Despite stocks setting record highs seemingly on a daily basis, there are still opportunities for investors to scoop up shares that are poised to rise even higher.
Barron’s recently identified 10 top stocks for the coming year, as it has every December for the past decade.
Barron’s said its list for next year takes a tilt toward value:
- Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
- Comcast, (CMCSA)
- Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B)
- Pfizer (PFE)
- ViacomCBS (VIAC)
- Anthem (ANTM)
- Dell Technologies (DELL)
Rounding out the list is:
- Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL)
- U-Haul owner Amerco (UHAL)
- United Technologies (UTX)
"The group has an average projected 2020 price/earnings ratio of 14, against 18 for the S&P 500. The average dividend yield is 1.8%, in line with the overall market. Our 2019 picks have returned 24.6% (including dividends) since last December’s article, slightly ahead of the S&P 500 at 24.3%," Barron's explained.
Robust U.S. economic data, relatively loose monetary policy and hopes of an imminent trade truce between Beijing and Washington have sent the S&P 500 index to several record highs this month.
The benchmark index is about half a percentage point shy of logging its best year since 1997, while the Nasdaq has now posted 11 straight opening records, crossing the 9,000 mark on Thursday.
However, not everyone on Wall Street is so optimistic about the new year.
A respected money manager predicts that a hefty tumble awaits the market despite stocks charging deeper into record territory.
Cresset Capital’s Jack Ablin warns that stocks could plunge at least 15% in early 2020. “Valuations are pretty stretched,” the firm’s chief investment officer told CNBC. “We had [a] 30% move this year on 3% earnings growth,” he said.
Ablin, who has $6.7 billion in assets under management, shifted 30% of the firm’s assets to private equity and cash last August because he believed equities were getting too expensive, CNBC explained.
“From a valuation perspective, it’s hard to see that we’re going to see more P/E expansion without interest rates coming down,” he said.
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