Bank of America
Buffett owns a billion shares of this bank. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) is a ubiquitous presence in the United States, providing various banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, corporations and governments in the United States and internationally. It operates 5,100 banking centers, 16,300 ATMs, call centers and online and mobile banking platforms.
Bank of America has expanded into several new U.S. markets, with scale across the country positioning it ideally to benefit from accelerating loan growth over the next two years. Moreover, unlike smaller peers, scale allows the bank to increase investment substantially over the next few years without notably jeopardizing returns, driving further market share gains.
Investors receive a 3.07% dividend. Oppenheimer’s target price is $47, and Bank of America stock has a consensus target of $35.81. Thursday’s closing share price was $30.94.
Chevron
This integrated giant is a safer way for investors looking to get positioned in the energy sector, and shares have backed up some. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) engages in integrated energy and chemicals operations worldwide. The company sports a sizable dividend and has a solid place in natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation and regasification associated with LNG; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage and marketing of natural gas, as well as operates a gas-to-liquids plant.
The Downstream segment engages in refining crude oil into petroleum products; marketing crude oil, refined products and lubricants; manufacturing and marketing of renewable fuels; transporting crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment and rail car; and manufacturing and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses and fuel and lubricant additives. It is also involved in the cash management and debt financing activities; insurance operations; real estate activities; and technology businesses.
Chevron posted strong second-quarter results and remains one of the best ways to play energy safely.
The dividend yield here is 3.78%. The Raymond James target price is $208, while the consensus target is just $185.36. Chevron stock closed on Thursday at $160.83.
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