All the Wall Street firms that we follow here at 24/7 Wall St. keep a list for their institutional and high-net-worth retail clients of high-conviction stock picks. These are generally the ones they not only like on a longer term basis but stocks that usually have solid upside to the assigned target price. With the fourth-quarter earnings reporting season underway, many firms on Wall Street have tweaked their lists to account for potential changes for the rest of the first quarter and the balance of 2023.
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Raymond James analysts who contribute to the firm’s well-respected Analysts’ Current Favorites list of stocks to buy have to provide one of the stocks in their coverage space for inclusion in the list. Hence, it is considered the favorite choice.

We screened the list looking for companies that are not overextended or overbought and also pay solid and dependable dividends to shareholders. We found seven that look like very good ideas for growth and income investors looking to reset portfolios for the rest of the year. While these stocks have Raymond James’s highest Strong Buy rating, it is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

APA

This company was long considered an industry leader when it was known as Apache, and the stock is perhaps offering one of the best entry points in the sector. APA Corp. (NYSE: APA) explores for and produces oil and gas properties. It has operations in the United States, Egypt and the United Kingdom, as well as has exploration activities offshore Suriname. It also operates gathering, processing and transmission assets in West Texas, as well as holds ownership in four Permian-to-Gulf Coast pipelines.

APA is one of the largest U.S. exploration and production companies, with 2.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proven reserves (63% liquids). It is an explorer, acquirer and exploiter, and a fiscally conservative company that has grown its reserves and production consistently via acquisitions and organic projects.

Shareholders receive a 2.20% dividend. The Raymond James price target for APA stock is $68, and the consensus target is just $54.48. The closing share price on Tuesday was $44.06.

CubeSmart

This self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) makes a return to the Analysts Current Favorites list. CubeSmart (NASDAQ: CUBE) is a self-administered, self-managed REIT. Its self-storage properties are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible and secure storage space for residential and commercial customers. According to the Self-Storage Almanac, CubeSmart is one of the top three owners and operators of self-storage properties in the United States.
In a rising rate environment, hard assets like real estate gain in value, and the self-storage REITs are also in a good position as capital expenditures and the need for additional capital are often very low.

CubeSmart stock comes with a  4.52% dividend. Raymond James has a $48 price target, and the consensus target is $47.09. The stock closed on Tuesday at $43.60.
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EPR Properties

This REIT invests in some of the most popular entertainment companies and pays one of the biggest monthly dividends. EPR Properties Inc. (NYSE: EPR) is a leading experiential net lease REIT, specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry.

The company is focused on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out-of-home leisure and recreation experiences in which consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money. It has nearly $6.7 billion in total investments across 44 states. EPR Properties adheres to rigorous underwriting and investing criteria centered on key industry-, property- and tenant-level cash flow standards, and it believes a very focused approach provides a competitive advantage and the potential for stable and attractive returns.

Investors receive a 7.97% distribution. Raymond James has set a $45 target price. EPR Properties stock has a consensus target of $43.71, and shares closed on Tuesday at $41.37.

Hancock Whitney

Shares of this regional bank offer solid growth and a nice dividend as well. Hancock Whitney Corp. (NYSE: HWC) operates as the bank holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank, which provides a range of banking products and services to commercial, small business and retail customers.

The company accepts various deposit products, such as non-interest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts and time deposit accounts. Its loan products include commercial and industrial; commercial real estate; construction and land development; residential mortgages, including fixed and adjustable rate loans; consumer loans comprising second lien mortgage home loans, home equity lines of credit and nonresidential consumer purpose loans; revolving credit facilities; and letters of credit and financial guarantees.

The company also offers investment brokerage and treasury management services and annuity and life insurance products. It offers trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations and individuals, as well as holds foreclosed assets. It operates 208 full-service banking and financial services offices, and 275 automated teller machines in the Gulf south corridor, including southern Mississippi; southern and central Alabama; southern, central and northwest Louisiana; the northern, central and Panhandle regions of Florida; and east Texas, including Houston, Beaumont and Dallas. It also operates a loan production office in Nashville, Tennessee.

