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Top Defensive Stocks To Watch Today? 4 For Your List

Could these defensive stocks be worth looking at given the current market conditions?
The post Top Defensive Stocks To Watch Today? 4 For Your List appeared first on Stock Market News, Quotes, Charts and Financial Information | StockMarket.com.

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3 years ago

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Do You Have These Top Defensive Stocks In Your Watchlist Now?

When searching for the best stocks to buy today, investors could be looking into defensive stocks. Given the recent resurgence of coronavirus cases, I could understand if this section of the stock market gains traction now. Before we go into the details, what are defensive stocks might you ask? Well, simply put, defensive stocks offer investors consistent dividends and stable earnings regardless of the current business cycle. This is mainly because their offerings are constantly in demand in good times and bad. In theory, companies in this sector are often safer plays during times of market volatility, hence the name.

Now, when it comes to defensive stocks, investors would likely turn to several key sectors. Some key examples would be the consumer staples, health care, finance, and utility industries. Accordingly, companies such as Target (NYSE: TGT), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), and American Water Works (NYSE: AWK) would fit the bill. Given the constant reliance on their wares and services, most would argue that they are among the more defensive options in the stock market today. Overall, as investors weigh their options amidst the current market conditions, defensive stocks could be worth looking at. Should you be looking to diversify your portfolio now, here are four to consider.

Best Defensive Stocks To Watch Ahead Of August 2021

Honeywell International Inc.

Starting off, we have Honeywell. The company delivers industry-specific solutions that include control technologies and performance materials globally. In essence, its technologies help everything from buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and aircraft. For instance, it has developed more fuel-efficient and safer aircrafts. HON stock currently trades at $227.86 as of 11:36 a.m. ET and have risen in valuation by over 45% in the past year. Today, the company reported its second-quarter financials.

Firstly, the company said that its reported sales were up by 18% year-over-year at $8.80 billion. Organic sales for the quarter were up by 15%. Secondly, the company reported earnings per share of $2.04, up by 33% year-over-year. Honeywell said that it beat guidance and delivered an amazing quarter that was driven by top-line growth and margin expansion in all 4 of its segments.

Furthermore, the company reported that it will be raising the midpoint of its adjusted earnings per share guidance by 15 cents as it continues to build momentum this year. Full-year sales are now in the range of $34.6 billion to $35.2 billion. Given the excitement surrounding Honeywell, will you consider adding HON stock to your watchlist?

defensive stocks (HON stock)
Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

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Amazon.com Inc.

Amazon is a multinational tech company that has a wide variety of businesses. This would include one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Given how its online marketplace and streaming services are used by millions all over the world, the company continues to enjoy stable earnings and growth. AMZN stock currently trades at $3,646.42 as of 11:36 a.m. ET.

Last month, the company announced that it is launching new renewable energy projects in the U.S., Finland, Canada, and Spain. This comes as it commits to decarbonize its business operations and reach net-zero carbon by 2040. Impressively, the company is already the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in Europe. By investing in green technologies, the company will be able to supply renewable energy for its corporate offices, fulfillment centers, and AWS data centers that support millions of customers around the world. This could also help cover the energy demands required to power Amazon’s growth in the long run. With that in mind, is AMZN stock worth watching right now?

top defensive stocks (AMZN stock)
Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

[Read More] Good Stocks To Invest In Today? 4 5G Stocks To Watch

American Express Company

Next on this list is American Express, a financial services corporation. The company is also a globally integrated payments company whose platform includes card-issuing, merchant-acquiring, and card network businesses. Also, it caters to a broad range of customers that includes consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large corporations around the world. AXP stock currently trades at $176.19 as of 11:37 a.m. ET.

The company also reported strong second-quarter financials today. To begin, American Express posted revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, a 33% increase year-over-year. It also reported a net income of $2.3 billion for the quarter. These results reflected the impact of $866 million in credit reserve releases, primarily driven by the company’s strong credit performance and continued improvements in the macroeconomic outlook.

“Our strong second-quarter results show that the steps we have taken to manage the company through the pandemic and our strategy of investing to rebuild our growth momentum are paying off,” said Stephen J. Squeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. With that being said, will you consider adding AXP stock to your portfolio?

best defensive stocks to buy (AXP stock)
Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

[Read More] 4 Robotics Stocks To Watch Amid Rising Shifts To Automation

Capital One Financial Corporation

Another name in the defensive space to consider now would be the Capital One Financial Corporation (COF). In brief, it is a bank holding company that offers consumers a wide array of financial services. As you can imagine, this ranges from credit cards and auto loans to general banking solutions. Now, COF’s offerings would be in demand regardless of the current state of the market. This would be the case as it is a notable player in the finance industry today. As such, I could see investors eyeing COF stock. With the company’s shares trading at $162.75 as of 11:37 a.m. ET, would it be a wise investment?

