With the stock market in the throes of a bear pullback, many are looking to history as a guide for when the bear will end. While the answer varies, chances are stocks will remain weak for a few more weeks and even months as economic data continues to come in. That said, investors who start accumulating shares of great companies, particularly industry-leading companies, will end up with a strong portfolio performance on the market’s next rally higher. Among the big tech players, a number of top companies bear focus for investors looking for a long-term rebound now. One such name isAdv...

There are two main ways companies can reward shareholders. One way is to pay a growing dividend from rising cash flows over time. Another way is to buy back shares when the company’s valuation is compellingly low. Some companies can do both, provided they don’t overpay to buy back shares. With many stocks down right now, a few companies are setting up for better returns when the market sentiment turns bullish again with increased buybacks. One company making a big buyback and increasing its dividend right now isDiamondback Energy (FANG). The company has plans to buy back $2 billion i...

Some sectors of the stock market perform differently at different times. Commodity producers and utilities have held up somewhat well in the current bear market, even as tech stocks have been hit hard. Another area hit hard has been financial stocks, particularly banks. These companies have had to contend with rising interest rates. Demand for mortgages has stalled, which tends to be a big source of business, as well as mergers and acquisitions for big banks. That said, valuations for a number of these companies is starting to look overdone. Case in point isCitigroup (C), which has s...

Markets have rapidly repriced in the growth prospects for a number of companies. While some of the most speculative names have taken the biggest dive, even great companies that have remained profitable while showing slow and steady growth are at a point where they’ve oversold. For long-term investors, this marks the best point in years to buy growth at a respectable valuation. That’s especially true when it involves companies playing to strong growth trends now. Investors looking forward can get great returns in blue chip companies right now. One such player isOracle (ORCL). The data...

A bear market will take down most stocks, irrespective of how an individual company is performing. This creates a situation where investors can set themselves up to buy great companies at reasonable prices. A great company can be an industry leader, or one that has some sort of competitive advantage or potential sources of growth. Whatever the reason, when markets recover, great companies tend to resume their long-term compounded growth over time. Investors can buy nearly any big tech company at current prices and get a relative bargain based on valuation over the past few years.Adob...

A number of technologies are being developed, even with the economy teetering on the edge of a recession. Some that are under way already will likely develop a lead over competitors, who may have a tough time getting under way thanks to rising interest rates and a pullback in tech trends. One of the biggest tech trends last year was the metaverse. A number of companies talked about developing the concept. With the slowdown underway, companies that are already capable of generating revenue in the metaverse are likely to benefit from this trend. One leader in the space isRoblox (RBL...

The stock market is usually driven by growth names. While some of those stories fail to pan out, when the going gets tough, the market tends to pivot towards certainty. And nothing is as certain as regular cash dividends. Over time, dividend payers outperform non-dividend payers. And dividend stocks that grow their payouts do even better than those with a consistent payout. So it’s no surprise that companies that can grow their dividends now are getting some big market attention. One such example isFedEx (FDX). Shares rallied nearly 15 percent as the company announced a dividend incr...

While the economy is slowing, many trends in place will continue, even at a slower pace. Companies that can cater to the needs of growing industries can still grow and eventually even buck a market downtrend. Companies that help grow out some of today’s top tech trends, like electric vehicles or the 5G network, will be most successful if they’re already the industry leaders today. As long as that advantage can be maintained, they’ll likely continue to keep their market share. One such company that’s been a poor performer isQualcomm (QCOM). The manufacturer of wireless chips is the pe...

The stock market set a new low last week, and again on Monday. That may be a re-test of the prior low before moving higher, or it may more pain ahead for investors. Those looking for when to buy during a market drop have many different ways to do so. For some types of companies, knowing which key metrics indicate a solid value now could lead to some astute buys now. For instance, in financial stocks, book value tends to be a conservative measure of what a company is worth, as book value looks at what a company’s assets were worth when acquired. Now, many well-known companies are g...

Whether the economy is doing well or poorly, people want to be entertained. In a struggling market, most can find the money for inexpensive forms of entertainment such as movies, books, or video games. Of the three, video games have had the strongest growth, and the best revenue. And the space has seen some merger activity in recent months reflecting the notion that the space is still undervalued when looking at the long haul. One top publisher isTake-Two Interactive (TTWO). Shares are down nearly 30 percent in the past year, partly due to the company’s acquisition of publisher Zynga...