While it may be a tough road ahead for many companies that are bracing for what some experts predict will be the next recession, five corporations are sitting pretty, with not much to worry about as the fiscal cliff closes in. According to Wall Street 24-7 these companies are safe bets for investors who are looking for products immune to economic hardships.
Anheuser-Busch (BUD) If there’s one thing a financial meltdown won’t slow down, it’s America’s beer drinkers. The brewery behemoth’s sales actually grew as the country spiraled into a recession in 2008, CNNmoney reports With shares around $90, Anheuser-Busch has $144 billion market value, and is still growing through acquisitions.
McDonald’s (MCD) Investors can always rely on the golden arches to come through when times are hard and pocketbooks are thin. With its highly popular dollar menu, it’s no surprise that McDonalds proved to do well through the recession. With a $92 billion market value, Its 3.4% dividend yield trumps most food and dining stocks.
American Water Works (AWK) The water-supply business is a not-so- surprisingly stable industry. American Water Works, the largest water utility in the country, is currently at 6.5 billion and is expected to grow more if it makes acquisitions or if it privatizes more municipal-owned water operations. The share price is at about $37.25 and the 52-week high is $39.38.
Dollar Tree (DLTR) This one is bitter sweet, as it may not reflect positively on the economy if consumer spending increases at dollar stores around the country. Regardless, this discount store giant was a prime example of a company and stock that held up during the recession. Dollar Tree trades around $48.00, and the consensus target of $54.33 implies upside of about 13% from the current share price.
Pfizer (PFE) One of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies is predicted to continue strong this year, regardless of election outcomes, or a wider degree of health care coverage under Obamacare. In a not-so-stable economic environment, a stable industry like pharmaceuticals, with wide profit margins and large payoffs, is a safe bet for investors. Pfizer’s dividend of about 3.4% and its $25.50 share price offer an implied total return of about 8% to the $26.86 consensus price target. Read more at Wall Street 24-7
ROMNEY SLAMS DEFENSE CUTS The Mitt Romney who showed up to last Wednesday’s debate hasn’t slowed down and continues to slam the President on defense cuts scheduled to take place at the beginning of next year. At a campaign stop today at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney slams sequestration, asserting that the United States cannot help its allies or defeat its enemies in the Middle East “when defense spending is being arbitrarily and deeply cut,” Politico’s Austin Wright reports. Read more at Politico
WASHINGTON POST- TAX CUT HOLIDAY MUST END The Washington Post editorial board says extending the payroll tax cut would harm the U.S.’ fiscal credibility. “The tax cut was adding to the federal deficit each year. To extend the cut once again risks converting a temporary stimulus into a permanent feature of the tax code, so embedded in the public’s expectations that it becomes impossible to undo.” Read more at The Washington Post
IMF: DO SOMETHING! Not convinced that members of Congress are doing anything effective to reduce the chances of sending the country over the fiscal cliff and possibly tumbling into the next recession, International Monetary Fund’s First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton told Reuters that the “United States needs to do more to show it is trying to address the expiring tax cuts and automatic spending reductions that will hit early next year unless Congress acts. Read more at Reuters
CANTOR CAUGHT FLIP FLOPPING After House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s Democratic challenger Wayne Powell accused the Majority Leader of flip flopping on his position of sequestration, the nonpartisan political fact checker Politifact jumped on the case and found that Cantor had indeed changed his position and distanced himself “from a situation he helped create. We rate that a full flop.” Read more at Politifact
