There are a multiple headwinds buffeting the markets right now, pushing stocks, bonds, and commodities in various directions. Between stubbornly high inflation, the war in Ukraine, the persistence of COVID, and even the developing instability in Chinese real estate, the possible shocks that can hit the market are enough to make any investor’s head spin. They are also a strong inducement to start taking a defensive stance on an investment portfolio.
At least, that’s the bottom line from Morgan Stanley’s chief investment officer and US equity strategist Mike Wilson. Looking at the markets, and drawing conclusions, Wilson comes down to a cautious take, saying, “We remain bearish on the S&P 500 index from a risk reward standpoint, particularly after the recent rally. Our year end base case target of 4400 is 4% below current levels. At the stock level, we continue to recommend investors look for stable cash flow generating companies in defensive sectors.”
This is a clear recipe for investors to follow, and will lead us quite naturally to two recent stock recommendations from Morgan Stanley’s analysts – for reliable dividend payers with attractive growth prospects. We ran both names through TipRanks’ database to see what other Wall Street’s analysts have to say about them.
Agree Realty Corporation (ADC)
We’ll start with a stock in one of the market’s perennial dividend champion leagues, REIT. These companies, real estate investment trusts, acquire, own, operate, and manage real properties of all sorts – residential, multi-family, commercial, retail, industrial – as well as investing in mortgages and mortgage-backed securities. Of interest here to defensive-minded investors, REITs are required by governmental regulators to return a high percentage of profits directly to shareholders – and dividends are a common mode of compliance. As a result, REITs are known for offering dividends that are both high-yield and highly reliable.
Metro Detroit-based Agree Realty focuses on owning, developing, and leasing commercial properties for major retailers….
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