cos. PLC US:RDC is an offshore-contract driller that took a noncash impairment charge of $8.3 million, or 7 cents a share, during the second quarter. Another factor hurting the year-over-year comparison was a $12.5 million gain in the second quarter of 2013 from the sale of a rig. The sales trend was decent, with revenue rising 3% from a year earlier.

Navient Corp. NAVI, -2.47% is the former loan-servicing subsidiary of Sallie Mae, which completed a spin-off April 30. The new company said that if costs associated with the spin-off were excluded, its second-quarter EPS would have increase slightly. The student-loan business is growing by leaps and bounds, and this is the only loan category in the United States that is continuing to see a decline in credit quality. Those factors together give Navient a huge opportunity in the loan-servicing and portfolio-management niche.