The stock market’s plunge last year because of the global pandemic might not be noticeable in a few years’ time. The bull run that began after the Great Recession has suffered a few hiccups over the past decade or so, but largely marches on.
That rightly makes some investors nervous, as the party must end sooner or later, the thinking goes, and the market’s volatility lately, with wild swings in price, could be a harbinger that we’re reaching a peak.
If you’re worried, too, the two stocks below ought to help you to prepare now for any market crash.
1. ABM Industries
Hardly the sort of sexy business many momentum investors seek out, ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) is a leading janitorial services and facilities manager across commercial, technology, industrial, education, and aviation.
Founded in 1909 as a window washing company, ABM has over $6 billion in annual revenue from a diversified list of customers, yet it’s that sort of mundane task completion that makes ABM an attractive investment in times of trouble.
Its long history also means it has survived and thrived through all kinds of market conditions, and while the COVID-19 pandemic did hurt its operations, there is also much greater awareness for the need for cleanliness and sanitation.
So although first-quarter revenue was down 7.5% year over year, adjusted profits of $68.3 million, or $1.01 per share, were more than 2.5 times greater than the $26.2 million, or $0.39 per share, it generated last year as clients took on more work orders and performed more profitable EnhancedClean jobs that include disinfection routines.
CEO Scott Salmirs said with the rollout of vaccines, ABM is looking forward to a time where “post-pandemic normalcy will reflect a heightened sensitivity to health and hygiene.”
ABM Industries pays a dividend of $0.76 per share that currently yields 1.5% annually, which it has paid every quarter since 1965 and has raised for over 50 years, putting it in that rare group of companies known as Dividend Kings.
Trading at just about seven times the free cash flow it produces, ABM Industries carries a deeply discounted valuation that ought to continue generating substantial returns for investors in good times and bad.
2. Genuine Parts
Auto parts retailer Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) could be primed to capitalize on any market collapse, because when times get tough, consumers hold on to the cars they already own and do repair jobs themselves, rather than buy new.
Genuine Parts, which owns the NAPA Auto Parts brand of retail stores and generates two-thirds of its revenue from automotive sales, is already facing potential gains as a computer chip shortage impacts not only the tech sector, but the automotive industry as well.
Full story on Fool.com
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