H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) dominates in the ketchup market. There is no second. And Heinz has taken advantage of its revered ketchup brand over the years to develop organically and acquire other brands.
As the second-largest provider of electricity to the United States, Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: CEG) has a tremendous upside. At least, it would if the economy were growing strongly.
In the last few months we have seen a very strong stock market rally. The market has recovered from highly distressed levels and posted exorbitant gains. In addition the “wall of money” from the U.S. Federal Reserve has pushed risk-prone investors back into the market, pushing its general level up.
The just-concluded Group 20 (G20) meeting left us with a chorus of very “prudent” governments and central bankers singing the praises of easy monetary and fiscal conditions. So where can we take refuge when all the central banks in the world print money and governments run deficits in order to spend like drunken sailors? The answer is gold.
Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) is a cyclical company. That is, its stock does extremely well when the economy is ready to accelerate, and does poorly when the economy decelerates. So it’s no wonder that last year the stock fell more than 50% from the record-high of $27.78 a share it reached December 2007. However, the company has rallied more than 50% from its Feb. 23 low of $12.08 a share. It closed Friday at $19.64. So, what’s next?
If NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) were an athletic prospect, scouts would rate it as a “triple threat.” That’s because the Princeton-based wholesale power generator is involved in all three of the key energy sources of the future: Solar, wind and nuclear.
The U.S. stock market has enjoyed a strong rally since the early spring, but while the economy has shown improvement, it still faces major headwinds. So it may be best to hedge against the U.S. dollar, which is likely to experience a significant decline over the next few months.
Steel maker Nucor Corp.’s (NYSE: NUE) stock has rallied some 51% from its March 3 low of $29.84 a share and has twice bumped against its recent high of $49.91 a share.
Since I recommended PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) on Oct. 20, the stock has greatly outperformed the market, up about 10%.
Back on Feb. 17, as the market was on sell-off mode, I recommended buying The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO). The stock is up some 16% from our entry point. That’s because Coca-Cola recently reported a near-20% jump in profit, which soared to 67 cents a share, excluding restructuring charges.