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3 “Strong Buy” Value Stocks Gearing up for Gains

3 "Strong Buy" Value Stocks Gearing up for Gains

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Investors are always ready to buy into a good value, and in today’s markets – with their combination of bear cycle and bull rally – those value stocks are clearer than ever. 

Using TipRanks’ database, which features extensive market data collated in real time, we’ve pulled up the details on three great stock market values. All three of these stocks offer investors a solid package: a one-year upside potential of at least 10%, a dividend over 2%, and a history of long-term share appreciation. 

While all three are down in the current market cycle, Wall Street’s analyst corps sees each of them as a Strong Buy. Even the economic shutdowns, which forced so many companies into losses for Q1, couldn’t derail these three – each showed profits in the quarter, and beat the earnings forecasts. Let’s dive into the details, and find out what makes these three stocks so valuable. 

Procter & Gamble Company (PG

We’ll start with one of the blue-chip staples of the Dow Jones average. Procter & Gamble showed steady earnings growth through 2019, beating estimates in every quarter, before recording a sharp drop in Q1. That drop, however, needs to be put into context – the company’s calendar first quarter is historically its lowest of the year. Not to mention Q1 2020 reflected both a fifth consecutive earnings beat and a modest year-over-year gain of 4.4%, despite the economic shutdowns. 

In an odd way, the coronavirus crisis may have even helped PG – the company’s strong presence in the home & consumer health, personal care, and hygiene niches meant that demand for PG products remained strong, even as overall consumer activity declined. In the company’s Q1 earnings release (PG’s fiscal Q3), the company reported 4.2% year-over-year revenue growth. 

In addition to its solid position in the current environment, Procter & Gamble is also one of the market’s true dividend champs. The company has a 16-year history of steady dividend growth and reliable payments. The current payment is 79 cents, the company raised it by 4 cents in Q1, annualizing to $3.16 per quarter and giving a yield of 2.7%. While that is only slightly higher than the consumer goods sector average of 2.5%, Procter’s dividend is backed by that long history – and it has a payout ratio of 64%, indicating that the payment is easily sustainable with current income levels. 

Covering PG stock for Evercore ISI, Robert Ottenstein headlines his note “Better, More Resilient, Wiser.” As for forward prospects, Ottenstein writes, “We see Procter as a reliable 6-8% EPS grower, as underscored by the firm’s confidence to raise the dividend by 6% in the face of unprecedented challenges…” 

Ottenstein keeps his Buy rating on PG shares, and raises his price target from $130 to $140. This implies 21% upside potential for the stock in the coming 12 months. (To watch Ottenstein’s track record, click here

Overall, PG’s Strong Buy analyst consensus rating is based on 10 reviews, which include 9 Buys against a single Hold. Wall Street is slightly less aggressive here than Ottenstein, but the $133 average price target still suggests an upside potential of 15%. (See Procter & Gamble stock analysis on TipRanks

Linde PLC (LIN

Next up is Linde, an important player in the industrial gas industry. This is not a consumer utility; rather, Linde dominates the market for pure gasses such as oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and argon, along with compound gasses such as carbon monoxide. All have important uses in industry, especially within the medical and HVAC sectors – which have been deemed essential even during the public health crisis. Like PG above, Linde has a secure niche and product line-up despite the recessionary pressures. 

The quality of Linde’s market position is demonstrated by the quarterly performance. Where most companies registered declines or even losses, Linde reported Q1 EPS level with Q4. At $1.89, the quarterly earnings beat the forecast by 3.2%, and was the fifth quarter in a row to top the estimates. 

In another similarity to PG, Linde’s continued profitability is directly related to its strong presence in the healthcare industry. Some 20% of company revenues come from sales in the medical field (oxygen, for example, is a vital item in treating respiratory ailments), and Linde has been able to successfully absorb losses in other segments. 

With revenues secure, Linde was not shy about declaring its dividend going forward. The company announced that it will pay out 96 cents per share in Q2. That annualizes to $3.85, and gives a yield almost exactly at the S&P average: 2%. 

Michael Sison, 5-star analyst with Well Fargo, makes the simple case for LIN shares, “[We] believe this stable cash flow business and strong balance sheet make LIN an attractive story in the current uncertain environment.  We also view LIN as a growth story, with the $9.5B project backlog as the pipeline for future earnings growth.  Finally, we continue to expect the company to deliver on additional merger cost and revenue synergies once the recovery starts to take shape, likely before 2021.” 

To this end, Sison puts a $235 price target on the stock, showing his confidence in a 16% one-year upside potential. With this positive outlook, Sison rates the stock a Buy. (To watch Sison’s track record, click here

LIN is another stock with a Strong Buy analyst consensus rating. The shares have 22 reviews on record, breaking down into 17 Buys and 5 Holds. The current trading price is $202.34, and the average price target of $216 implies room for 7% growth this year. (See Linde stock analysis on TipRanks

Raytheon Technologies (RTX

Last on our list is Raytheon, a staple in the aerospace and defense industries, as well as a major contractor for the Pentagon. Raytheon’s better-known products include radars for the Air Force’s front line fighter aircraft and many of the military’s front line air-to-air and air-to-surface guided missiles.  

