2018 stocks to buy

The water industry provides life's most basic necessity by supplying fresh drinking water to our homes and workplaces, while also taking away and treating wastewater and sewage. Demand for these services tends to be relatively stable and grows alongside population and the economy. Because of that, water utilities typically generate a growing stream of cash flow, which enables publicly traded water stocks to pay steady dividends. That growing income stream has been in high demand by investors in recent years. In fact, they have bid up the stocks of large water utilities American Water Works (NYSE: AWK), Aqua America (NYSE: WTR), California Water Services (NYSE: CWT), and American States Water (NYSE: AWR). Because of that, all have vastly outperformed the market, which pushed their dividend yields down to the point where most are right around the market's average of 1.8%. For example, Aqua America and American Water Works are just above that level at 2.1% and 1.9%, respectively, while … [Read more...] about 1 Top Water Stock to Buy Now

It wasn't that long ago that an investment in oil and gas felt like throwing cash into a burning pit. Lower oil prices wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars in market value in a matter of 18 months. Several one-trick ponies in the industry, among them offshore rig owners and independent oil and gas producers, collapsed under the weight of their debt loads. Even the titans of the industry -- the integrated majors -- got walloped. Today, the industry is looking to be in much better shape. Companies have found ways to cut costs and turn a profit with oil prices at much lower levels than they were three to four years ago. It also helps that oil prices are still creeping upward. Image source: Getty Images. For investors looking for an opportunity in this still beaten-up sector, Big Oil is an excellent place to turn. These giants not only withstood the blow of low prices but also reoriented their businesses to be much more profitable entities. Despite what some might think, not … [Read more...] about This Is the Best Big Oil Stock to Buy in 2018

Dividend stocks are a critical part of a well-structured portfolio because of their ability to generate passive sources of income, or alternatively, compound returns on capital via a dividend reinvestment plan. Picking top dividend stocks, though, is anything but a straightforward process. The good news is that the best dividend stocks have historically shared a few underlying qualities that make them stand out from the crowd. The key traits that most elite income stocks have in common are stable and growing free cash flows, a strong track record of regular increases to the dividend, and a positive long-term outlook. Image source: Getty Images. So what's the best space to uncover the most compelling dividend plays right now? In my view, the biopharmaceutical industry arguably occupies the top spot when it comes to dividend stocks. Biopharmaceutical giants like AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) and Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN), after all, both possess an intriguing mix of strong free cash flows, … [Read more...] about 2 Top Dividend Stocks to Buy in 2018

Biotech was hot yet again in 2017. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF soared more than 43% last year. Many biotech stocks performed even better than that. For the most part, though, big biotechs didn't enjoy the impressive gains that smaller players did. Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) stock, for example, jumped 19% -- good, but not great for a year like 2017. Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) even lost ground, with its share price tumbling nearly 10% last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) was an exception among big biotechs, with the stock more than doubling in value in 2017. The past is the past, though. I think Amgen, Celgene, and Vertex look like great stocks to buy in January regardless of their performances over the last 12 months. Here's why. Image source: Getty Images. Amgen I like Amgen as a play on the new corporate-tax reform that became effective in 2018. There were plenty of changes, but three in particular should greatly benefit Amgen. First is the reduction in the corporate … [Read more...] about 3 Big Biotech Stocks to Buy in January

Hollywood isn't dying -- but it is changing. The old ways with a handful of major movie studios competing for your ticket dollars at the box office and in cable TV syndication are giving way to streaming media platforms and high-quality drama series. Some of the names remain the same, but there are many relative newcomers as well. Let's have a look at the state of Hollywood today. Image source: Getty Images. Hollywood by the numbers Company Market Cap Business Focus Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) $581 billion Streaming media Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) $191 billion Content production and distribution Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) $169 billion Content production and distribution Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) $87 million Streaming media Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) $72 billion Content production and distribution Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOX) (NASDAQ: FOXA) $67 billion Content production and distribution Sony (NYSE: SNE) $58 billion … [Read more...] about 2 Great Hollywood Stocks to Buy Right Now

