[cnxvideo id=”625456″ placement=”ros”]With the market very expensive, and trading like it is very toppy, investors are stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The bond market, especially U.S. Treasury bonds, looks like a total bubble, and many people just don’t have the stomach for high-yield or emerging market debt. So the focus shifts back to stocks that pay a solid divided, and unfortunately many of those are also trading at 52-week highs.
We screened the Merrill Lynch research database looking for stocks rated Buy that also paid at least a 3% dividend. In addition, we screened for stocks that have been hit hard either recently, within the past six months. We found four outstanding values for investors to consider now.
Coca-Cola
This company remains a top Warren Buffet holding and offers not only safety, but an incredible strong worldwide brand. Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands.
Led by Coca-Cola, its portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade and Minute Maid. Globally, it is the top provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees and juices and juice drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy its beverages at a rate of more than 1.9 billion servings a day.
Despite reporting second-quarter earnings that came in above some estimates, slower growth and flat volumes brought out the sellers and they tagged the stock big time. It is important to remember though that the company own 31.5% of Monster Beverage, which continues to deliver big numbers.
Coca-Cola investors are paid an outstanding 3.21% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target for the stock is $52, and the Wall Street consensus price target is $48.35. The stock closed Thursday at $43.65.
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General Motors
This company is in the automobile sector, and shares look to be very inexpensive at current levels. Despite all the recall troubles and litigation issues, hedge funds and mutual funds are continuing to stick with General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), as many view the stock as very undervalued. GM trades just below an incredible 5.67 times estimated 2016 earnings. The company, like competitor Ford, has benefited from incredible sales in China to boost revenue. GM invested heavily in China decades ago, and it grabbed a big chunk of what is now the world’s largest auto market.
Long-term patient investors that can look beyond current issues may stand to make outstanding money on the auto giant, especially as the oil price plummet and low gasoline prices continue to push new buyers into showrooms. The stock was hit hard this week as Ford missed estimates and much of the blame was placed on incentives, which have been much lower at GM.
The company reported very solid second-quarter earnings recently, and with gas prices staying at the lowest levels in years, and GM producing some of the best new models in years, the future for the battered stock looks very good.
GM investors receive an outstanding 4.9% dividend. The $42 Merrill Lynch price target is well above the consensus target of $36.69. Shares closed Thursday at $30.99.
Philip Morris
This company has continued to grow global market share and makes good sense for total return investors now. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) is the world’s leading international tobacco company, with six of the world’s top 15 international brands and products sold in more than 180 markets.
In addition to the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, including Marlboro, the number one global cigarette brand, and other tobacco products, the company is also engaged in the development and commercialization of reduced-risk products (RRPs), the term it uses to refer to products with the potential to reduce individual risk and population harm in comparison to smoking cigarettes. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and industry-leading scientific substantiation, Philip Morris aims to provide an RRP portfolio that meets a broad spectrum of adult smoker preferences.
The company reported earnings slightly below estimates, but the full-year underlying guidance remains the same. The analysts expect the second half of the year, especially the fourth quarter, to be very solid, but sellers have nailed the stock, which is down 6% in the past two weeks.
Shareholders are paid a solid 4.12% dividend. Merrill Lynch has a $115 price target, while the consensus target is set at $105.46. Shares closed way below both levels on Thursday at $99.10
Wells Fargo
This large cap bank is a stock for investors to look at now for safety, dividends and solid upside potential. Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.8 trillion in assets. The company provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations, 12,800 ATMs, the Internet and mobile banking. It also has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States.
Wells Fargo has slowly, but surely, become one of the biggest mortgage lending companies in the United States, in addition to its normal banking and brokerage businesses. A continued increase in commercial real estate lending could really boost the bank’s bottom line and overall revenue. The stock also remains a top Warren Buffett holding, and he raised his holdings in the bank to 10% on the stock’s weakness earlier this year.
The company reported inline results and earnings revisions, which didn’t go over well after the other major banks posted big earnings. The Merrill Lynch team think the stocks remains a strong holding and the big dividend can help drive performance in the future.
Wells Fargo shareholders are paid a 3.16% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target is posted at $55. The consensus target is at $54.79, and shares closed Thursday at $48.13.
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These four top stocks offer investors outstanding entry points at current levels. While volatility could remain elevated as the political cycle continues to roll along, many stocks remain on sale now.
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