A bear market occurs when a benchmark index, such as the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite, or specific individual companies, loses 20% or more of its value over time or in contrast to previous highs. The U.S. stock market has already been flirting with bear market terrain for some time now, with the S&P 500 down 13.80% year-to-date and the Nasdaq Composite down by 23.82%.
Experts predict more bad times ahead due to rising prices, interest rates, and supply chain issues stemming from China’s pandemic-related lockdowns. During a downturn, certain mega-cap stocks suffer similarly to the market as a whole. Throughout these instances, investors tend to move toward ‘defensive equities,’ predominantly banking, energy, and consumer goods businesses. These companies supply products and services that are resilient to market downturns and frequently give long-term dividend yields, making them attractive to income investors to hold.
With that said, let’s have a look at three successful, dividend-paying, buy-rated stocks I’ve chosen that the experts consider to be outstanding additions to our growing portfolios:
CVS Health Corp (CVS)
CVS Health Corp (CVS) is a well-established healthcare company that offers various services. Pharmacy Services, Retail or Long-Term Care, and Health Care Benefits make up CVS’s business segments. Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) is a service offered by the Pharmacy Services portion. Prescription medications and a variety of health and wellness goods are sold in CVS’s Retail or Long-Term Care category. Traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and services are available through the Health Care Benefits service. Stanley P. Goldstein and Ralph Hoagland formed CVS in 1963, based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
CVS comes with the kind of numbers I’m always thrilled to see. For the last four consecutive fiscal quarters, CVS has bested analysts’ projections on its earnings; for its latest, it beat EPS by 3.53% and revenue by 2.03%. Until CVS reports again, it offers $76.4 billion in sales, at $2.18 per share for its current quarter. The consensus price objective for CVS from analysts that provide 12-month price projections is 119.00, with a high of 127.00 and a low of 98.00. The median forecast reflects a 28.30% increase from current pricing, and the consensus also gives CVS a durable buy rating that has earned our attention. CVS has a dividend yield of 2.34%, with a quarterly payout of 55 cents per share.
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware, is an American global investment bank and financial services holding corporation. With total assets of $3.744 trillion as of the end of 2021, JPM is currently the wealthiest bank in the United States, the world’s biggest lender based on market valuation, and the fifth-largest financial institution in the world in terms of total assets. JPM stock has been seen getting loaded up by investors. At the end of March, 110 hedge funds declared positive wagers on the company’s stock.
In the first quarter of 2022, billionaire Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management was the largest shareholder of JPM, with 7.76 million shares valued at $1.05 billion. JPM reported revenue of $30.72 billion in the March quarter, exceeding analysts’ projections by $318.5 million. EPS came in at $2.63 per share. For its current quarter, JPM shows us $31.8 billion in sales, with an EPS of $2.91. The median price prediction for JPM from analysts providing 12-month price estimates is 153.50, with a high of 200.00 and a low of 120.00. The median forecast is a 22.40% increase over its previous price, and JPM comes with a classy buy rating that can’t be taken for granted. JPM currently has a dividend yield of 3.15%, with a quarterly shareholder payout of $1.00 per share.
Devon Energy Corp (DVN)
Devon Energy Corp (DVN) is a hydrocarbon exploration business in the United States. It is incorporated in the state of Delaware, and DVN’s corporate operating headquarters are located in the Devon Energy Center, a 50-story building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Barnett Shale STACK formation in Oklahoma, the Delaware Basin, the Eagle Ford Group, and the Rocky Mountains are where DVN‘s primary operations are. On the Fortune 500, DVN is rated 520th. DVN has proven reserves of 1,625 million barrels of oil equivalent as of the end of last year, consisting of 44% petroleum, 29% natural gas, and 27% natural gas liquids.
DVN reported an EPS of $1.88 in the first quarter of 2022, beating expectations by $0.12. Quarterly sales were $3.81 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations by $215.9 million and showing a stunning 116.4% increase over the previous quarter. Year-over-year, DVN shows revenue growth of 73.95% and EPS growth of 362.5%. Until reporting again, DVN’s current quarter shows an EPS of $2.21 per share, with sales of $4 billion. The median price target for DVN from the analysts that provide 12-month estimates is 80.00, with a high of 103.00 and a low of 65.00. The median estimate implies an increase of 2.77% over its last price, and the consensus also gives DVN an attractive buy rating that qualifies it as a safe bet. DVN currently has a dividend yield of 6.53%, with a quarterly payout of $1.27 per share.
Read next: Get This $5 Stock BEFORE Apple Project Goes Live
After nearly a decade of research and development…
Apple is preparing to unveil a brand-new device unlike anything it’s ever attempted before… code name: Project Titan.
It could be 10X bigger than the iPad, the MacBook and the iPhone combined…
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It stands at the center of an emerging industry Bloomberg forecasts will grow as much as 19,254% in the coming years…
And Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty says Project Titan is… “the clearest path to doubling Apple’s revenue and market cap.”
It’s no wonder whales like Warren Buffet and Nancy Pelosi’s husband have recently put millions into Apple – despite everything going on in the economy today.
But there’s a better way to tap into this opportunity… one with much more potential upside.
