The 10 Best Companies to Invest in Now

Plus: 36% undervalued, this cheap stock is a buy for contrarians. 10 best-performing undervalued moat stocks, and should you bet on online gambling stocks now? [Morningstar](?utm_source=eloqua&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_stockstrategist&utm_content=51793&elqTrackId=ebdb1efd519f468382dcc1b40989da6a&elq=8363ab241f6c478088a9ad06b1f63db2&elqaid=51793&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=26002) [Stock Strategist] Stock Strategist February 12, 2024 Good Morning! Here's the rundown of what's happening in the stock market. Stocks continue to push to new highs despite Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell making clear the Fed is going to be patient about lowering interest rates. The charge higher continues to be led by the Magnificent Seven. But as we report, there’s another way to slice the rally, and it turns out there is a broader group of names posting big gains: [wide moat stocks](. When it comes to stocks with an economic moat, we screened for top-performing companies with strong competitive advantages that are still trading at an attractive process. We’ve got [10 names]( including Interactive Brokers and Verizon. Plus, [six undervalued stocks]( that just raised dividends. Lastly, Morningstar chief U.S. strategist Dave Sekera [offers up his take]( on where to invest in today’s stock market. Economic Releases Scheduled for the Coming Week - Tuesday, Feb. 13 - January [Consumer Price Index]( report - CPI (month to month): 0.2% vs. 0.2% in Dec. - Core CPI (month to month): 0.3% vs. 0.3% in Dec. - CPI (year over year): 2.9% vs. 3.4% in Dec. - Core CPI (year over year): 3.7% vs. 3.9% in Dec. - Thursday, Feb. 15 - [Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims]( report for the week ended Feb. 10: 218K vs. 218K for the week ended Feb. 3 - Feb. [Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Index]( -8.0 vs. -10.6 in Jan. - Jan. [Retail Sales]( (month to month): 0.0% vs. 0.6% in Dec. - Jan. [Capacity Utilization]( 78.7% vs. 78.6% in Dec. - Jan. [Industrial Production]( (month to month): 0.2% vs. 0.1% in Dec. - Dec. [Business Inventories]( (month to month): N/A vs. -0.1% in Nov. - Friday, Feb. 16 - Jan. [New Residential Construction]( report - Preliminary Building Permits (seasonally adjusted annual rate): 1,515K vs. 1,493K in Dec. - Housing Starts (seasonally adjusted annual rate): 1,490K vs. 1,460K in Dec. - Feb. Preliminary University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment: 80 vs. 79 in Jan. - Jan. [Producer Price Index]( report - PPI (month to month): 0.15% vs. -0.10% in Dec. - Core PPI (month to month): 0.2% vs. 0.0% in Dec. - PPI (year over year): 0.60% vs. 0.98% in Dec. - Core PPI (year over year): N/A vs. 1.8% in Dec. All consensus estimates are sourced from FactSet. Investor Relations Weekly Calendar: Highlighted Corporate Earnings and More - Tuesday, Feb. 13 Corporate Earnings: Coca-Cola [KO]( - Wednesday, Feb. 14 Corporate Earnings: Cisco [CSCO]( Energy Transfer [ET]( - Thursday, Feb. 15 Corporate Earnings: Albemarle [ALB]( Occidental Petroleum [OXY]( For The Trading Week Ended February 9: - The Morningstar US Market Index rose 1.48%. - The best-performing sectors were technology, up 3.46%, and healthcare, up 1.52%. - The worst-performing sector was utilities, down 1.99%. - Yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rose to 4.18% from 4.03%. - West Texas Intermediate crude prices rose 5.27% to $76.55 per barrel. - Of the 843 U.S.-listed companies covered by Morningstar, 466, or 55%, were up, six were unchanged, and 371, or 44%, were down. Which Stocks Are Up? Palantir Technologies [PLTR]( Cloudflare [NET]( XPO [XPO]( TAL Education Group [TAL]( and Criteo [CRTO](. Which Stocks Are Down? Snap [SNAP]( AMC Networks [AMCX]( Crown Holdings [CCK]( FMC [FMC]( and Air Products [APD](. And Don't Miss: - [The 10 Best Companies to Invest in Now]( - [36% Undervalued, This Cheap Stock Is a Buy for Contrarians]( - [The Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy]( - [Beyond the Magnificent Seven, These Wide-Moat Stocks Soar]( Did a friend forward this email? You can [sign up for free here](. ADVERTISEMENT [media]( [media] [The 10 Best-Performing Undervalued Moat Stocks]( [The 10 Best-Performing Undervalued Moat Stocks]( Interactive Brokers and Verizon are among the recent top undervalued