#7 - Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB)
The last, but certainly not least, the inflation-busting stock is consumer staples giant Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE: KMB). An oft-mentioned comment that bears repeating is that you probably have several Kimberly-Clark products in your home at any given time. The brand's portfolio is that broad-reaching.
And that portfolio comes with pricing power. Despite its higher prices, Kimberly-Clark did post single-digit year-over-year revenue and EPS growth. The growth was particularly strong in its K-C Professional segment.
The company also noted that its gross margin has returned to pre-pandemic levels, free cash flow increased significantly, and it managed to pay down significant debt in 2023.
Analysts project approximately 7% upside for KMB stock in 2024. However, investors are also buying a Dividend King that currently has a yield of 4.03%. Plus, the stock trades at around 17x forward earnings, which is a slight discount to the Consumer Staples sector average of 19.4x.
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.
Read More - Current Price
- $131.32
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Ratings Breakdown
- 6 Buy Ratings, 7 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $149.93 (14.2% Upside)
With many investors piling money into artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, buying defensive stocks may seem like you're missing an opportunity. We're not advocating you ignore the growth possibilities that may come from AI.
But if inflation continues to increase, interest rates will likely stay higher for longer. In this case, longer could mean until after the November election. The recent notes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting show that many voting members are concerned about the Fed lowering rates too soon.
And if the Fed doesn't raise rates in May, some analysts believe it will take a policy of doing nothing rather than be seen as making a rate cut that could steer the election. The fact is that nobody knows for sure. That's why it could make sense for you to have some protection in your portfolio. And we've made a brief case for why these defensive stocks are likely to rise even if inflation continues to spike.
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