In this piece, we will take a look at the ten best stocks to buy for good returns. For more stocks, head on over to 5 Best Stocks to Buy for Good Returns.
Stock investing is a rather daunting experience if one chooses to conduct their own research instead of investing in indexes or exchange traded funds. Determining whether a company’s share price has the right combination of investor sentiment and strong fundamentals is a tricky process that has entire courses dedicated to it. Every day, Wall Street analysts pump out hundreds of research reports for firms that they believe can either perform well or are to be avoided.
In the midst of all this, a safe approach is to follow the gurus. And speaking of gurus, there’s no one better than the legendary Warren Buffett when it comes to stock picking. Mr. Buffet is a billionaire investor who runs the holding company Berkshire Hathaway with his long time friend and business partner Mr. Charlie Munger. According to Forbes Magazine, he is the fifth richest person in the world as of February 2023, with an absolutely unfathomable net worth of $107 billion. For perspective, only 25 central banks in the world have higher foreign exchange reserves than Mr. Buffett’s wealth, with the Oracle of Omaha going strong and having more wealth than the reserves of both the Republic of Australia and Canada.
Looking at this, one has to wonder what has made Mr. Buffet the world’s richest financial professional. Well, Insider Monkey has researched this and discovered that Mr. Buffett beat the market only a year after he set up his investment firm. The fund was set up in 1956, and a year later, the S&P500 index would return investors a negative 10.8%. However, those who had trusted the oracle with their money would see a fantastic 10.4% positive return. The rest, as they say, is history.
1957 wouldn’t be the only year that Mr. Buffett excelled. After all, you don’t get called an ‘oracle’ for nothing. In the ten years between 1957 and 1966, the S&P 500 index would generate a 9.2% return. Impressive, right? Not quite so, as during the same time period, Mr. Buffet would shame the S&P 500 by returning 23.5%. In short, for Warren Buffett vs the S&P 500, it was 2:0. The 23.5% return came after the oracle took his cut of the return by pocketing 5.5% as his investment fees.
So, what does the comparison between Mr. Buffett and the S&P500 teach us? It’s that when it comes to returns, the oracle does not play in the single digit percentage arena. It’s either double digits or nothing – and that’s saying something in today’s turbulent stock market that has sapped investor confidence and bled market valuations dry as the world deals with one crisis or the other. For reference, a 20% annual return effectively doubles your money in less than four years.
Mr. Buffett also has some advice on how to achieve these returns. In Warren Buffett Speaks, the oracle was quoted saying:
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with a 160 IQ always beats the guy with a 130 IQ. Rationality is essential. You need a stable personality.
But instead of investing in Mr. Buffett’s stocks, what if you invested in his firm? Well, prepare to be surprised, as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-A)’s shares, which are currently the most expensive stock in America, trade at $467,272. Or, for a Berkshire share, you could also buy a house. But a house wouldn’t give you sweet, sweet returns, as from 1983 until today, the share price has appreciated by a whopping 56,209%! Mr. Buffett’s old rival, the S&P 500 index, has returned 2,624% over the same time period.
Reminding his investors of the bigger picture, Mr. Buffett shared in an investor letter that even though his company does not account for its investee’s income as earnings on its books, it still benefits from their performance. According to him:
As I’ve emphasized many times, Charlie and I view Berkshire’s holdings of marketable stocks – at yearend worth $281 billion – as a collection of businesses. We don’t control the operations of those companies, but we do share proportionately in their long-term prosperity. From an accounting standpoint, however, our portion of their earnings is not included in Berkshire’s income. Instead, only what these investees pay us in dividends is recorded on our books. Under GAAP, the huge sums that investees retain on our behalf become invisible. What’s out of sight, however, should not be out of mind: Those unrecorded retained earnings are usually building value – lots of value – for Berkshire. Investees use the withheld funds to expand their business, make acquisitions, pay off debt and, often, to repurchase their stock (an act that increases our share of their future earnings). As we pointed out in these pages last year, retained earnings have propelled American business throughout our country’s history. What worked for Carnegie and Rockefeller has, over the years, worked its magic for millions of shareholders as well.
