Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:ARCW,FONR,WEX,PDM,PCOM, &l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image shutterstock size-large wp-image-637816771&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/637816771/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Shutterstock

With earnings season in the rear-view and the end of the first quarter looming, you&a;rsquo;re probably asking yourself &l;i&g;one thing&l;/i&g; right now&a;hellip;

&a;hellip; just how good is the stock market?

I&a;rsquo;ll give you the answer (which I think you&a;rsquo;ll like) in a moment.

Then I&a;rsquo;ll show you 2 funds whose portfolios are packed with familiar stocks, including &l;b&g;Apple&l;/b&g;. Both funds are poised for strong gains in 2018 while handing you fat cash payouts up to 8.8%!

&l;b&g;Finding Bargains in a Surprising Place&l;/b&g;

First, if you&a;rsquo;re like most folks, you might feel queasy about &l;i&g;any&l;/i&g; stocks&a;mdash;including &a;ldquo;reliable&a;rdquo; blue chips&a;mdash;after the stomach-churning drops we suffered in February.

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: Arc Wireless Solutions Inc.(ARCW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  News articles about ARC Group WorldWide (NASDAQ:ARCW) have been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. Accern identifies negative and positive media coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. ARC Group WorldWide earned a news sentiment score of 0.08 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the technology company an impact score of 45.8235732272447 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near term.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Barnes Group (NYSE: B) and ARC Group WorldWide (NASDAQ:ARCW) are both industrial products companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Watts Water Technologies (NYSE: WTS) and ARC Group WorldWide (NASDAQ:ARCW) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

• [By Max Byerly]

  CIRCOR International (NYSE: CIR) and ARC Group WorldWide (NASDAQ:ARCW) are both small-cap industrial products companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: Fonar Corporation(FONR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Fonar Co. (NASDAQ:FONR) Treasurer Raymond V. Damadian sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.47, for a total value of $36,260.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 127,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,510,720.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: WEX Inc.(WEX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on WEX (WEX)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.(PDM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: PDM) dropped about 3.5% Tuesday to post a new 52-week low of $17.35. Shares closed at $17.98 on Monday and the stock’s 52-week high is $22.74. Volume was about 60% above the daily average of around 1.3 million shares. The company had no specific news.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Piedmont Office Realty Trust (PDM)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,748 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,194 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.10% of Piedmont Office Realty Trust worth $2,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: Points International, Ltd.(PCOM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Points International Ltd. (NASDAQ:PCOM) (TSE:PTS) hit a new 52-week high and low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $15.08 and last traded at $15.00, with a volume of 402 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.91.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Points International Ltd. (TSE:PTS) (NASDAQ:PCOM) insider Inez Mary Christine Murdoch sold 2,726 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$21.12, for a total transaction of C$57,573.12.

Better Buy: Johnson & Johnson vs. Pfizer

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) rank as the biggest of big pharma companies in the United States. Both companies trace their roots back to the 19th century. Both generate enormous amounts of cash flow and pay solid dividends.

Over the past 12 months, Pfizer has been the clear winner between these two blue-chip pharma stocks. But which is the better pick for investors now? Here's how J&J and Pfizer compare.

Image source: Getty Images.

The case for Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson's solid Q2 performance highlights several reasons to like the stock. First, the company is diversified into several areas of healthcare. J&J isn't just a big pharma company. It also ranks as a leader in consumer healthcare and medical devices. These two segments combined generate more revenue for J&J than its pharmaceuticals business does.�

Another thing Johnson & Johnson's second-quarter results show is the company's ability to make acquisitions that move the needle. For example, last year's acquisition of Swiss drugmaker Actelion contributed an additional $665 million in revenue in Q2 that J&J wouldn't have had otherwise.

But Johnson & Johnson also claims several blockbuster drugs that continue to enjoy strong momentum. Immunology drugs Stelara and Simponi are big winners for the company and are more than offsetting�declines for Remicade, which faces competition from biosimilars. J&J's Invega neuroscience franchise is also performing well.�The company is exceptionally strong in oncology, with soaring sales for Darzalex, Imbruvica, and Zytiga.�

What about Johnson & Johnson's pipeline? The company claims more than 40 late-stage programs. J&J awaits European approval of Erleada, a promising prostate cancer drug that won FDA approval earlier this year. It expects to submit several more oncology drugs for approval over the next three years, including niraparib�for treating prostate cancer and CAR-T therapy JNJ-4528 for treating multiple myeloma.

J&J's dividend is another big plus for the stock. Its yield currently stands at 2.86%. The company has increased its quarterly dividend for 56 consecutive years.

The case for Pfizer

Pfizer isn't as diversified as J&J and could become even less so as it contemplates the possibility of spinning off its consumer health business. However, there's a lot to like about Pfizer's core pharmaceuticals business.

The drugmaker claims three tremendously successful drugs that should continue to generate growth well into the future. Market research firm EvaluatePharma thinks that Eliquis, which Pfizer co-markets with Bristol-Myers Squibb, will be the No. 5 best-selling drug in the world within a few years. Breast cancer drug Ibrance and immunology drug Xeljanz also enjoy strong sales momentum.

We could soon add more drugs to this list. Pfizer and partner Merck�won FDA approval for Steglatro, Steglujan, and Segluromet in treating type 2 diabetes in December 2017. These drugs could together be another blockbuster franchise for Pfizer.

Pfizer's pipeline also includes over 30 programs in late-stage development or awaiting approval. Three oncology drugs that look especially promising are�dacomitinib, lorlatinib, and talazoparib. Pfizer also hopes to step up its rare-disease game, with tafamidis meglumine awaiting FDA approval as a treatment for transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy and sickle cell disease candidate rivipansel in phase 3 testing.�

You won't find many big pharma dividends better than Pfizer's. Its dividend currently yields 3.66%. Over the past five years, Pfizer has increased its dividend by nearly 42% -- higher than J&J's dividend increases of 36% during the period.

Better buy

Both Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer face some challenges. Without its acquisitions and help from currency fluctuations, J&J's revenue growth has been modest. Pfizer continues to be held back by declining sales for drugs that have lost exclusivity and continued product shortages with its sterile injectables business.

However, I like both of these stocks despite the headwinds they face. Over the long run, my view is that both J&J and Pfizer will deliver solid total returns to investors.

Which is the better pick right now? I think the nod goes to Pfizer -- mainly because of the company's higher dividend yield. My hunch is that both companies will generate earnings growth at similar levels over the next few years. But Pfizer's better dividend should allow the stock to produce greater total returns than J&J will.

It's a close call, though. I don't think long-term investors can go wrong with buying either of these stocks.