Investing in stocks and farming share several things in common. Both require upfront commitments of resources. Both involve some occasional weeding or pruning. And to be successful at either one requires plenty of waiting.
There's one other similarity between investing and farming that's important to remember: Small seeds can grow into big harvests. You don't need a ton of money to get started investing if you pick the right stocks. With that in mind, here are three no-brainer stocks you can buy with only $200 right now.
1. Enterprise Products Partners
You won't need much of your initial $200 to buy a few shares of Enterprise Products Partners (EPD 0.45%). The midstream energy stock trades at around $27 right now. It's not just cheap on a per-share basis. Enterprise Products Partners is also a bargain with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of close to 10.
There's a good case to be made that Enterprise Products Partners should be worth a lot more. Wall Street analysts seem to think so: Its consensus 12-month price target reflects an upside potential of nearly 20%.
The company operates more than 50,000 miles of pipelines across the U.S. that transport crude oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas, petrochemicals, and refined products. It also owns other assets, including 30 natural gas processing plants. The demand for Enterprise's services is likely to increase in the coming years even with significant growth in the generation of renewable energy.
Enterprise Products Partners has delivered solid cash flow during good economic times and bad. It has also rewarded unitholders with annual distribution increases for 25 consecutive years. That distribution remains one of the biggest pluses for investors, and at its current share price, it yields over 7.4%.
2. Brookfield Infrastructure
Take your pick when it comes to investing in Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP -0.80%) (BIPC -1.04%). You can buy units of the limited partnership trading under the BIP ticker for less than $28. Or you can buy shares of the corporate entity trading under the BIPC ticker for less than $34. It's the same underlying business either way.
And what a great business it is. Brookfield Infrastructure owns a well-diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets across the world. They include rail operations, toll roads, terminals, pipelines, data centers, and telecom towers.
The company points to the "3 Ds" as its key growth drivers: digitalization, deglobalization, and decarbonization. Digitalization provides major tailwinds for Brookfield Infrastructure's data centers. Deglobalization is important for its rail operations and toll roads. Decarbonization will require significant investments in infrastructure, and could present big opportunities for the company.
Like Enterprise Products Partners, Brookfield Infrastructure pays an attractive and growing distribution. The company has increased its distribution for 14 years in a row. The distribution yield currently tops 5.5% for BIP and stands at nearly 4.6% for BIPC.
3. PayPal Holdings
Even after buying several shares of Enterprise Products Partners and Brookfield Infrastructure, you should have plenty of money left from your initial $200 to add a share or two of PayPal Holdings (PYPL 2.90%). The fintech stock currently trades at less than $60.
Sure, PayPal has been a big loser for investors so far this year. Its losing streak actually began in mid-2021. But where PayPal is now matters a lot more than where it has been.
The stock is dirt cheap thanks to the prolonged sell-off. PayPal's forward earnings multiple is only a little over 10. Its price/earnings-to-growth ratio, which factors in projected earnings growth over the next five years, is a super-low 0.48.
With valuation metrics like that, you might think that PayPal's business would be completely going down the tubes, but it isn't. In Q2, the digital payments company reported year-over-year revenue growth of 7%, with adjusted earnings per share jumping 24%.
The average 12-month price target for PayPal is more than 45% higher than the current share price. Of the 44 analysts covering the stock surveyed by Refinitiv in October, 14 recommend it as a strong buy, while another 18 rate it as a buy. None of the analysts covering PayPal recommend selling it. I agree with the "strong buy" group, and view this stock as a no-brainer bargain.
