Portfolio Managers Now Love These 5 Stocks With Big Dividends

To say that hedge fund and mutual fund managers tend to follow the herd is very much an understatement, and it always has been. While publicly they sometimes seem reluctant to discuss their holdings, especially stocks they short, the reality is that managers tend to talk among themselves, as they run in the same circles. Often those discussions are centered on their portfolios and what is in them.

A new Jefferies research report looks at the hedge fund holdings of the top industry players, since the releases of 13F filings are pretty much complete after the end of the first quarter. While the normal suspects and predictable holdings remained pretty much the same (and have for years), we were intrigued by the so-called Short to Long group. These are stocks that portfolio managers have turned positive on after, in many cases, having been short the stocks at some point.

The report noted this: “Our Short to Long portfolio showed more sector diversity compared to prior months, with 9 sectors represented, the most coming from Tech with 5 names, followed by Health Care and Discretionary with 3 names each.”

We screened this list looking for stocks that were Buyated across Wall Street and also paid solid and dependable dividends. We found five top companies that investors may want to consider now, as the opinion tide appears to have turned. It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

Camden Property Trust

With rents trending higher, this real estate idea makes sense now from growth and income investors. Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT) is a real estate company primarily engaged in the ownership, management, development, redevelopment, acquisition and construction of multifamily apartment communities.

Camden owns interests in and operates 167 properties containing 56,850 apartment homes across the United States. Upon completion of seven properties currently under development, the company’s portfolio will increase to 59,104 apartment homes in 174 properties.

Also note that the stock is moving into the S&P 500 and has had some very solid price action recently.

Camden Property Trust stock investors receive a 2.15% dividend. Barclays has a $193 target price on the shares, while the consensus target is $186.10. The closing share price on Thursday was $172.61.

Dow

This stock certainly offers investors growth and income potential. Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) is a leading materials science company and was formed from the merger of Dow and DuPont in 2017 and the subsequent spin-off 2019. The company is organized into three principal divisions: Performance Materials & Coatings (23% of EBITDA), Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure (27%) and Packaging & Specialty Plastics (51%).