Here, the dividend yield is 2.19%. The $58 Raymond James price target compares with a $58.22 consensus target. On Tuesday, Hancock Whitney stock closed at $49.07.

This is a solid way for investors who are more conservative to play the energy sector. Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) operates as an integrated downstream energy company, primarily in the United States.
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The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent and West Coast regions of the United States. It purchases refined products and ethanol for resale. Its refined products include transportation fuels, such as reformulated and blend-grade gasolines, as well as heavy fuel oil and asphalt.

This segment also manufactures aromatics, propane, propylene and sulfur. It sells refined products to wholesale marketing customers in the United States and internationally, buyers on the spot market and independent entrepreneurs who operate primarily Marathon branded outlets, as well as through long-term fuel supply contracts to direct dealer locations primarily under the ARCO brand.

The Midstream segment transports, stores, distributes and markets crude oil and refined products through refining logistics assets, pipelines, terminals, towboats and barges. It gathers, processes and transports natural gas, and it gathers, transports, fractionates, stores and markets natural gas liquids. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 7,159 brand jobber outlets in 37 states, the District of Columbia and Mexico through independent entrepreneurs.

Shareholders receive a 1.28% dividend. Marathon Petroleum stock has a $48 price target at Raymond James. The consensus target is $34.40, and shares closed on Tuesday at $27.85.

Starwood Property Trust

This high-yielding REIT is run by real estate legend Barry Sternlicht and offers big-time total return potential. Starwood Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: STWD) operates in the United States, Europe and Australia through the following segments.

The Commercial and Residential Lending segment originates, acquires, finances and manages commercial first mortgages, non-agency residential mortgages, subordinated mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and residential mortgage-backed securities, as well as other real estate and real estate-related debt investments, including distressed or nonperforming loans.

The Infrastructure lending segment originates, acquires, finances and manages infrastructure debt investments. The Property segment engages primarily in acquiring and managing equity interests in stabilized commercial real estate properties, such as multifamily properties and commercial properties subject to net leases, that are held for investment.
Starwood’s Investing and Servicing segment manages and works out problem assets; acquires and manages unrated, investment grade and non-investment grade rated CMBS comprising subordinated interests of securitization and resecuritization transactions; originates conduit loans for the primary purpose of selling these loans into securitization transactions; and acquires commercial real estate assets that include properties acquired from CMBS trusts.
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Starwood Property Trust stock investors receive a 9.37% distribution. The Raymond James price target of $28 is higher than the $24.38 consensus target and Tuesday’s close at $20.32.

Williams Companies

This top energy company is a solid pick for investors who are more conservative and looking for exposure to natural gas and liquefied natural gas. Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE: WMB) operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States.

Its Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises Transco and Northwest natural gas pipelines, as well as natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region. The Northeast G&P segment engages in the midstream gathering, processing and fractionation activities in the Marcellus Shale region, primarily in Pennsylvania and New York, and the Utica Shale region of eastern Ohio.

The West segment comprises gas gathering, processing and treating operations in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado and Wyoming, the Barnett Shale region of north-central Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas, the Haynesville Shale region of northwest Louisiana and the Mid-Continent region, which includes the Anadarko, Arkom, and Permian basins. It also includes NGL and natural gas marketing operations, as well as storage facilities.

The company owns and operates 30,000 miles of pipelines, 34 processing facilities, nine fractionation facilities and approximately 23 million barrels of NGL storage capacity.

Investors receive a 5.37% dividend. The Raymond James price objective is $42. The consensus target is $37.20. Williams Companies stock closed at $31.44 on Tuesday.

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While none of these stocks are likely to make any massive parabolic moves higher soon, they are safer ideas for nervous investors concerned about the potential for inflation to continue to wreak havoc on the economy for the rest of 2023. Plus, we focused on energy, real estate and banking, as these sectors should thrive in the current environment. Note that REIT distributions can contain return of principal.

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