Predicting market trends often feels more like art than science. Yet, despite its complexity, the data available can help decipher the nuances of stock movements.
The TipRanks Smart Score is a perfect example. Scanning through the whole of the database and assembling the information for every stock according to 8 categories known to predict future share performance, the Smart Score combines those categories into a single score that allows investors to see at a glance how the stock is likely to move in the coming year.
That score is given on a scale from 1 to 10, with low scores indicating likely underperformance of the broader market, and higher scores indicating overperformance. A perfect score, a 10, is a rare gift for a stock. It doesn’t necessarily mean that every factor aligns perfectly – but it does indicate a potentially bright future for the stock in question.
Today, we’ve pulled up two ‘Perfect 10’ stocks, which are also fine defensive plays, with dividends yielding 7% or higher. At a time when volatility is returning to the markets, the combination of likely overperformance and a strong dividend return makes these stocks ones investors should take notice of.
MPLX LP (MPLX)
First up on our Perfect 10 list is a midstream company from the oil and gas industry, MPLX. Originally a division of Marathon Petroleum, the company spun off from its parent company in 2012 to operate as an independent partnership firm controlling the parent’s midstream transport assets. That’s a bit of a mouthful, but it boils down to MPLX operating a wide-ranging network of pipelines, terminal points, river tugs and barges, and other transport and storage assets that link hydrocarbon production regions across North America with the storage facilities, tank farms, refineries, and export terminals that bring crude oil, natural gas, and their refined products to the market. MPLX today boasts a market cap of $41.5 billion, and brought in $11.34 billion in revenue last year.
Prominent among MPLX’s assets are its rail and truck racks, maritime business, and export…
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