If anything, COF seems to be firing on all cylinders given its stellar second-quarter fiscal reported yesterday. Namely, it posted earnings per share of $7.62 for the quarter, beating consensus estimates of $4.64 by a landslide. The company also reported total revenue of $7.4 billion, above Wall Street’s projections as well.

According to CEO Richard Fairbank, COF’s current tech continues to power its performance. Fairbank believes that all these positions the company to capitalize on the “accelerating digital revolution” in the banking industry now. Overall, COF reported total assets of $423.4 billion as of June 30, 2021. Given all of this, would you consider COF stock a top defensive stock to watch now?

top defensive stocks to watch (COF stock)
Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

The post Top Defensive Stocks To Watch Today? 4 For Your List appeared first on Stock Market News, Quotes, Charts and Financial Information | StockMarket.com.

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Angry Shouting Aside, Here’s What Biden Is Running On

Angry Shouting Aside, Here’s What Biden Is Running On

Last night, Joe Biden gave an extremely dark, threatening, angry State of the Union…

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4 hours ago

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March 8, 2024

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Angry Shouting Aside, Here's What Biden Is Running On

Last night, Joe Biden gave an extremely dark, threatening, angry State of the Union address - in which he insisted that the American economy is doing better than ever, blamed inflation on 'corporate greed,' and warned that Donald Trump poses an existential threat to the republic.

But in between the angry rhetoric, he also laid out his 2024 election platform - for which additional details will be released on March 11, when the White House sends its proposed budget to Congress.

To that end, Goldman Sachs' Alec Phillips and Tim Krupa have summarized the key points:

Taxes

While railing against billionaires (nothing new there), Biden repeated the claim that anyone making under $400,000 per year won't see an increase in their taxes.  He also proposed a 21% corporate minimum tax, up from 15% on book income outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), as well as raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% (which would promptly be passed along to consumers in the form of more inflation). Goldman notes that "Congress is unlikely to consider any of these proposals this year, they would only come into play in a second Biden term, if Democrats also won House and Senate majorities."

Biden also called on Congress to restore the pandemic-era child tax credit.

Immigration

Instead of simply passing a slew of border security Executive Orders like the Trump ones he shredded on day one, Biden repeated the lie that Congress 'needs to act' before he can (translation: send money to Ukraine or the US border will continue to be a sieve).

As immigration comes into even greater focus heading into the election, we continue to expect the Administration to tighten policy (e.g., immigration has surged 20pp the last 7 months to first place with 28% in Gallup’s “most important problem” survey). As such, we estimate the foreign-born contribution to monthly labor force growth will moderate from 110k/month in 2023 to around 70-90k/month in 2024. -GS

Ukraine

Biden, with House Speaker Mike Johnson doing his best impression of a bobble-head, urged Congress to pass additional assistance for Ukraine based entirely on the premise that Russia 'won't stop' there (and would what, trigger article 5 and WW3 no matter what?), despite the fact that Putin explicitly told Tucker Carlson he has no further ambitions, and in fact seeks a settlement.

As Goldman estimates, "While there is still a clear chance that such a deal could come together, for now there is no clear path forward for Ukraine aid in Congress."

China

Biden, forgetting about all the aggressive tariffs, suggested that Trump had been soft on China, and that he will stand up "against China's unfair economic practices" and "for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."

Healthcare

Lastly, Biden proposed to expand drug price negotiations to 50 additional drugs each year (an increase from 20 outlined in the IRA), which Goldman said would likely require bipartisan support "even if Democrats controlled Congress and the White House," as such policies would likely be ineligible for the budget "reconciliation" process which has been used in previous years to pass the IRA and other major fiscal party when Congressional margins are just too thin.

So there you have it. With no actual accomplishments to speak of, Biden can only attack Trump, lie, and make empty promises.

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/08/2024 - 18:00

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United Airlines adds new flights to faraway destinations

The airline said that it has been working hard to "find hidden gem destinations."

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11 hours ago

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March 8, 2024

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Since countries started opening up after the pandemic in 2021 and 2022, airlines have been seeing demand soar not just for major global cities and popular routes but also for farther-away destinations.

Numerous reports, including a recent TripAdvisor survey of trending destinations, showed that there has been a rise in U.S. traveler interest in Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam as well as growing tourism traction in off-the-beaten-path European countries such as Slovenia, Estonia and Montenegro.

Related: 'No more flying for you': Travel agency sounds alarm over risk of 'carbon passports'

As a result, airlines have been looking at their networks to include more faraway destinations as well as smaller cities that are growing increasingly popular with tourists and may not be served by their competitors.

The Philippines has been popular among tourists in recent years.

