3 Stocks To Ride This Bull Market Higher
I’ve been investing in stocks for decades. I’m just as excited about owning stocks today as I was when I was a secretary opening my first investment account on my lunch hour in 1987.
#-ad_banner-#I’ve learned an awful lot about the stock market over the years. It’s just as hard to master an understanding of the investment world as it is to master engineering, or cooking, or psychology. There’s no substitute for the time and energy invested in studying your craft.
Recently, people have said these exact words to me:
• “There WILL be a 10% correction soon.”
• “The market looks like it’s about to fall.”
• “The market is down this year.”
If I may gently address these fallacies, the market is not down this year. The S&P 500 Index is up 5.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 2.1%.
The S&P 500 and the Dow have had bullish trading patterns over the past several months that have broken out to the upside in recent weeks. All in all, the market has formed a nice base — so no, the market does not look like it’s about to fall.
It has actually just begun rising.
So let’s get to the eternal question: Which stocks are most likely to go up?
The industries with the most bullish chart patterns I’ve seen lately: chemicals, energy, finance, media and entertainment, pharmaceuticals and transportation.
Within those industries, I’m looking for stocks with way-above-average earnings growth. Here are three companies with bullish charts and projected annual earnings growth of 15% or more over the next few years.
| Invesco (NYSE: IVZ ) |
 Invesco is a global investment manager serving retail, institutional and high-net-worth investors. The company provides equity, fixed-income and alternative investment products, including almost 300 mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Invesco’s assets under management totaled $779 billion at the end of 2013 and are expected to grow about 12% this year. With revenues growing faster than expenses, Invesco’s margins are increasing, both leading to profit increases. Earnings per share (EPS) are also being enhanced by share repurchases. Wall Street currently expects Invesco’s EPS to grow 15% to 17% a year for the next three years. Additionally, IVZ pays a dividend yield of 2.6% and looks poised to continue climbing after its breakout last week.
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| CBS (NYSE: CBS ) |
 CBS is a diversified media company, with operations in advertising, TV and radio programming, syndication, international licensing, cable subscriptions and e-books. CBS has dedicated its free cash flow to share repurchases, including 17% of outstanding shares in 2014, and has the flexibility to finance additional share repurchases. EPS is expected to grow in the high double digits for each of the next three years, due to increasing revenue and margins, and share repurchases. Recently, CBS shares are on an uptrend, trading in a tight range between $59 and $61. The stock appears capable of an immediate run-up back to price resistance at $68, especially after the sale of its 81% stake in CBS Outdoors America (NYSE: CBSO), its former billboard subsidiary, which went public in March.
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| Spirit Airlines (Nasdaq: SAVE ) |
 Spirit Airlines is a rapidly growing small airline, offering over 250 daily flights to destinations in the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America. The company strives to be the low-fare industry leader, charging separately for unbundled services such as seat selection and baggage handling. Last year, Spirit earned an average of $54 per customer for unbundled services. Revenue reached $1.65 billion last year and is expected to grow 18% in 2014. Wall Street expects Spirit’s EPS to grow 21% in 2014, to $2.95. In addition to great sales and profits, Spirit Airlines has no debt on its balance sheet. It’s no wonder that institutions own a whopping 94% of Spirit’s stock. Spirit shares rose to a new high above $63 in March, then pulled back with the broader market correction. The stock has been trading between $54 and $63 since February, and appears ready to break through upside resistance.
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Risks to Consider: Airlines are subject to fluctuations in fuel costs and to ticket price competition. Investment company profits are at risk during sustained stock market downturns. Of course, these stocks could all suffer during an economic downturn.
Action to Take –> All these stocks should appeal to growth investors. In addition, Invesco shares should appeal to income investors, and CBS shares – which look the most ready of the three to climb immediately — should appeal to traders.
My colleague Dave Forest and his staff recently went looking for the absolute best stocks on the market. The goal: Find stocks good enough to buy, forget about and hold… forever. After six months and $1.3 million worth of research, the team was successful. To learn more about the “Forever Stocks” that they uncovered — including some names and ticker symbols — click here.