No one ever went broke selling weapons, and Raytheon is a good example of that old saw. The company’s $1.78 Q1 EPS was 60% higher than the estimates. Even more impressive, it was the eighth quarter in a row that RTX beat the earnings estimates. The solid EPS was derived from $18.2 billion in revenues, a figure in-line with both the estimates and the year-ago figure. 

Raytheon management declared a 47.5 cent quarterly dividend, to be paid out in June. In deference to the difficult economic times, and the possibility of reduced defense contracts as budgets contract, this dividend was a sharp decline from the 74 cents paid out in Q4. The important point for investors, however, is that Raytheon remains committed to maintaining its dividend, with the yield at 2.8%, which is above the industrial goods sector average of 2%. 

In his note on RTX for Credit Suisse, 5-star analyst Robert Spingarn states, “[We] assume that RTX defense can sustain a 2019-2022 sales CAGR of 6%+ (consistent with its record backlog), and that improving trends for defense margins, working capital, and capex can offset pension headwinds, then RTX defense likely stands to generate ~$5.3 billion of FCF in 2022…” 

This solid outlook contributes to his Buy rating and $81 price target on the stock. At current prices, this target implies a 26% potential upside to RTX. (To watch Spingarn’s track record, click here

With a share price of $64.52, and an average price target of $75.25, RTX boasts a 17% upside potential for the next 12 months. The consensus on the Street here is a Strong Buy, with 11 Buy reviews and 3 Holds. (See Raytheon stock analysis on TipRanks)

The post 3 "Strong Buy" Value Stocks Gearing up for Gains appeared first on TipRanks Financial Blog.

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Mike Pompeo Doesn’t Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Mike Pompeo Doesn’t Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former Secretary…

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Mike Pompeo Doesn't Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a new interview that he’s not ruling out accepting a White House position if former President Donald Trump is reelected in November.

“If I get a chance to serve and think that I can make a difference ... I’m almost certainly going to say yes to that opportunity to try and deliver on behalf of the American people,” he told Fox News, when asked during a interview if he would work for President Trump again.

I’m confident President Trump will be looking for people who will faithfully execute what it is he asked them to do,” Mr. Pompeo said during the interview, which aired on March 8. “I think as a president, you should always want that from everyone.”

Then-President Donald Trump (C), then- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L), and then-Vice President Mike Pence, take a question during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus at the White House in Washington on April 8, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

He said that as a former secretary of state, “I certainly wanted my team to do what I was asking them to do and was enormously frustrated when I found that I couldn’t get them to do that.”

Mr. Pompeo, a former U.S. representative from Kansas, served as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018 before he was secretary of state from 2018 to 2021. After he left office, there was speculation that he could mount a Republican presidential bid in 2024, but announced that he wouldn’t be running.

President Trump hasn’t publicly commented about Mr. Pompeo’s remarks.

In 2023, amid speculation that he would make a run for the White House, Mr. Pompeo took a swipe at his former boss, telling Fox News at the time that “the Trump administration spent $6 trillion more than it took in, adding to the deficit.”

“That’s never the right direction for the country,” he said.

In a public appearance last year, Mr. Pompeo also appeared to take a shot at the 45th president by criticizing “celebrity leaders” when urging GOP voters to choose ahead of the 2024 election.

2024 Race

Mr. Pompeo’s interview comes as the former president was named the “presumptive nominee” by the Republican National Committee (RNC) last week after his last major Republican challenger, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, dropped out of the 2024 race after failing to secure enough delegates. President Trump won 14 out of 15 states on Super Tuesday, with only Vermont—which notably has an open primary—going for Ms. Haley, who served as President Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

On March 8, the RNC held a meeting in Houston during which committee members voted in favor of President Trump’s nomination.

“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump on his huge primary victory!” the organization said in a statement last week. “I’d also like to congratulate Nikki Haley for running a hard-fought campaign and becoming the first woman to win a Republican presidential contest.”

Earlier this year, the former president criticized the idea of being named the presumptive nominee after reports suggested that the RNC would do so before the Super Tuesday contests and while Ms. Haley was still in the race.

Also on March 8, the RNC voted to name Trump-endorsed officials to head the organization. Michael Whatley, a North Carolina Republican, was elected the party’s new national chairman in a vote in Houston, and Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, was voted in as co-chair.

“The RNC is going to be the vanguard of a movement that will work tirelessly every single day to elect our nominee, Donald J. Trump, as the 47th President of the United States,” Mr. Whatley told RNC members in a speech after being elected, replacing former chair Ronna McDaniel. Ms. Trump is expected to focus largely on fundraising and media appearances.

President Trump hasn’t signaled whom he would appoint to various federal agencies if he’s reelected in November. He also hasn’t said who his pick for a running mate would be, but has offered several suggestions in recent interviews.

In various interviews, the former president has mentioned Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, among others.

