After almost six brutal weeks, investors still see the market getting hammered every day and wonder if it is indeed time to sell. Just about now, all the Wall Street perma-bears are resurrected and starting to show up in the financial media. That is usually a sure-sign that the selling is close to an end. For investors who can’t simply “go to cash” as high-paid portfolio managers often seem to suggest is easy, two sectors are up this year and still make good sense.

Both the utilities and the telecommunications sectors are positive for 2016, and with demand staying strong and inherent built-in safety, there is no reason to think they won’t continue to be. We screened the Merrill Lynch research data base and a pair companies in each sector that make good sense for battered investors now. All pay outstanding dividends and are rated Buy.

AT&T

This company will continue to serve customers regardless of where the markets go. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is the world’s largest provider of pay TV, with TV customers in the United States and 11 Latin American countries. In the United States, the AT&T wireless network has the nation’s self-described strongest 4G LTE signal and most reliable 4G LTE.

The company also helps businesses worldwide serve their customers better with mobility and highly secure cloud solutions. Trading at a very cheap 12.5 times estimated 2016 earnings, the company continues to expand its user base, and strong product introductions from smartphone vendors have not only driven traffic, but increased device financing plans.

The company announced recently it is working with Salesforce.com to connect Internet of Things data from AT&T’s solutions into Salesforce’s Customer Success Platform. By connecting AT&T M2X into Salesforce’s Service Cloud, companies can automatically create and route service requests, cases or tickets through pre-built workflows.

While fourth quarter earnings-per-shares were in line with forecasts, and slightly below the Wall Street estimates, a change in accounting for the entertainment group lowered revenue/EBITDA by $300 million for the quarter. Merrill Lynch notes that this knocked $0.03 off the bottom line numbers. So all-in-all, a solid quarter, and another reason for conservative accounts to own the stock, especially with solid DirecTV adds and mid-single-digit earnings per share growth estimated for 2016.

AT&T investors receive a huge 5.24% dividend. The Jefferies price target for the stock is $40, and the Thomson/First Call consensus estimate is $37.42. Shares closed Tuesday at $36.65.

Entergy

This higher yielding company was upgraded recently at Merrill Lynch. Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR) is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. It owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation’s leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and it has annual revenues of more than $12 billion.

Many analysts like the position of the company’s plants, as they supply some of the petrochemical industry along the Gulf Coast. Petrochemical plants and liquefied natural gas export facilities are springing up all across the central Gulf coast. For the petrochemical industry, the boom is driven by demand, not supply, and so the current lower gas prices actually help this growth trend, which has been a solid revenue silo for Entergy.

Entergy investors receive an outstanding 4.81% dividend. The $72 Merrill Lynch price target is in line with the consensus target of $72.06. The stock closed Tuesday at $70.74.

PPL

This is utility posted inline fourth-quarter earnings but came in a little light on the revenue side. PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) serves 321,000 natural gas and 397,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties, as well as and 543,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. It also provides electric delivery services to approximately 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania, and it operates an electricity distribution network for the Midlands, South West and Wales in the United Kingdom.

In addition, PPL offers a range of customer-care and back-office services to competitive retail energy suppliers, including customer enrollments; contract management; electronic data exchange; simple and complex billing; and call center operations comprising telemarketing, payment processing and collections of overdue accounts.

PPL is one of the leading utility companies in the United States that plans to continue to increase regulated operations and lower earnings volatility attached to competitive operations. It raised cash and lowered debt late last year by selling some hydroelectric assets to NorthWestern energy.

Investors receive a 4.21% dividend. Merrill Lynch has a $38 price target, and the consensus target is higher $37.72. Shares closed Tuesday at $36.13.

Verizon Communications

This top telecommunications company recently did away with some phone incentives and also resides on the Merrill Lynch US 1 list. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is a global leader in delivering the digital world. Verizon Wireless operates America’s self-described most reliable wireless network, with 109.5 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and it delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide.

Wall Street has applauded Frontier’s acquisition of Verizon’s wireline operations in California, Florida and Texas, which is expected to be completed at the end of March 2016. Many feel that focusing on the higher margin segments at the company makes sense, and the sale to Frontier is a huge cash boost to the balance sheet. The company reported solid fourth-quarter numbers with earnings slightly higher than the Merrill Lynch estimates and revenues right in line, but above the street consensus.

There was some chatter this week that the company was enlisting the aid of the firm’s AOL unit CEO Tim Armstrong to help with a leading role in exploring a possible bid for Yahoo assets. Verizon has not officially started and negotiations, and the rumors are just that, but the company has said in the past it was open to acquiring additional assets.

Verizon investors receive a 4.51% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target is $55. The consensus price objective is $50.71. Shares closed Tuesday at $50.15.

For worried investors that need an income stream, all these top stocks make good sense for growth and income portfolios. The total return potential is solid, and the downside risk is far less than with momentum stocks. Plus, add in the very oversold status of the overall market, and the upside could be stellar for patient investors.

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