But you can lessen the amount of risk you take on by having a diversified portfolio, one that includes steady, high-probability growth in addition to those volatile equities that could soar or sputter.
With that in mind, below I'll highlight three stocks that have a lower risk profile than most. These aren't necessarily investments that you can buy and forget for the next decade, but they're also unlikely to plummet on account of some minor shift in their industry.
These companies are all leaders in their respective markets, have a record of market-thumping growth, and yet their valuations won't leave shareholders overly exposed to a large stock price decline.
Each of the results have a forward P/E under 20 while earnings are expected to grow by more than 10 percent for each of the next five years.
These are the results...
AbbVie -- Yield: 3.80%
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) employs 28,000 people, generates revenue of $22,859.00 million and has a net income of $5,144.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $95.64 billion.AbbVie’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $8,523.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 37.29% (the operating margin is 32.97% and the net profit margin 22.50%).
Financials: The total debt represents 59.70% of AbbVie assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 802.81%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 180.90% was realized by AbbVie.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $3.34. Last fiscal year, AbbVie paid $2.10 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 17.98, the P/S ratio is 4.25 and the P/B ratio is finally 24.49. The dividend yield amounts to 3.80%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of AbbVie (ABBV) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of AbbVie (ABBV) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of AbbVie (ABBV) |
Nucor Corporation -- Yield: 2.98%
Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) employs 23,700 people, generates revenue of $16,439.28 million and has a net income of $496.08 million. The current market capitalization stands at $15.91 billion.Nucor Corporation’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $1,822.80 million. The EBITDA margin is 11.09% (the operating margin is 5.34% and the net profit margin 3.02%).
Financials: The total debt represents 31.29% of Nucor Corporation assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 60.02%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 4.69% was realized by Nucor Corporation.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $1.12. Last fiscal year, Nucor Corporation paid $1.49 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 44.95, the P/S ratio is 0.97 and the P/B ratio is finally 2.16. The dividend yield amounts to 2.98%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Nucor Corporation (NUE) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Nucor Corporation (NUE) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Nucor Corporation (NUE) |
McDonald's Corporation -- Yield: 2.91%
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) employs 420,000 people, generates revenue of $25,413.00 million and has a net income of $4,529.30 million. The current market capitalization stands at $107.16 billion.McDonald's Corporation’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $8,871.70 million. The EBITDA margin is 34.91% (the operating margin is 28.12% and the net profit margin 17.82%).
Financials: The total debt represents 63.58% of McDonald's Corporation assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 340.33%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 45.43% was realized by McDonald's Corporation.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $5.19. Last fiscal year, McDonald's Corporation paid $3.44 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 23.54, the P/S ratio is 4.22 and the P/B ratio is finally 15.64. The dividend yield amounts to 2.91%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of McDonald's Corporation (MCD) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of McDonald's Corporation (MCD) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of McDonald's Corporation (MCD) |
Cardinal Health -- Yield: 2.38%
Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) employs 34,500 people, generates revenue of $102,531.00 million and has a net income of $1,212.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $24.27 billion.Cardinal Health’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $2,913.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 2.84% (the operating margin is 2.05% and the net profit margin 1.18%).
Financials: The total debt represents 18.22% of Cardinal Health assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 87.79%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 19.15% was realized by Cardinal Health.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $4.18. Last fiscal year, Cardinal Health paid $1.37 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 18.04, the P/S ratio is 0.24 and the P/B ratio is finally 3.96. The dividend yield amounts to 2.38%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Cardinal Health (CAH) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Cardinal Health (CAH) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Cardinal Health (CAH) |
VF Corp -- Yield: 2.33%
VF Corp (NYSE:VFC) employs 64,000 people, generates revenue of $12,376.74 million and has a net income of $1,231.59 million. The current market capitalization stands at $26.98 billion.VF Corp’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $2,072.45 million. The EBITDA margin is 16.74% (the operating margin is 13.42% and the net profit margin 9.95%).
Financials: The total debt represents 19.34% of VF Corp assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 34.63%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 22.36% was realized by VF Corp.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $2.80. Last fiscal year, VF Corp paid $1.33 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 22.66, the P/S ratio is 2.14 and the P/B ratio is finally 5.03. The dividend yield amounts to 2.33%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of VF Corp (VFC) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of VF Corp (VFC) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of VF Corp (VFC) |
Lowe's Companies -- Yield: 1.79%
Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) employs 180,000 people, generates revenue of $59,074.00 million and has a net income of $2,546.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $69.71 billion.Lowe's Companies’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $6,568.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 11.12% (the operating margin is 8.41% and the net profit margin 4.31%).
Financials: The total debt represents 40.46% of Lowe's Companies assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 165.26%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 28.76% was realized by Lowe's Companies.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $2.99. Last fiscal year, Lowe's Companies paid $1.07 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 26.23, the P/S ratio is 1.18 and the P/B ratio is finally 9.32. The dividend yield amounts to 1.79%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Lowe's Companies (LOW) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Lowe's Companies (LOW) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Lowe's Companies (LOW) |
Walgreens Boots Alliance -- Yield: 1.74%
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) employs 245,000 people, generates revenue of $103,444.00 million and has a net income of $4,255.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $88.75 billion.Walgreens Boots Alliance’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $7,121.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 6.88% (the operating margin is 4.51% and the net profit margin 4.11%).
Financials: The total debt represents 20.91% of Walgreens Boots Alliance assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 46.61%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 16.43% was realized by Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $3.07. Last fiscal year, Walgreens Boots Alliance paid $1.37 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 26.93, the P/S ratio is 0.86 and the P/B ratio is finally 2.92. The dividend yield amounts to 1.74%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) |
Becton Dickinson -- Yield: 1.59%
Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) employs 49,517 people, generates revenue of $10,282.00 million and has a net income of $695.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $34.86 billion.Becton Dickinson’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $2,391.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 23.25% (the operating margin is 10.45% and the net profit margin 6.76%).
Financials: The total debt represents 48.43% of Becton Dickinson assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 178.98%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 11.38% was realized by Becton Dickinson.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $3.75. Last fiscal year, Becton Dickinson paid $2.40 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 44.26, the P/S ratio is 3.42 and the P/B ratio is finally 4.88. The dividend yield amounts to 1.59%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Becton Dickinson (BDX) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Becton Dickinson (BDX) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Becton Dickinson (BDX) |
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| 8 High Growth Dividend Aristocrats With Upside Potential (click to enlarge) |
