Stock Market Could Plunge: These 7 Dividend Aristocrats Can Survive the Fall

Oil is trading well off the 2022 highs, and this mega-cap energy leader offers investors an excellent entry point. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is the world’s largest international integrated oil and gas company. It explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Africa and elsewhere.

Exxon also manufactures and markets commodity petrochemicals, including olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, and specialty products, and it transports and sells crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products.

Top Wall Street analysts expect the company to remain a key beneficiary in this higher oil price environment, and most remain strongly positive about the company’s sharp positive inflection in capital allocation strategy, upstream portfolio, and leverage to a further demand recovery, with Exxon Mobil offering greater downstream/chemicals exposure relative to peers.

Exxon Mobil stock comes with a 3.78% dividend, which will continue to be defended. Its price target at BofA Securities is $123. The consensus target is lower at $106.77, and shares closed at $92.44 on Tuesday.

General Dynamics

Like other major defense contractors, this submarine and tank builder looks poised to deliver solid numbers and guidance the rest of this year and perhaps beyond. General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide.

Its Aerospace segment designs, manufactures and sells business jets, and it offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, charter, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, staffing and fixed-base operator services.

The Marine Systems segment designs and builds nuclear-powered submarines, surface combatants and auxiliary ships for the United States Navy and Jones Act ships for commercial customers, as well as builds crude oil and product tankers, and container and cargo ships. This segment also provides navy ships maintenance and modernization services; lifecycle support and repair services for navy surface ships; and program management, planning, engineering and design support services for submarines and surface ships.

The Combat Systems segment manufactures land combat solutions, such as wheeled and tracked combat vehicles, Stryker wheeled combat vehicles, piranha vehicles, weapons systems, munitions, mobile bridge systems with payloads, tactical vehicles, main battle tanks, armored vehicles and armaments. This segment also offers modernization programs, engineering, support and sustainment services.