Therefore, it’s clear that investing in the stocks that Mr. Buffett has should produce favorable results. Some of his favorite investments are Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Our Methodology
We took a look at the oracle’s crystal ball, a.k.a. Berkshire Hathaway’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the fourth quarter of last year, and picked out the top ten investments.
Best Stocks to Buy for Good Returns
10. HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ)
Berkshire Hathaway’s Q4 2022 Stake Value: $2.8 billion
All Time Share Price Gain as Of February 17, 2023: 2,434%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders in Q3 2022: 42
HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) is one of the first Silicon Valley companies, as it was set up in 1939 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The firm makes and sells personal computers, workstations, printers, and other computer hardware.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns 104 million HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) shares that give it a $2.8 billion stake. By the end of last year’s third quarter, 42 of the 920 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had invested in the firm. HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ)’s shares have returned a massive 2,434% since 1983.
After Mr. Buffett, HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ)’s largest shareholder is Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management which owns 3.7 million shares that are worth $99 million.
Along with Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) is a great long term stock pick.
9. Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)
Berkshire Hathaway’s Q4 2022 Stake Value: $4 billion
All Time Share Price Gain as Of February 17, 2023: 9,245%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders in Q3 2022: 96
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) is one of the largest video game companies in the world. The firm is known for several popular franchises such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. It is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.
Since they started trading on the stock market in 1993, Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)’s shares have returned 9,245%. Berkshire Hathaway bought a stake in the company in 2021, and as of Q4 2022, it owns 52 million shares that are worth $4 billion. 96 of the 920 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s September quarter of 2022 survey had also invested in the video game company.
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)’s second largest investor is Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management which owns 8.4 million shares that are worth $646 million.
8. Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)
Berkshire Hathaway’s Q4 2022 Stake Value: $6.8 billion
All Time Share Price Gain as Of February 17, 2023: 7,043%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders in Q3 2022: 63
Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is an American financial services firm that is headquartered in New York, New York. The company provides credit ratings, risk management services, and other products.
Weighing in on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) cut Ukraine’s debt ratings to Ca in February 2023, worrying about the long term impact of the war. Mr. Buffett owned a $6.8 billion stake in the firm as of December 2022, and in Q3 2022, 63 of the 920 hedge funds surveyed by Insider Monkey had also bought Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)’s shares.
Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)’s second largest investor is Chris Hohn’s TCI Fund Management which owns 9.2 million shares that are worth $2.5 billion.
7. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)
Berkshire Hathaway’s Q4 2022 Stake Value: $12.2 billion
All Time Share Price Gain as Of February 17, 2023: 549.52%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders in Q3 2022: 74
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) is an American oil and gas company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The firm extracts petroleum fuels from the ground, alongside processing, transporting, and storing them.
Berkshire Hathaway held a $12.2 billion stake in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) as of Q4 2022, which came via 194 million shares. In the prior quarter, 74 of the 920 hedge funds surveyed by Insider Monkey had also owned its shares.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)’s largest investor, after Berkshire Hathaway, is Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners which owns 14.8 million shares that are worth $933 million.
6. The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)
Berkshire Hathaway’s Q4 2022 Stake Value: $13.2 billion
All Time Share Price Gain as Of February 17, 2023: -13%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders in Q3 2022: 40
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) is a food products company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The firm sells meals, meats, dairy products, spices, seasonings, and more.
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) announced in February 2023 that it will not raise prices this year as consumers continue to battle high inflation. Warren Buffett held a $13.2 billion stake in the company as December 2022 ended, while 40 of the 920 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s third quarter of 2022 study had bought a stake in the firm.
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)’s largest shareholder is Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management which owns 6.6 million shares that are worth $271 million.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC), and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are some great stocks for good returns.
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Disclosure: None. 10 Best Stocks to Buy for Good Returns is originally published on Insider Monkey.
