If you have ever heard the term “stock pickers market,” this is surely where investors find themselves now as we approach the end of the first half of 2023. While the Nasdaq is up a big 18.69% year to date. and the S&P 500 is 8% higher, the truth is that just 10 stocks have made up 95% of the gains in the S&P 500. Meanwhile, much of the Nasdaq’s rise has been due to the performance of the highest-weighted stocks in the index, nine of which are big technology leaders.
The reality for investors is that we are close to the abyss with the debt ceiling limit. If President Biden and Speaker McCarthy continue to play a game of chicken over this issue, we could possibly be in for the same kind of disaster that happened with the debt ceiling fight in 2011. While an agreement back then was made two days before a default, the market was down a stunning 18.9% in three weeks prior, a window we are in now.
We decided to screen our 24/7 Wall St. dividend value universe for well-known companies that pay big dividends and that, for the most part, fly way off the radar. The seven following top stocks came up, and while all are rated Buy, it is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.
Alliance Resource Partners
This is a leader in the thermal coal business and also offers solid diversity. Alliance Resource Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP), a diversified natural resource company, produces and markets coal primarily to utilities and industrial users in the United States. The company produces a range of thermal and metallurgical coal with sulfur and heat contents.
It operates seven underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In addition, it leases land and operates a coal loading terminal on the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. It buys and resells coal, as well as owns mineral and royalty interests in approximately 1.5 million gross acres of oil and gas producing regions primarily in the Permian, Anadarko and Williston Basins.
Further, the company offers various mining technology products and services, including data network, communication and tracking systems, mining proximity detection systems, industrial collision avoidance systems and data and analytics software.
Investors receive a 15.15% distribution. Benchmark has a $28 target price on Alliance Resource Partners stock. The consensus target is even higher at $29.33. The stock closed on Friday at $18.42.
Altria
This maker of tobacco products offers value investors a great entry point now as it has been hit as cigarette sales have slowed. Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is the parent company of Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), UST (smokeless), John Middleton (cigars), Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Philip Morris Capital. PMUSA enjoys a 51% share of the U.S. cigarette market, led by its top cigarette brand Marlboro.
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