While the volatility that dominated the first two months of this year has calmed down, there is a chance that our recovery rollercoaster ride isn't over yet. Greater corrective moves on the horizon could be driven by the same factors that troubled the market earlier this year: sovereign debt woes in Europe, the U.S. deficit, the housing market, and unemployment levels, among others.
Environments like these present the greatest opportunities for investors with serious stock watch lists. Pullbacks create more attractive entry points. If you research and build a list of stocks you want to own, you need only wait to pounce until each stock reaches your preferred price. The volatility in this environment should provide you with opportunities to do exactly that.
To start assembling my very own stock wish list, I used the Fool's CAPS screener to find premium companies such as ExxonMobil, which has outperformed the S&P 500 by 9.8% per year on average for the past 10 years.
To help you find some of the market's best stocks for your watch list, I used the following criteria:
- A market cap greater than $10 billion, which suggests stability.
- A current ratio of at least 1, to ensure sufficient liquidity to meet current liabilities.
- A return on equity north of 15%, to demonstrate efficiency and profitability.
- Four- and five-star ratings (out of five) from our 160,000-member CAPS community.
I particularly liked these seven companies that passed the screen. Consider looking into them further, to see whether they warrant your investment dollars:
|
Company |
Return on Equity (TTM) |
Market Cap (in billions) |
Current Ratio |
April 23 CAPS Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Amgen |
20.3% |
57.21 |
4.9 |
**** |
|
Infosys Technologies |
26.8% |
35.35 |
5.9 |
**** |
|
Johnson & Johnson |
24.2% |
179.27 |
1.8 |
***** |
|
PepsiCo |
35.5% |
106.95 |
1.4 |
**** |
|
Petroleo Brasileiro |
16.8% |
191.23 |
1.5 |
***** |
|
Schlumberger |
16.4% |
86.90 |
1.9 |
***** |
|
Accenture |
52.1% |
28.456 |
1.5 |
**** |
Data from Motley Fool CAPS as of April 23.
The CAPS screener can suggest all kinds of promising companies, but running a screen should be only the first step in your stock research. Come and join our CAPS online investing community (it's totally free!) to delve further into these companies, and see whether they're right for your portfolio.
Further Foolishness:
