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5 of the Best Stocks to Buy for January



Jan. 2, 2019

January is generally a time for optimism, as the new year offers everyone a clean slate and a chance to redefine themselves in some small way. Though one’s personal priorities may shift, the financial goals of most Americans remain largely the same.

In the stock market, a good goal to strive for is an attractive risk-reward ratio in your portfolio, and that’s what investors should prioritize when hunting down the best stocks to buy for January 2019.

The last weeks and months of 2018 were some of the most volatile in Wall Street history, and markets entering 2019 are wrought with far more uncertainty than those just a year ago. Since then, stocks have not only corrected but neared official bear market territory; the euphoria around tax cuts is gone; fear over rising rates has spiked; political tensions have elevated; a trade war rages on and the bitcoin bubble has burst.

Caution is back in vogue. And that’s not necessarily such a bad thing.

The U.S. economy is still growing nicely entering 2019, and most major economic indicators remain positive. In the long term, it’s always a good idea to be cautiously bullish, and with that philosophy in mind, here are five of the best stocks to buy for January.

1. Johnson & Johnson (ticker: JNJ). It’s not too often top-tier blue-chip dividend stocks like JNJ tempt investors with fire sale prices. It’s possible January 2019 may offer one of those historically rare opportunities, as shares of the diversified health care and consumer goods giant trade for 14 times forward earnings.

A quick glance at Johnson & Johnson’s chart may concern the casual investor: on one gloomy day in mid-December, JNJ stock plunged 10 percent – its largest single-day decline in 16 years – after a Reuters report alleging the company knew for years that asbestos was in its widely used baby powder.

Admittedly, this story highlights real risks like litigation costs and brand dilution that could cost JNJ billions over the years. That said, JNJ’s market value is off over $50 billion in just a couple weeks, a huge discount considering the overlooked fact that some studies have found no elevated rates of ovarian cancer among women using talcum powder.

A 2.8 percent dividend also gives investors some modest source of income, making this unpopular yet highly profitable blue-chip company one of the best stocks to buy for January. – John Divine

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