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United brings back more routes, says it is committed to 'finding hidden gems'

This week, United Airlines  (UAL)  announced that it will be launching a new route from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Morocco's Marrakesh. While it is only the country's fourth-largest city, Marrakesh is a particularly popular place for tourists to seek out the sights and experiences that many associate with the country — colorful souks, gardens with ornate architecture and mosques from the Moorish period.

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"We have consistently been ahead of the curve in finding hidden gem destinations for our customers to explore and remain committed to providing the most unique slate of travel options for their adventures abroad," United's SVP of Global Network Planning Patrick Quayle, said in a press statement.

The new route will launch on Oct. 24 and take place three times a week on a Boeing 767-300ER  (BA)  plane that is equipped with 46 Polaris business class and 22 Premium Plus seats. The plane choice was a way to reach a luxury customer customer looking to start their holiday in Marrakesh in the plane.

Along with the new Morocco route, United is also launching a flight between Houston (IAH) and Colombia's Medellín on Oct. 27 as well as a route between Tokyo and Cebu in the Philippines on July 31 — the latter is known as a "fifth freedom" flight in which the airline flies to the larger hub from the mainland U.S. and then goes on to smaller Asian city popular with tourists after some travelers get off (and others get on) in Tokyo.

United's network expansion includes new 'fifth freedom' flight

In the fall of 2023, United became the first U.S. airline to fly to the Philippines with a new Manila-San Francisco flight. It has expanded its service to Asia from different U.S. cities earlier last year. Cebu has been on its radar amid growing tourist interest in the region known for marine parks, rainforests and Spanish-style architecture.

With the summer coming up, United also announced that it plans to run its current flights to Hong Kong, Seoul, and Portugal's Porto more frequently at different points of the week and reach four weekly flights between Los Angeles and Shanghai by August 29.

"This is your normal, exciting network planning team back in action," Quayle told travel website The Points Guy of the airline's plans for the new routes.

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Walmart launches clever answer to Target’s new membership program

The retail superstore is adding a new feature to its Walmart+ plan — and customers will be happy.

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11 hours ago

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March 8, 2024

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It's just been a few days since Target  (TGT)  launched its new Target Circle 360 paid membership plan. 

The plan offers free and fast shipping on many products to customers, initially for $49 a year and then $99 after the initial promotional signup period. It promises to be a success, since many Target customers are loyal to the brand and will go out of their way to shop at one instead of at its two larger peers, Walmart and Amazon.

Related: Walmart makes a major price cut that will delight customers

And stop us if this sounds familiar: Target will rely on its more than 2,000 stores to act as fulfillment hubs. 

This model is a proven winner; Walmart also uses its more than 4,600 stores as fulfillment and shipping locations to get orders to customers as soon as possible.

Sometimes, this means shipping goods from the nearest warehouse. But if a desired product is in-store and closer to a customer, it reduces miles on the road and delivery time. It's a kind of logistical magic that makes any efficiency lover's (or retail nerd's) heart go pitter patter. 

Walmart rolls out answer to Target's new membership tier

Walmart has certainly had more time than Target to develop and work out the kinks in Walmart+. It first launched the paid membership in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, when many shoppers sheltered at home but still required many staples they might ordinarily pick up at a Walmart, like cleaning supplies, personal-care products, pantry goods and, of course, toilet paper. 

It also undercut Amazon  (AMZN)  Prime, which costs customers $139 a year for free and fast shipping (plus several other benefits including access to its streaming service, Amazon Prime Video). 

Walmart+ costs $98 a year, which also gets you free and speedy delivery, plus access to a Paramount+ streaming subscription, fuel savings, and more. 

An employee at a Merida, Mexico, Walmart. (Photo by Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images

If that's not enough to tempt you, however, Walmart+ just added a new benefit to its membership program, ostensibly to compete directly with something Target now has: ultrafast delivery. 

Target Circle 360 particularly attracts customers with free same-day delivery for select orders over $35 and as little as one-hour delivery on select items. Target executes this through its Shipt subsidiary.

We've seen this lightning-fast delivery speed only in snippets from Amazon, the king of delivery efficiency. Who better to take on Target, though, than Walmart, which is using a similar store-as-fulfillment-center model? 

"Walmart is stepping up to save our customers even more time with our latest delivery offering: Express On-Demand Early Morning Delivery," Walmart said in a statement, just a day after Target Circle 360 launched. "Starting at 6 a.m., earlier than ever before, customers can enjoy the convenience of On-Demand delivery."

Walmart  (WMT)  clearly sees consumers' desire for near-instant delivery, which obviously saves time and trips to the store. Rather than waiting a day for your order to show up, it might be on your doorstep when you wake up. 

Consumers also tend to spend more money when they shop online, and they remain stickier as paying annual members. So, to a growing number of retail giants, almost instant gratification like this seems like something worth striving for.

Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024

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