Did you miss out on some of the best S&P 500 stocks in the past 12 months? Don’t worry. Analysts say you still have plenty of time for another go.
X
Analysts are still calling for big gains this year for nine big winners over the prior year, including Bath & Body Works (BBWI), Epam Systems (EPAM) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY), says an Investor’s Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith.
All these stocks are already up more than 60% in the past 12 months, making them giant winners. That’s more than double the S&P 500’s 29.5% rise in that time. But what makes these top S&P 500 stocks even more unique is that analysts still think they’re good for up to 28% upside in the next 12 months.
Emboldened by the S&P 500’s strong finish to 2021 and what that portends for the rest of this year, investors are picking their spots. Stocks are up 0.4% in the past month, says Wilshire Associates. And that’s already added $200 billion in wealth to portfolios this month.
Looking For A Strong 2022 For The S&P 500
You might think following the huge 28% advance by the S&P 500 in 2021 that the big gains are behind us. Not so, analysts say.
The S&P 500 tends to do rather well following a banner year of a 25%-plus gain, says Ryan Detrick, strategist at LPL Financial. Stocks tend to rise 11%, on average, in the year after the S&P 500 rose more than 25% as it did in 2021. And it gets better. The S&P 500 rose in the following year 85% of the time since 1950, Detrick says.
It’s a fair point that an 11% annual gain would fall shy of what S&P 500 investors are used to lately. The S&P 500 jumped 16.3% in 2020 after leaping 28.9% in 2019. And that’s just the start of it. Including dividends, S&P 500 investors more than doubled their money in just the past three years, says Howard Silverblatt, strategist at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
But you can’t help investors for looking for more than 11%. And analysts think some S&P 500 stocks, already big winners, have more than that to rise.
Bath & Body Works: More Where That Came From
Bath & Body Works, a mall-based seller of skin care products, embodies a winning S&P 500 stock that analysts still believe in. It’s a top stock with much more upside.
Analysts think the stock will soar an additional 27.7% in the next 12 months to 89.95 a share. That’s pretty remarkable not only in that it’s the biggest gain expected from any of the top S&P 500 stocks. But it’s also an outsize gain that would pile on its already huge 77.9% rise in the past 12 months to close at 70.45.
But it’s a bit of a wait, still, for fundamentals. Analysts think the company’s profit in the fiscal year ended in January 2023 will only creep up by 4%. But keep in mind that profit this fiscal year ended in January 2022 is seen jumping nearly 30%. So holding those big profit gains in itself is an accomplishment.
Plus, analysts think profit growth will resume in fiscal 2024 with nearly 12% growth.
Energy Is Still A Big Draw
Energy was a huge winner in 2021. And analysts see a repeat for many top stocks in the sector.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) jumped nearly 50% in 2021. That put it tops among the 11 sectors. Some individual energy stocks did even better. Occidental Petroleum, for instance, rocketed more than 90% over the past 12 months to 33.88. And yet, analysts think it’s just getting started. They’re calling for the company’s shares to add more than 22.2% in value in 12 months, to 40.80 a share.
And it’s not alone in the sector. Four of the nine top S&P 500 stocks that analysts think will jump 17% or more in 12 months are all in the energy sector. That’s more than any other sector.
Analysts aren’t always right (they’re often wrong). But these S&P 500 stocks are already market-beaters. Analysts are only telling you there’s more where that came from.
Analysts Have High Hopes In 2022 For Some Top Stocks
S&P 500 stocks that analysts think have more than 17% upside in 12 months and that also rose more than 60% in 2021
| Company | Ticker | 1-year stock % change | Upside to 12-month price target | Composite Rating | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath & Body Works | (BBWI) | 77.9% | 27.7% | 64 | Consumer Discretionary |
| Epam Systems | (EPAM) | 77.7% | 27.3% | 99 | Information Technology |
| Occidental Petroleum | (OXY) | 91.3% | 22.2% | 74 | Energy |
| SVB Financial Group | (SIVB) | 82.3% | 20.4% | 89 | Financials |
| Pioneer Natural Resources | (PXD) | 68.6% | 18.9% | 94 | Energy |
| Intuit | (INTU) | 66.3% | 18.4% | 93 | Information Technology |
| ConocoPhillips | (COP) | 94.5% | 18.1% | 86 | Energy |
| Quanta Services | (PWR) | 70.2% | 17.2% | 83 | Industrials |
| EOG Resources | (EOG) | 91.2% | 17.2% | 94 | Energy |
| S&P 500 | 29.5% |
Source: IBD, S&P Global Market Intelligence
Follow Matt Krantz on Twitter @mattkrantz
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
Bank Of America Names Top 11 Stock Picks For 2022
How A 69-Year-Old Made A $481 Million Coronavirus Stock Gain
MarketSmith: Research, Charts, Data And Coaching All In One Place
12 Stocks Turned $10,000 Into $413,597 In 12 Months
Check Out IBD’s New IBD Live Panel Discussion
Extended Rally, Tesla Climax Run Are Volatile Mix; Nio Unveils Luxury EV
Source: https://www.investors.com/etfs-and-funds/sectors/sp500-9-top-stocks-will-soar-again-in-2022-analysts-say/?src=A00220&yptr=yahoo