stocks with long-term competitive advantages. Diana Anghel [Get Picks]( Share: [facebook]( [twitter]( [linkedin]( [Beyond the Magnificent Seven, These Wide-Moat Stocks Soar]( [Beyond the Magnificent Seven, These Wide-Moat Stocks Soar]( High-quality stocks are leading the charge. Tom Lauricella [The Best Types of Stocks to Buy in Today’s Fully Valued Market]( [The Best Types of Stocks to Buy in Today’s Fully Valued Market]( Find investment opportunities in these overlooked parts of the stock market. David Sekera, Susan Dziubinski [The 10 Best Companies to Invest in Now]( [The 10 Best Companies to Invest in Now]( These undervalued stocks of high-quality companies are attractive investments today. Margaret Giles [36% Undervalued, This Cheap Stock Is a Buy for Contrarians]( [36% Undervalued, This Cheap Stock Is a Buy for Contrarians]( The out-of-favor stock of this narrow-moat company is due for a rebound. Spencer Liberman [6 Undervalued Stocks That Just Raised Dividends]( [6 Undervalued Stocks That Just Raised Dividends]( Yum Brands and Comcast are among the stocks with higher payouts. Tom Lauricella [The Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy]( [The Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy]( These 10 undervalued healthcare stocks provide cheap entry points into a diverse industry. Tori Brovet [Amazon Faces Pressure to Improve Warehouse Worker Safety]( [Amazon Faces Pressure to Improve Warehouse Worker Safety]( Amundi joins Tulipshare in asking this ‘Magnificent Seven’ company to report on working conditions. Ruth Saldanha [Going Into Earnings, Is Albemarle Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?]( [Going Into Earnings, Is Albemarle Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?]( After a big drop in Albermarle’s stock and amid questions about Lithium demand, here’s our outlook. Seth Goldstein [After Earnings, Is Meta Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?]( [After Earnings, Is Meta Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?]( With strong Q4 results and ad spending likely to slow, here’s what we think of Meta’s stock Ali Mogharabi [Is Alphabet a Buy, a Sell or Fairly Valued After Earnings?]( [Is Alphabet a Buy, a Sell or Fairly Valued After Earnings?]( With strong growth in Google search and YouTube, here’s what we think of Alphabet’s stock. Ali Mogharabi [After Earnings, Is Boeing Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?]( [After Earnings, Is Boeing Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?]( With the recent 737 MAX incident slowing the company from getting back on track, here’s what we think of Boeing stock. Nicolas Owens [After Earnings and a Big Rally, Is Microsoft Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?]( [After Earnings and a Big Rally, Is Microsoft Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?]( With better-than-expected results, here’s what we think of Microsoft stock. Dan Romanoff [After Earnings, Is Amazon Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?]( [After Earnings, Is Amazon Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?]( With Amazon showing better-than-expected results, here’s what we think of its stock. Dan Romanoff [Raising GE’s Stock Valuation by 30%]( [Raising GE’s Stock Valuation by 30%]( We have increased confidence in GE ahead of the planned spinoff of its Aerospace and Vernova businesses. Joshua Aguilar [Should You Bet on Online Gambling Stocks Now?]( [Should You Bet on Online Gambling Stocks Now?]( Plus, Meta’s stock surprise, and how to avoid making these 3 investing mistakes. Dan Wasiolek, Larry Swedroe, Ivanna Hampton [Invesco’s Justin Leverenz: Emerging Markets Are ‘Incredibly Attractive’]( [Invesco’s Justin Leverenz: Emerging Markets Are ‘Incredibly Attractive’]( A veteran globe-trotting investor sees upside in an unloved asset class. Christine Benz, Dan Lefkovitz Listen Now Get the latest investing insights and market updates with [Morningstar’s podcasts]( available on your iPhone, iPad, Android, PC, or smart speaker. Thanks for reading! Stay connected: [twitter]( [facebook]( [linkedin]( [instagram]( [YouTube]( [Apple News]( [View online]( | [See all newsletters]( | [Share your feedback]( [Unsubscribe]( from this newsletter. Or update your [email preferences](. © 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 22 W. Washington St. Chicago, IL 60602