Six COVID-19-proof stocks to buy include recreational vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers, an outdoor sports and activities equipment maker and a company that offers cushy chairs and sofas known for their comfort.
Even though the six COVID-19 stocks to buy have been on an upswing, they have managed to rise despite the National Bureau of Economic Research declaring that the U.S. economy peaked in February 2020 to end a 128-month expansion that began in June 2009. The research bureau explained Q4 2019 marked the peak in quarterly activity as the COVID-19 crisis caused the lockdown of non-essential businesses throughout much of the world.
In a ray of hope, the May U.S. jobless rate dropped to 13.3% with employers unexpectedly adding 2.5 million jobs to mark the largest monthly gain in new jobs since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the data series in 1939. The labor market surprised analysts by rebounding from April, when 20.7 million jobs were cut and the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 14.7% as many businesses in America closed during the COVID-19 lockdown.
COVID-19 has caused 7,597,341 cases and 423,844 deaths globally, along with 2,089,701 cases and 116,034 deaths in the United States, as of June 12. America has the most cases and deaths by far of any country in the world, including China, where COVID-19 originated.
Paul Dykewicz meets with Jim Woods before COVID-19 to discuss new investment opportunities.
6 COVID-19-Proof Stocks to Buy Now Include Thor Industries
Before the opening bell on June 9, recreational vehicle (RV) maker Thor Industries (NYSE:THO), of Elkhart, Indiana, reported an unexpectedly strong fiscal third-quarter profit of 43 cents per share, even though its revenue fell 33% from the same quarter the prior year to $1.68 billion. But the results beat the expected loss of 40 cents per share, based on analysts’ consensus forecasts, on predicted revenue of $1.42 billion.
Thor Industries, recommended in the Fast Money Alert trading service by Jim Woods and Mark Skousen, PhD, also has a strong backlog of orders that consists of $857.9 million for its North American towable products, $548.0 million for its North American motorized vehicles and $803.5 million for its European RVs. Bob Martin, chief executive officer of Thor Industries, issued a statement indicating every North American dealer he has spoken to in the last few weeks expressed excitement about the sales pace of RVs.
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Hilary Kramer, host of a national radio program called “Millionaire Maker” and head of the Value Authority and GameChangers advisory services, said,“For the transition back to greatness on the consumer side, I’m a huge fan of La-Z-Boy Inc. (NYSE:LZB).”
The company, a furniture maker based in Monroe, Michigan, offers great products and has developed an “incredibly loyal customer base,” Kramer said. Management has made the tough decisions and cut jobs as well as production to project the most efficient profile in a post-pandemic world, he added.
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Columnist and author Paul Dykewicz interviews money manager Hilary Kramer, whose premium advisory services include 2-Day Trader, Turbo Trader,High Octane Trader and Inner Circle.
Bob Carlson, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Virginia’s Fairfax County Employees’ Retirement System with more than $4 billion in assets, told me that recreational vehicle stocks have “appreciated quite a bit” since the market’s bottom.
A “better bet at this point” is on the key component suppliers to all the RV companies: Patrick Industries (NASDAQ:PATK) and LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII), both of Elkhart, Indiana, said Carlson, who also leads the Retirement Watch advisory service. Both pay dividends.
Pension fund Chairman Bob Carlson answers questions from Paul Dykewicz during an interview before social distancing became the norm after the outbreak of COVID-19.
Income investors seeking to steer clear of stocks and funds struggling to sustain their payouts during the current economic fallout may find these six dividend-paying COVID-19-proof stocks to buy worth considering.
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Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce,Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul, who can be followed on Twitter @PaulDykewicz, is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. The book is endorsed by Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Ara Paseghian, “Rocket” Ismail, Reggie Brooks, Dick Vitale and many others.
