In this article, we will take a look at 10 best fundamental stocks to buy. If you want to see some more of the best fundamental stocks to buy, go directly to 5 Best Fundamental Stocks To Buy.
A good fundamentals stock is a stock of a company that’s profitable and that has durable competitive advantages to maintain its profitability over time and to grow. Ideally that company would also be well run and have substantial growth opportunities in its future. That company would have scale and a strong history of earnings.
Furthermore the best fundamental stocks would also include those aforementioned companies that also trade for a potential discount to their long term value. In terms of metrics, indicators such as a strong history of profits and history of returning profits back to shareholders is important. A history of dividends can also help.
Currently, the market is facing several headwinds including rising interest rates and also a potentially slowing economy. Despite the economy potentially slowing, inflation is still a problem as well.
Due to all the headwinds, the market has declined substantially with even many of the leading high quality stocks down over 20%+ year to date. In terms of the major indexes, the NASDAQ is down around 32%, the S&P 500 is down around 23.6% and the Dow Jones is down around 19.3%.
While the market could decline further given geopolitical events or if the economic data fails to meet expectations, there is also potential opportunity for long term investors to buy quality stocks.
In the long term, quality companies with strong fundamentals could increase their earnings over time and potentially be worth more in times when the market is more bullish in terms of valuations on earnings.
Given the market decline, the stocks of many quality companies are on sale, and there are several companies that could potentially fit in the list of the 10 best fundamentals stocks to buy.
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Methodology
For our list of 10 Best Fundamental Stocks To Buy, we used subjective measures to pick 10 stocks that have a strong history of quality earnings that also trade for reasonable valuations.
We then ranked the 10 stocks based on the number of hedge funds in our database who held shares in the stocks at the end of Q2.
10 Best Fundamental Stocks To Buy
10. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants both in the United States and internationally. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 40,031 restaurants, making it one of the largest restaurant chains in the world. Given its size, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) has economies of scale that give it higher margins than many of its competitors.
Due to the market decline, shares have fallen 13% year to date but have rebound potential if economic data doesn’t slow as much as expected. Out of the 895 hedge funds in our database, 50 were long McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) at the end of the second quarter.
Alongside Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) is also a stock with strong fundamentals.
9. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71
The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) sells branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company has many leading brands and reported net sales of $80.2 billion for the fiscal 2022 year. For the year, the company also generated operating cash flow of $16.7 billion and adjusted free cash flow productivity of 93%.
Due to the market decline, The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) trades for a forward P/E ratio of 19.56 which could be attractive if interest rates don’t rise much further. Bill Chappell of Truist lowered his price target to $160 from $175 but kept a ‘Buy’ rating in August. 71 hedge funds we track were long The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) at the end of Q2 2022 with GQG Partners among the top 5. Given the number of hedge fund holders, The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) ranks #9 on our list of 10 Best Fundamental Stocks To Buy.
8. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) researches, develops, manufacturers, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. Given the company’s strong fundamentals, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has raised its dividend for 60 consecutive years. As of October 7, the company has a forward annual dividend of $4.52 per share which is a dividend yield of 2.82%. On October 5, Joanne Wuensch of Citi lowered her price target on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to $198 from the previous $201 but kept a ‘Buy’ rating. 83 hedge funds in our database were long Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) at the end of Q2 2022, ranking it #8 on our list of 10 Best Fundamental Stocks To Buy.
7. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 104
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) operates a financial services company worldwide. The bank is regarded by many as one of the stronger and well run banks among the big four. Given the market decline and fears of a potential slowdown which could increase write offs in the future, shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) are down 33% year to date. On October 5, Betsy Graseck of Morgan Stanley cut her price target to $126 from $127 and kept an ‘Underweight’ rating, citing higher cost deposits for banks in general to increasingly fund their loan growth. 104 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database were long JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) at the end of Q2. Arrowstreet Capital owned almost 7.6 million shares at the end of Q2.
6. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 109
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is an entertainment company that operates through two segments, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. Due to the market decline, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) shares have fallen 37% year to date and trade at a forward P/E ratio of 17.99. On October 4, Philip Cusick of JPMorgan cut his price target on The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) to $145 from $160 but nevertheless kept an ‘Overweight’ rating.
109 hedge funds we track were long The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) at the end of the second quarter, making it #6 in terms of our list of the 10 Best Fundamental Stocks To Buy.
Oakmark Fund mentioned The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“Disney (NYSE:DIS) is one of the most beloved consumer companies in the world. Its media business has a rich library of intellectual property, which provides a powerful engine for creating new content across the Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars brands. This content also contributes to the success of Disney’s theme parks, which generated nearly half the company’s earnings and grew more than 10% annually in the decade prior to the pandemic. Shares have fallen nearly 50% over the past year as investors worried about the company’s ability to transition its media business to a direct-to-consumer streaming world. This transition has required management to make investments in its Disney+ streaming service that are depressing profitability today. However, we believe these investments will ultimately produce attractive returns as Disney+ continues to grow subscribers and increase pricing over time. As a result, we were able to purchase shares at a substantial discount to our estimate of intrinsic value.”
Stocks like Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) are also among the best fundamental stocks to buy.
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Disclosure: None. 10 Best Fundamental Stocks To Buy is originally published on Insider Monkey.
