Invest
As we enter the fourth quarter of what has been a terrible year for stocks, it is important for traumatized investors to remember one thing. Take a look at a long timeline chart for the S&P 500 going back 30 years. Along the way, there have been huge financial and geopolitical ups and downs. More than once we have been on the verge of a financial meltdown: the implosion of Long-Term Capital Management, the dotcom bubble, 9/11, a global financial crisis and mortgage meltdown, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, COVID-19, etc. on. Yet through it all, the S&P 500 has still risen to more or less a 45 degree angle over time.
Remember that crisis points are usually resolved and problems, regardless of their origin, are resolved. The current bear market will run its course. While the ultimate bottom may not come until next year, there are stocks that can hold their own. For those with money to put to work but wary of rising interest rates, so-called actions of sin may be the way to go.
Sin stocks are a category that some portfolio managers really don’t want to talk about in their portfolios. These are companies that sell tobacco and alcohol products, run casinos, or are in the sex-related industries, weapons manufacturing, and now even growers of marijuana. Although at the margin they don’t all seem guilty, some fund management companies refuse to own any of them.
We sifted through our 24/7 research database on Wall St. looking for companies in this dubious category and found seven stocks that look like exceptional values. They are all rated Buy and should hold up well even in an extended bear market. It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as the sole basis for any buy or sell decision.
Altria
This tobacco maker now offers value-oriented investors a great entry point, as it has been hurt by the slowdown in cigarette sales. Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is the parent company of Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), UST (smokeless), John Middleton (cigars), Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Philip Morris Capital. PMUSA holds 51% of the US cigarette market, led by its leading brand of Marlboro cigarettes.
Altria also owns more than 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer. In March 2008, it sold its international cigarette business to shareholders. The stock took a hit this summer when the US Food and Drug Administration announced a ban on all sales of Juul vape pens. The move came after government officials and public health institutes claimed Juul was too focused on selling its nicotine products to high school students. A court and the FDA granted Juul’s request to stay the ban, allowing the company to continue selling the products while an appeal is filed against the decision.
Invest
As we enter the fourth quarter of what has been a terrible year for stocks, it is important for traumatized investors to remember one thing. Take a look at a long timeline chart for the S&P 500 going back 30 years. Along the way, there have been huge financial and geopolitical ups and downs. More than once we have been on the verge of a financial meltdown: the implosion of Long-Term Capital Management, the dotcom bubble, 9/11, a global financial crisis and mortgage meltdown, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, COVID-19, etc. on. Yet through it all, the S&P 500 has still risen to more or less a 45 degree angle over time.
Remember that crisis points are usually resolved and problems, regardless of their origin, are resolved. The current bear market will run its course. While the ultimate bottom may not come until next year, there are stocks that can hold their own. For those with money to put to work but wary of rising interest rates, so-called actions of sin may be the way to go.
Sin stocks are a category that some portfolio managers really don’t want to talk about in their portfolios. These are companies that sell tobacco and alcohol products, run casinos, or are in the sex-related industries, weapons manufacturing, and now even growers of marijuana. Although at the margin they don’t all seem guilty, some fund management companies refuse to own any of them.
We sifted through our 24/7 research database on Wall St. looking for companies in this dubious category and found seven stocks that look like exceptional values. They are all rated Buy and should hold up well even in an extended bear market. It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as the sole basis for any buy or sell decision.
Altria
This tobacco maker now offers value-oriented investors a great entry point, as it has been hurt by the slowdown in cigarette sales. Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is the parent company of Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), UST (smokeless), John Middleton (cigars), Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Philip Morris Capital. PMUSA holds 51% of the US cigarette market, led by its leading brand of Marlboro cigarettes.
Altria also owns more than 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer. In March 2008, it sold its international cigarette business to shareholders. The stock took a hit this summer when the US Food and Drug Administration announced a ban on all sales of Juul vape pens. The move came after government officials and public health institutes claimed Juul was too focused on selling its nicotine products to high school students. A court and the FDA granted Juul’s request to stay the ban, allowing the company to continue selling the products while an appeal is filed against the decision.