Whatever's going on in the market or a specific company's history, there are always reasons to consider buying shares in a business. After all, some of the best opportunities in stocks are born from historically bloody times.
Motley Fool CAPS hosts a boatload of opinions from more than 125,000 members on nearly 5,400 stocks, each giving good reasons to own -- or sell -- a stock.
In the case of low-price king Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT ) , a total of 5,601 members have given a bullish or bearish opinion on the company. Scouring the detailed information packed in pitches and other comments on Wal-Mart, here are three of the top reasons to buy Wal-Mart today:
1. Cheap, cheap, cheap
With consumers' spending habits sliding more toward the frugal category these days, cheap value providers like McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) , Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX ) , and Wal-Mart see a boost in customers, while others flail along. McDonald's and Wal-Mart were the only two companies on the Dow 30 that had positive gains in 2008, and 2009 may yield similar results.
2. International diversification
Iconic American companies like Wal-Mart, Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO ) , and eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY ) are all reaping the benefits of global expansion. Wal-Mart has opened more than 100 stores in China, and its Walmex unit is a top retailer in Mexico. The company also has a joint venture in India, laying the groundwork to open 10 to 15 stores in the next seven years.
3. Brand
According to Interbrand Design Forum, as the world's largest discount chain, Wal-Mart possesses the most valuable brand in U.S. retailing, ranking far ahead of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY ) and Target (NYSE: TGT ) . Many investors consider a strong brand one of the best things to help a company withstand a recession.
Of course, there's a lot more devil in the details of these buy-side opinions. That's why CAPS is such a great resource to check and balance your own analysis: You can read the bullish and bearish sides to every stock. To see what the very best CAPS members are saying now about Wal-Mart, click on over to Motley Fool CAPS and have a look. It's all free, and your opinion's welcome, too.
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