2 First-String Stocks to Buy Before the Super Bowl

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When starting a portfolio, always start with the best stocks you can, and then buy as many additional stocks as possible and follow my recommended allocation of 60% in conservative stocks, 30% in moderately aggressive stocks and 10% in aggressive stocks.

winnerslosers185In the thick of earnings season, you’ll make to make sure you own the best stocks at the right time. And the time for these two best-in-show stocks is now.

This season, these two industry leaders are top stocks to buy before earnings as they are the biggest and among the best at what they do.

Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO)

Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) is a top stock to buy this month on the strength of its forecasted earnings and its generous dividend.

Altria Group is the largest tobacco company in the U.S. Altria’s subsidiary Philip Morris USA Inc. controls over 50% of the U.S. cigarette market. Altria’s most popular brand — Marlboro — has been the best-selling cigarette for four decades. Beyond cigarettes, Altria also sells cigars, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes.

Altria’s fourth-quarter earnings report is scheduled for this Friday, Jan. 30, before market open. Altria is expected to make a strong showing, with 17.5% forecasted earnings growth and 2.9% estimated sales growth. To put this into perspective, the Tobacco industry is expected to see profits fall an average 13.3% compared with last year.

As mentioned earlier, with a 4% annual yield, MO stock has one of the more generous dividends out there. MO stock just went ex-dividend on Dec. 22. So, Altria shareholders of record should have received 52 cents per share on Jan. 9. But even if you weren’t able to get in on the dividend, Altria remains an excellent stock to buy.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW)

Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW) is another leading stock to buy that has already made its mark.

Edwards Lifesciences is the world’s largest creator of artificial heart valves, including valves made from animal tissue and annuloplasty rings that repair damaged valves. Other major products include heart monitoring systems, and various types of surgical tubes and catheters. EW markets its products worldwide through a direct sales force and distributors.

We still have a little bit until Edwards Lifesciences’ fourth-quarter earnings announcement, which will likely be released in early February, and it’s already shaping up to be a solid report.

The consensus is calling for earnings of 95 cents per share on $611.1 million in revenue, representing 4.4% earnings growth and 14% sales growth over last year. However, given that Edwards Lifesciences has trounced earnings estimates for the past several quarters in a row, I expect EW stock to do even better.

EW stock is a “strong buy.”

Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of five investing newsletters: Blue Chip GrowthEmerging GrowthUltimate GrowthFamily Trust and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Blue Chip Growth, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/01/earnings-altria-mo-philip-morris-edwards-lifesciences-ew-stock/.

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