We're still playing games. Some of 2017's hottest stocks were companies cashing in on video games. One major player saw its stock more than double, and even a mobile gaming specialist that seemed to be left for dead showed signs of life by nearly doubling in value in 2017. The new year should be another winner for the right gaming specialists. Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), Nintendo (NASDAQOTH: NTDOY), and Glu Mobile (NASDAQ: GLUU) have momentum and catalysts on their side in 2018. Let's go over the reasons to believe that these are the three video game stocks to buy for the year ahead. Image source: Nintendo. Take-Two Interactive There was a time when Take-Two Interactive would live and die by Grand Theft Auto releases, but that wasn't the case in 2017. Shares of Take-Two Interactive soared 123% last year, riding the success of NBA 2K18. The pro basketball game was the country's third best-selling release according to industry tracker NPD Group, and the top dog among … [Read more...] about 3 Video Game Stocks to Buy in 2018

If you're expecting massive revenue growth for 2018 among big pharma stocks, think again. Despite hot new drugs for several major drugmakers, many of them also will likely be held back by declining sales for older drugs. Wall Street only expects low single-digit percentage revenue growth next year for most big pharma stocks. That doesn't mean, of course, that these companies won't see solid earnings growth, especially with new corporate tax rates in effect. Still, though, several big pharma stocks should enjoy solid revenue and earnings growth in 2018. Here's why Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), and Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) appear to be the best big pharma stocks to buy for 2018. Image source: Getty Images. Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson is on track to generate revenue topping $75 billion this year. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that the healthcare giant will make close to $81 billion in 2018. Achieving that level would give … [Read more...] about 3 Best Big Pharma Stocks to Buy for 2018

2016 was a year of big headlines for the global battery industry, featuring both good ones (like the grand opening of Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) first Gigafactory in Nevada) and bad ones (like Samsung's famous exploding smartphones). By contrast, 2017 has been relatively tame. The fact is, I'd argue that the biggest battery headline this year so far was the announcement that a researcher at Tufts has invented a solid polymer lithium metal battery that can't catch on fire, and that will be for sale... eventually. But battery news won't stay quiescent forever. 2018 could see investor interest in electric-car batteries revive as Tesla works out the kinks in Model 3 production and mass-market electric cars begin appearing on American roads in greater numbers. With that prediction in mind, let's take a look at three battery companies positioned to profit: Tesla, Panasonic (NASDAQOTH: PCRFY), and Albemarle (NYSE: ALB). Battery stocks beat the market in 2017 -- and could win big again in … [Read more...] about 3 Great Battery Stocks to Buy in 2018

In case you hadn't noticed, the marijuana industry is absolutely on fire. According to cannabis research firm ArcView, the North American legal weed industry grew by 34% in 2016 to $6.9 billion, and is expected to grow by an average of 26% per year through 2021. If ArcView's estimates come to fruition, the legal weed market would be worth $21.6 billion in North America by 2021. This sort of rapid and consistent growth is incredibly difficult to find, which is why investors have flocked to marijuana stocks in recent years. However, the marijuana industry is somewhat disjointed. An investor can't just throw a dart and pick a winner, because the industry is thriving in some countries while struggling mightily in others. Image source: Getty Images. For instance, though the U.S. could potentially generate tens of billions in annual legal cannabis sales, the federal government maintains a strict Schedule I categorization on pot. This means it's wholly illegal and on par with heroin … [Read more...] about The Best Marijuana Stocks to Buy in 2018

Lithium stocks continued their meteoric rise in 2017. That's not too surprising considering that refined lithium products drove incredible growth in the top and bottom lines of the largest lithium miners in the world this year. Throw in capacity expansions planned through the end of the decade and it's no wonder the top lithium stocks are trading at or near all-time highs. If you're a long-term investor searching for an opportunity to own a piece of the unfolding electric-vehicle revolution, then buying lithium stocks in 2018 may be a bold strategy. The most worthy investments in the industry continue to be FMC Corp. (NYSE: FMC), Albemarle (NYSE: ALB), and Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE: SQM). While these three lithium stocks may already be on your watchlist, each has unique potential catalysts in the year ahead that you may want to take into consideration. Image source: Getty Images. Lithium spinoff coming FMC Corp. isn't the largest lithium miner in the world: It generates … [Read more...] about 3 Lithium Stocks to Buy for 2018