To all that have been paying higher prices recently for a host of different items, the comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell about the current inflation as being “transitory” may ring pretty hollow. While he could well be right and the situation may be just a short-term event, tell that to homebuilders who have seen a staggering increase in the price of plywood and drivers paying over $3.50 a gallon for gasoline, and that’s those that can get gasoline.

Note that consumer prices jumped again in April and drove the rate of inflation to the highest level in nearly 13 years, signaling some dramatic stress on the economy as businesses are now dealing with supply shortages that are raising the cost of many goods and services. Of course, investors are not happy about this turn of events, combined with an overbought, overleveraged and very overpriced stock market. We have seen some pretty drastic selling, as big-cap tech is getting pounded as inflation shows up and interest rates have turned higher again.

For investors looking to book profits and move to areas that can fight through the inflation backdrop, we screened the BofA Securities research universe for commodities, real estate and other sectors that look solid now. We found five Buy-rated stocks that may be good areas to move to now. It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

Agnico Eagle Mines

This is one of Wall Street’s most preferred North American gold producers. Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM) is a senior Canadian gold-mining company that has produced precious metals since 1957. Its eight mines are located in Canada, Finland and Mexico, with exploration and development activities in each of these regions, as well as in the United States and Sweden.

The company and its shareholders have full exposure to gold prices due to its long-standing policy of no forward gold sales. Agnico Eagle has declared a cash dividend every year since 1983. Gold recently fell off three-month highs, despite a weaker dollar and falling equities as bond yields rose. This backup could offer investors a solid entry point on shares of this leading company now.

Shareholders receive a 2.04% dividend. The BofA Securities price target for the shares is $80, and the Wall Street consensus target is $82.02. Agnico Eagle Mines stock ended Wednesday’s trading at $68.67.

This integrated giant is a safer way for investors looking to add positions in the energy sector, and it has big Permian Basin exposure. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is a U.S.-based integrated oil and gas company, with worldwide operations in exploration and production, refining and marketing, transportation and petrochemicals.

The company sports a sizable dividend and has a solid place in the sector when it comes to natural gas and liquefied natural gas. Some Wall Street analysts estimate the company will have a compound annual growth rate of over 5% for the next five years.

The company posted solid first-quarter results and BofA Securities said this:

Chevron delivered an in line quarter with expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.90 including a $0.16 impact from winter storm Uri. It raised its dividend confirming the first call on free cash but a flat production trend raises questions on maintenance capital. We maintain our Buy on relative exposure to an oil recovery.

Investors are now paid $1.34 per share, which is a 4.99% dividend. BofA Securities has a $125 price target, and the consensus target is $119.97. The last Chevron stock trade for Wednesday was at $107.37 a share.

Freeport-McMoRan

This is one of the top picks across Wall Street in its sector and an outside way to play the electric vehicle trend. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) is the world’s largest publicly traded copper and moly producer, as well as the eighth largest gold producer. Its key operating and development assets are in Indonesia, North America, South America and Africa.

Highly leveraged toward copper mining, the company could be a big player in a scenario of rebuilding and repairing old and battered projects, and it clearly would benefit from stronger demand and higher prices for industrial commodities.

Trafigura’s Chief Economist Sadd Rahim recently told analysts that he remains bullish on the current commodity cycle and sees room for significant further upside potential to commodity prices over the next one to three years. In particular, this is due to accelerating demand growth, excluding China and supply constraints. He believes that this cycle is in the very early stages, as key demand drivers, such as pent-up consumer demand, accelerating global capital expenditures and massive stimulus in the United States, have yet to fully kick in.

Holders of Freeport-McMoRan stock receive just a 0.70% dividend. The $54 BofA Securities price target is well above the $40.03 consensus price target. Shares closed most recently at $42.75, after retreating almost 5% on Wednesday.

This is an ideal stock for growth and income investors looking for a safer idea for the rest of 2021. Realty Income Corp. (NYSE: O) is an S&P 500 company dedicated to providing stockholders with dependable monthly income. The company is structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT), and its monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow from over 6,500 real estate properties owned under long-term lease agreements with commercial tenants.

To date, the company has declared 604 consecutive common stock monthly dividends throughout its 51-year operating history and increased the dividend 108 times since its public listing in 1994, and it is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index.

Investors receive a 4.36% distribution. BofA Securities has set its price objective at $74. The $71.79 consensus target for Realty Income stock also compares with a $64.74 close on Wednesday.

VICI Properties

This is a top real estate pick across Wall Street in the net lease group, and it is an ideal stock for investors who are more conservative. VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE: VICI) is a triple net lease real estate investment trust (REIT) that was spun out of Caesars Entertainment post-bankruptcy.

The company has 23 mixed-use gaming, lodging and entertainment properties in its portfolio, and a subsidiary that owns four championship golf courses. VICI also owns roughly 34 acres of undeveloped land in Las Vegas, which it leases to Caesars.

BofA Securities feels the company will continue to benefit from strong external growth and a further consolidating gaming landscape:

Much of the focus for VICI was on its recent deal to acquire the real estate of the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas with Apollo as a new tenant. Looking ahead, we are positive on VICI’s embedded growth pipeline with Caesars Entertainment including a put/call on the Centaur properties in Indiana (starting in Jan. 2022) and a right of first refusal on a Strip Asset sale for Caesars which could occur soon after a full EBITDAR recovery.

Investors receive a 4.45% distribution. The BofA Securities price target is $36. The consensus target is $33.42. VICI Properties stock closed at $29.65 after a pullback of over 3% on Wednesday.

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Another smart idea for conservative investors are Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), which are a type of Treasury security issued by the U.S. government. TIPS are indexed to inflation in order to protect investors from a decline in the purchasing power of their money. As inflation rises, TIPS adjust in price to maintain their real value. Blackrock has an exchange-traded fund called the IShares TIPS Bond ETF (NYSE: TIP) that yields 1.35% currently and is a great way for investors to own the bonds without having to buy individual securities.

The bottom line is that inflation, whether transitory or not, appears to be here, at least for now. It may be a good time to sell some profitable momentum or technology stocks and move the proceeds to these conservative ideas, some of which pay very large and dependable distributions and dividends.

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