Do You Have These Top Inflation Stocks On Your Watchlist Today?
Inflation appears to be weighing in on the stock market today, even amidst its recent rally. Due to October’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading, investors are once again searching for the best inflation stocks around. To begin with, the U.S. Labor Department revealed earlier today that consumer prices surged by 6.2% year-over-year in October. For comparison, economists anticipated a 5.9% rise. Historically, this marks the fastest annual jump in consumer inflation since 1990. With signs of the red hot economy returning, supply chain bottlenecks, and ongoing taper initiatives by the Federal Reserve, investors may be looking to go on the defensive. Namely, this is where inflation stocks come into play.
Now, before going into the details, what are inflation stocks you might ask? Well, simply put, this group of stocks consists of companies whose businesses see steady demand even with inflation. For example, consumers will likely continue to rely on consumer staples such as Walmart (NYSE: WMT). Additionally, some would consider industry leaders with strong pricing power and quarterly dividend payouts as inflation-resistant names as well. Aside from that, gold stocks such as Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD) gain traction among less adventurous investors when inflation flares up. Overall, inflation stocks among other defensive plays seem to be on the rise in the stock market now. With that said, could these companies be safe bets now?
Best Inflation Stocks To Buy [Or Sell] This Week
- Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM)
- Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA)
- Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO)
- Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)
Newmont Corporation
Newmont is one of the world’s largest gold mining companies. It is also a leading producer of copper, silver, zinc, and lead. With its world-class portfolio of assets and talent, the company is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index. Newmont also has favorable mining jurisdictions in North America, South America, Australia, and Africa.
Today, the company announced a new strategic alliance with Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), producer of the world’s most comprehensive suite of mining equipment and technologies. Caterpillar will help deliver a fully connected, automated, zero carbon-emitting, end-to-end mining system. Newmont has been driving sustainable progress since its inception and with this latest news, the company takes it a step further.
Under the agreement, Newmont will provide a preliminary investment of $100 million as the companies set initial automation and electrification goals for surface and underground mining infrastructures and haulage fleets at Newmont’s mining sites. All things considered, will you add NEM to your portfolio?
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Marathon Digital Holdings Inc.
Following that, we have Marathon Digital Holdings, a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets. Impressively, it is building one of the largest bitcoin mining operations in North America, by deploying more powerful miners to increase its hash rate. If anything, some would argue that cryptocurrency stocks could be a good hedge against inflation. MARA stock currently trades at $73.90 as of 10:58 a.m. ET and is up by over 3,000% in the past year alone.
Today, the company reported its third-quarter financials. Diving in, total revenue increased to $51.7 million from $835,000 a year earlier. The company produced 1,252 self-minted bitcoins in the third quarter of 2021, a 91% increase from the previous quarter.
Its investment fund, which purchased 4,812.66 BTC for approximately $150 million in January 2021, increased in fair value by $58.8 million during the first nine months of 2021. It also ended the quarter with $32.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, while total liquidity was approximately $315.6 million. Given the impressive quarter, should investors consider MARA stock a buy right now?
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Altria Group Inc.
Altria Group is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and related products. Furthermore, it is a Fortune 200 company and has a leading portfolio of tobacco products for U.S. tobacco consumers. Interestingly, the company’s Vision by 2030 is to responsibly lead the transition of adult smokers to a smoke-free future. Also, its current smoke-free products include e-vapor and moist smokeless tobacco, and oral nicotine pouches. It is doing this by transitioning millions to potentially less harmful choices.
In late October, the company reported its third-quarter financials. Net revenue for the quarter was $6.78 billion. “Altria continued to balance maximizing profitability from our core tobacco businesses with investing to realize our Vision of responsibly leading the transition of adult smokers to a smoke-free future,” said Billy Gifford, Altria’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our tobacco businesses performed well against difficult year-over-year comparisons and we’re encouraged by the significant retail share growth from on! in the third quarter. We also continued to reward shareholders with a strong and growing dividend and announced today the expansion of our existing $2.0 billion share repurchase program to $3.5 billion.” With that being said, should you be on the lookout for MO stock?
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Apple Inc.
Last but not least, we will be taking a look at Apple. Safe to say, the company is one of, if not the most prominent names in the consumer tech space now. Even with the premium pricing on its devices, Apple continues to thrive amidst the current pandemic. Not to mention, the company also offers a wide array of services and subscriptions that synergize well with said devices. All of these components make up Apple’s holistic tech ecosystem. On top of all that, the company currently has a quarterly dividend of 22 cents per share.
As it stands, AAPL stock trades at $148.88 as of 12:47 p.m. ET. Even so, the company does not seem to be sitting idly by now. Notably, Netflix’s (NASDAQ: NFLX) new gaming services are debuting on Apple’s iOS device today. This would encompass mobile games based on the streaming giant’s hit series Stranger Things among other titles. This could indicate that Apple is more willing to collaborate with third-party developers to bolster its software offerings despite its recent App Store policy changes. In light of all this, would AAPL stock be worth investing in for you now?
