5 ‘Mad Men’ Stocks to Buy

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On Sunday evening, television’s Mad Men series ran its last episode, ending a seven-year run that was well-received by fans and critics alike.

mad men

The show itself was the story/saga of a handful of advertising professionals, and though the drama was never actually about the products they were developing ad campaigns for, for the sake of realism, the script did occasionally use real-life products or companies.

And as it turns out, while the mere mention of their monikers on Mad Men was never a game-changer, some of the nonfictional companies that became a small part of the show’s script just happen to be great investments.

With that as the backdrop, here’s a closer look at five stocks to buy that were lucky enough to be a small part of the Mad Men phenomenon.

(Note: There are spoilers ahead, so if you’re worried about finding anything out early, you might want to check out some of the other stories on our site.)

Mad Men Stocks to Buy: The Coca-Cola Co (KO)

Mad Men Stocks: The Coca-Cola Co (KO)While you now know it involves The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) comes into significant play during the season’s just-aired final episode … and how the iconic brand ties in is fairly clever.

If you’re still reading, then either you already know how the show ended, or don’t care about the spoiler. Don Draper, the show’s tormented central character and advertising guru, was implied as the creator of Coca-Cola’s “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” campaign after Draper went through a somewhat hippie-esque experience while learning yoga.

Not that Coca-Cola hasn’t always deserved a spot on nearly anyone’s list of stocks to buy, but KO — with its namesake product, wealth of other beverage brands and a dividend yielding 3.2% that the company has paid since 1893 — is arguably the safest and bluest of the blue chips ever used as a client company on the program.

Mad Men Stocks to Buy: Dow Chemical Co (DOW)

Mad Men Stocks: Dow Chemical Co (DOW)There’s no getting around the fact that Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) is a fairly unexciting company; there’s only so much lipstick you can put on chemicals.

Even so, there’s little doubt that Don Draper still found a way to make Dow Chemical a bit sexy back in season 4 of Mad Men — 1965, in the show’s timeline.

Today, Dow Chemical boasts a solid 3.3% dividend yield and has a history of compelling — even if choppy — sales and earnings growth.

For true long-term investors with a love for growth as well as income, DOW has more than earned a spot on a list of Mad Men-mentioned stocks to buy.

Mad Men Stocks to Buy to Buy: American Airlines Group Inc (AAL)

Mad Men Stocks to Buy: American Airlines Group Inc (AAL)While there’s no denying American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) shares have been the beneficiary of a plunge in oil prices that started to materialize in the middle of last year, a closer look at the chart of AAL reveals the stock was doing quite nicely well before crude prices began to unravel.

In fact, American Airlines Group has ended up being one of the best large-cap stocks to buy for those who were bold enough to go bargain hunting back in 2009 when the echoes of the recession were still ringing. Even after its bankruptcy AAL is up more than 2,000% from its 2009 lows.

Yet, with the pros thinking this economic expansion cycle still has a few more years left in it, American Airlines Group is still in a position to dole out more gains.

Just for the record, though, Don Draper and his crew fictionally got this ball rolling in 1962. That’s the point in the Mad Men series timeline where the show’s key advertising agency, Sterling Cooper, went after the American Airlines account.

Mad Men Stocks to Buy: Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (HLT)

Mad Men Stocks to Buy: Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (HLT)One of the chief criticisms of Mad Men was that its producing network, AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX), received compensation by the companies being mentioned within the show. Most of those accusations were false; the show collected nothing for most of the references.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) was one of the few exceptions to that norm.

Conflict of interest aside, though, is Hilton Worldwide Holdings one of the show’s best stocks to buy? In a word, yes. Although Blackstone Group LP (NYSE:BX) recently unveiled plans to unload a huge piece of its remaining stake in HLT, this year could prove to be a surprisingly good one for tourism now that the ripple effect of low oil prices has had time to make a long-lasting impact on travel.

Mad Men Stocks to Buy: The Western Union Company (WU)

The Western Union Company (WU)While the The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) we all know and love today isn’t even close to being the same Western Union that Sterling Cooper was representing back in season 3 (1963, within the context of the show’s plot line), it’s still a stock worth owning.

Yes, money transfers are quickly becoming a thing of the past as such service further migrate to the Internet. But, The Western Union Company is making the same migration. In the meantime the organization continues to offer physical cash-to-consumer wiring services for those people who can’t or won’t open a more conventional online money-transfer account.

The reason WU continues to find its way on a list of great stocks to buy, though, is simply that it remains a cash cow as it converts its model to a more digital one. Topping earnings estimates in four out of its last five quarters doesn’t hurt the bullish argument either.

As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/05/5-mad-men-stocks-to-buy-ko-dow-hlt-aal-wu/.

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