Investing

Analyst's 4 Stocks to Buy With Imminent Catalysts

While extraordinary binary events can push stock prices up fast, that is not the only kind of catalyst that many Wall Street analysts look for. There are many other potential game-changing events that can push a stock higher, or which can change the prevailing mind-set on a particular company. A new report from Jefferies focuses on four stocks to buy that have impending events that could make a difference for investors.

The Jefferies team is looking for stock ideas that make sense in a pricey market. All of the stocks in the report offer just that for investors. In addition, all four are rated as Buy at Jefferies.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is a top holiday stock pick at Jefferies, and although its website when dark on Friday, the analysts expect overall positive holiday sales at the electronic retailing giant. Huge website traffic was blamed for the technical issues, which carried over into Saturday. The analysts also cited very conservative forward guidance following third-quarter numbers that could bode very well for the holiday shopping season. Best Buy has perfected within-store formats for makers of popular mobile devices and computers that have drawn interest from major manufacturers, letting Best Buy take advantage of its large retail space to give it competitive advantages that online retailers cannot match.

Best Buy investors are paid a 2% dividend. Jefferies has a $44 price target for the stock. The Thomson/First call consensus price target is $40.83. Shares closed Friday at $39.41.

ALSO READ: 5 Top Analyst Stocks That Could Double in Price

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) is a top supplier to both Samsung and Apple, and the new year could bring even more earnings growth for the chip giant. The Jefferies analysts feel that the company, which is hosting an analyst day on December 9, will discuss in greater detail how the new equity compensation program for management will be driven in large part by total shareholder return. They think this is one reason to believe the upcoming analyst day will be particularly shareholder friendly.

Broadcom shareholders are paid a 1.1% dividend. The Jefferies price objective is $52, and the consensus estimate is $44.97. The stock closed on Friday at $43.13.

Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE) is another of the Jefferies top picks for the holiday shopping season. The analysts point to very easy comparisons for the critical fourth quarter versus last year. They also cite last year’s bad weather as a factor holding down sales and do not expect it to affect nearly as much this year. The company offers accessories, such as novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, and T-shirts, as well as beauty products, including nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance and branded cosmetics.

The Jefferies price target is $52, and the consensus figure is set at $47.29. The stock closed trading on Friday at $46.66.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is a company that the Jefferies team thinks is on the prowl to look for a merger partner or an accretive acquisition to help grow sales. With two companies that were suspected to be key targets off the table, the analysts feel that the pharmaceutical giant may turn the attention to a deal with foreign companies, with generic giant Mylan and GlaxoSmithKline as leading contenders. With a possible split-up within the company coming by 2017, a large, move-the-needle deal becomes more likely.

Pfizer investors are paid a solid 3.3% dividend. The Jefferies price target is $40, and the consensus target is $34.19. Pfizer closed Friday at $31.15.

ALSO READ: The 10 Safest High-Yield Dividends

While all the catalysts are not huge binary events that could double the stocks, they are all solid leading indicators for the near term. With investors having a harder time finding reasonably priced stocks, all would easily fit into that category.

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