5 Best Stocks to Buy Before Recession Begins

2. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 67

Another stock to buy before the next recession begins is Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT), as consumers don’t largely pull back spending on grocery and consumables, home care products, baby care items, and pet supplies. On September 7, the company announced that it plans to raise $5 billion through bond offerings, and bonds will be due between 2025 and 2052, with a coupon rate ranging from 3.9%-4.5%.

On September 14, KeyBanc analyst Bradley Thomas initiated coverage of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) with an Overweight rating and a $155 price target. The analyst said his rating is “underpinned by an outlook for defensive growth, market share gains, and margin recovery to normal levels”. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has had the best competitive positioning in the last decade, since the pandemic led to e-commerce “becoming significantly more important”, the analyst contended.

Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was part of 67 public stock portfolios at the end of June 2022, up from 60 in the preceding quarter. Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners is the leading position holder in the company, with 9.8 million shares worth $1.2 billion.