Tyler Durden Wed, 03/13/2024 - 17:00

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International

Riley Gaines Explains How Women’s Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Riley Gaines Explains How Women’s Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Is there a light forming when it comes to the long, dark and…

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Riley Gaines Explains How Women's Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Is there a light forming when it comes to the long, dark and bewildering tunnel of social justice cultism?  Global events have been so frenetic that many people might not remember, but only a couple years ago Big Tech companies and numerous governments were openly aligned in favor of mass censorship.  Not just to prevent the public from investigating the facts surrounding the pandemic farce, but to silence anyone questioning the validity of woke concepts like trans ideology. 

From 2020-2022 was the closest the west has come in a long time to a complete erasure of freedom of speech.  Even today there are still countries and Europe and places like Canada or Australia that are charging forward with draconian speech laws.  The phrase "radical speech" is starting to circulate within pro-censorship circles in reference to any platform where people are allowed to talk critically.  What is radical speech?  Basically, it's any discussion that runs contrary to the beliefs of the political left.

Open hatred of moderate or conservative ideals is perfectly acceptable, but don't ever shine a negative light on woke activism, or you might be a terrorist.

Riley Gaines has experienced this double standard first hand.  She was even assaulted and taken hostage at an event in 2023 at San Francisco State University when leftists protester tried to trap her in a room and demanded she "pay them to let her go."  Campus police allegedly witnessed the incident but charges were never filed and surveillance footage from the college was never released.  

It's probably the last thing a champion female swimmer ever expects, but her head-on collision with the trans movement and the institutional conspiracy to push it on the public forced her to become a counter-culture voice of reason rather than just an athlete.

For years the independent media argued that no matter how much we expose the insanity of men posing as women to compete and dominate women's sports, nothing will really change until the real female athletes speak up and fight back.  Riley Gaines and those like her represent that necessary rebellion and a desperately needed return to common sense and reason.

In a recent interview on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Gaines related some interesting information on the inner workings of the NCAA and the subversive schemes surrounding trans athletes.  Not only were women participants essentially strong-armed by colleges and officials into quietly going along with the program, there was also a concerted propaganda effort.  Competition ceremonies were rigged as vehicles for promoting trans athletes over everyone else. 

The bottom line?  The competitions didn't matter.  The real women and their achievements didn't matter.  The only thing that mattered to officials were the photo ops; dudes pretending to be chicks posing with awards for the gushing corporate media.  The agenda took precedence.

Lia Thomas, formerly known as William Thomas, was more than an activist invading female sports, he was also apparently a science project fostered and protected by the athletic establishment.  It's important to understand that the political left does not care about female athletes.  They do not care about women's sports.  They don't care about the integrity of the environments they co-opt.  Their only goal is to identify viable platforms with social impact and take control of them.  Women's sports are seen as a vehicle for public indoctrination, nothing more.

The reasons why they covet women's sports are varied, but a primary motive is the desire to assert the fallacy that men and women are "the same" psychologically as well as physically.  They want the deconstruction of biological sex and identity as nothing more than "social constructs" subject to personal preference.  If they can destroy what it means to be a man or a woman, they can destroy the very foundations of relationships, families and even procreation.  

For now it seems as though the trans agenda is hitting a wall with much of the public aware of it and less afraid to criticize it.  Social media companies might be able to silence some people, but they can't silence everyone.  However, there is still a significant threat as the movement continues to target children through the public education system and women's sports are not out of the woods yet.   

The ultimate solution is for women athletes around the world to organize and widely refuse to participate in any competitions in which biological men are allowed.  The only way to save women's sports is for women to be willing to end them, at least until institutions that put doctrine ahead of logic are made irrelevant.          

Tyler Durden Wed, 03/13/2024 - 17:20

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Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024
A brief excerpt: This 2-part overview for mid-March provides a snapshot of the current housing market.

I always like to star…

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Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024

A brief excerpt:
This 2-part overview for mid-March provides a snapshot of the current housing market.

I always like to start with inventory, since inventory usually tells the tale!
...
Here is a graph of new listing from Realtor.com’s February 2024 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report showing new listings were up 11.3% year-over-year in February. This is still well below pre-pandemic levels. From Realtor.com:

However, providing a boost to overall inventory, sellers turned out in higher numbers this February as newly listed homes were 11.3% above last year’s levels. This marked the fourth month of increasing listing activity after a 17-month streak of decline.
Note the seasonality for new listings. December and January are seasonally the weakest months of the year for new listings, followed by February and November. New listings will be up year-over-year in 2024, but we will have to wait for the March and April data to see how close new listings are to normal levels.

There are always people that need to sell due to the so-called 3 D’s: Death, Divorce, and Disease. Also, in certain times, some homeowners will need to sell due to unemployment or excessive debt (neither is much of an issue right now).

And there are homeowners who want to sell for a number of reasons: upsizing (more babies), downsizing, moving for a new job, or moving to a nicer home or location (move-up buyers). It is some of the “want to sell” group that has been locked in with the golden handcuffs over the last couple of years, since it is financially difficult to move when your current mortgage rate is around 3%, and your new mortgage rate will be in the 6 1/2% to 7% range.

But time is a factor for this “want to sell” group, and eventually some of them will take the plunge. That is probably why we are seeing more new listings now.
There is much more in the article.

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