The Dow Jones Industrial Average didn't have that great of a February, falling 4.2%. However, a few companies within the index defied those trends.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM 0.49%), American Express (AXP 0.07%), and Cisco Systems (CSCO 0.06%) all beat the average, although Cisco still was down for the month. So should you buy any of these stocks right now? Let's find out.
JPMorgan
With JPMorgan up 2.7% in February, it took the crown as the best-performing Dow Jones stock. The largest U.S. bank by assets didn't have much news in February, as it reported earnings in January. However, JPMorgan outperformed the Financial Sector SPDR ETF by 5% in February, which shows how strong it is relative to other banks.
When it reported its fourth-quarter financial results in January, JPMorgan delivered a strong quarter, with its earnings rising 7% to $3.57 per share. Management also discussed only factoring a mild recession into its guidance, which is an improvement over what investors heard in October.
Thanks to its legendary CEO, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan remains the industry's best-managed bank. With the stock trading right at its historical price-to-earnings valuation of 11.8 times earnings, if you're looking for exposure to the banking industry, you could do much worse than JPMorgan, especially with its attractive 2.8% dividend yield.
American Express
American Express also made the January list of best-performing Dow Jones stocks, so its repeat performance is impressive. While it didn't have earnings as a catalyst in February, it still managed to squeak out a 0.2% return.
Until halfway through the month, the stock was up almost 4% before dropping. This optimism was likely the result of its strong 2023 guidance, as management predicts revenue will grow 16% and earnings per share (EPS) will go from $9.85 to $11.20. Nothing about this projection has changed, but market sentiment has, as American Express' performance reversal directly coincides with the Dow Jones performance.
Thanks to the slight sell-off, American Express trades for 16 times forward earnings, which is right in line with its historical average. American Express' latest performance shouldn't distract investors from its 2023 guidance. If it hits its projections, American Express will be an outstanding stock to own in 2023.
Cisco
On Feb. 15, Cisco reported its earnings, and the market loved them so much it sent the stock 5% higher the following day. While the stock has come down since then, this market reaction landed Cisco on the list of the best-performing Dow stocks in February.
In the second quarter of fiscal year 2023 (ending Jan. 28), revenue rose 7%. However, what excited investors was its guidance of 12% growth in Q3 and 10% growth for its entire fiscal year. If it follows through on that guidance, this will mark the best quarterly performance for Cisco in over a decade.
CSCO Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts
The stock will likely continue to do well if Cisco hits the goals management has laid out for it. However, the stock trades at 18 times earnings, which is a bit pricey, considering Cisco hasn't historically performed well. Although Cisco had a good month, investors should consider other tech stocks before purchasing Cisco shares.
