It’s always fun getting a little bit of extra cash. It’s a new year, so perhaps you got that holiday bonus or some cash in your Christmas stocking. But instead of spending to enjoy that money now, consider investing it to enjoy your future. Even $1,500 can grow to a much more significant amount over time if you pick the right stocks to invest in.
The good news is that you don’t need to do this alone. Here are three winning stocks you might want to consider that are poised to maintain their excellence over the long haul. You can confidently add these three stocks to your diversified portfolio for less than $1,500.
1. Enbridge: A stock that pays enormous dividends
Midstream energy company Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) could be just the stock you’re looking for if collecting fat dividend checks is your thing. The company’s stock offers a whopping 7.2% dividend yield at its current share price.
Enbridge plays a vital role in the energy business. It owns a network of thousands of miles-long pipelines that transfer natural gas, oil, and other materials throughout North America.
Enbridge is like a toll operator. It collects fees on the materials that travel through its pipes. These fees are generally dictated by long-term contracts, not the spot commodity price of oil or natural gas at any given time. In other words, the company isn’t as sensitive to oil and gas price volatility as the companies that drill and extract those commodities. That means smoother, more reliable revenue streams, making Enbridge an excellent dividend stock.
The company’s dividend payout ratio is just 65% of the distributable cash profits management believes the business will make this year, so investors can buy and hold Enbridge and continue cashing those checks. The company has even raised its shareholder payout for 26 consecutive years.
2. CrowdStrike: For growth-hungry investors
Maybe you’d rather own companies with surging growth. In that case, peek into the cybersecurity industry with CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD). CrowdStrike uses AI and cloud technology to provide real-time security protection. Its Falcon Platform learns on the fly — each instance trains the rest of the network, making it smarter the larger it grows.
CrowdStrike sells various product modules (nearly two dozen in all), leading to lucrative cross-selling. Roughly a quarter of CrowdStrike’s customers use at least seven product modules. The company’s revenue has grown more than seven-fold in its approximately five years as a public company. It’s also profitable and is expected to earn nearly $3 per share this fiscal year (ending this month).
If you’re investing in CrowdStrike stock, the money will likely be made in the waiting. Management believes its total market opportunity could grow to $225 billion by 2028 due to product expansion and a general need for better cybersecurity solutions. Remember, CrowdStrike’s annual revenue today is just $2.8 billion. Legacy products like antivirus are often obsolete in the face of newer threats and hacker techniques — CrowdStrike expects to grab more of that pie over the coming years.
3. British American Tobacco: A jaw-dropping bargain
Some investors want growth, others want dividends. But some want a terrific bargain. British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) fits that description nicely. Yes, British American is a tobacco company that sells cigarettes. Yes, smoking rates have declined for many years. But it’s also a diversified conglomerate that produces both old and next-generation nicotine products, and it is diversified globally.
Over 100 million consumers worldwide use British American Tobacco’s products, leaving plenty of room to expand. Management estimates a global opportunity of approximately 1.1 billion nicotine users. The company isn’t a growth stock, but it’s also nowhere near a dying company. Analysts expect earnings to grow at a mid-single-digit rate moving forward.
Shares trade at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just 6. Despite its slow growth, the stock’s resulting PEG ratio (1.2) signals it’s a bargain. Additionally, investors benefit from a colossal dividend that yields over 9% and is easily funded by cash flow. Jumping on shares could reasonably produce double-digit annual investment returns because the stock only needs minimal price appreciation beyond the dividend to get there.
Should you invest $1,000 in Enbridge right now?
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Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CrowdStrike and Enbridge. The Motley Fool recommends British American Tobacco P.l.c. and recommends the following options: long January 2024 $40 calls on British American Tobacco P.l.c., long January 2026 $40 calls on British American Tobacco P.l.c., and short January 2026 $40 puts on British American Tobacco P.l.c. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Got $1,500? You Can Confidently Add These 3 Stocks to Your Portfolio was originally published by The Motley Fool
