Do You Have These Top Consumer Discretionary Stocks On Your 2021 Watchlist?
As investors weigh impressive earnings against the backdrop of resurging Delta variant cases, consumer discretionary stocks remain viable plays. For starters, the stock market today appears to be taking a breather from its previous five-day winning streak. Meanwhile, investor fears over the red-hot economy cooling off were further fed by lackluster retail sales in July. Would this mean that the consumer discretionary train is coming to a standstill? Not necessarily. If anything, there are plenty of consumer discretionary players that have and continue to thrive throughout the pandemic.
For the most part, this segment of the market includes the likes of video streaming, cannabis, e-commerce, and gaming industries. Not to mention, traditional retailers like Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) continue to make headlines. On one hand, Walmart reported an earnings per share of $1.78 on revenue of $140.05 billion in its second-quarter fiscal earlier today. After exceeding consensus estimates on both fronts, the company also raised its outlook for the fiscal year. On the other hand, AutoZone received a rosy update from Oppenheimer (NYSE: OPY) head of technical analysis, Ari Wald yesterday. Wald cited AZO stock as having “technical, fundamental, and portfolio tailwinds behind it”. Given all of this, could these consumer discretionary stocks be top picks in the stock market now?
Best Consumer Discretionary Stocks To Watch In The Stock Market Today
- Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD)
- Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE)
- Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT)
- Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW)
- General Motors Company (NYSE: GM)
The Home Depot Inc.
Home Depot is the largest improvement retailer in the U.S. The company sells construction products and services. It operates a big-box format series across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. With more than 2,000 stores, its typical store averages 105,000 square feet of indoor retail space. Also, the company boasts an impressive e-commerce business that offers more than 1 million products for DIY customers and professional contractors.
With year-to-date gains of over 18%, HD stock currently trades at $319.19 as of 12:39 p.m. ET. Today, the company has just reported its second-quarter financials for fiscal 2021. Firstly, Home Depot posted sales of $41.1 billion for the quarter, an 8.1% increase year-over-year. For the first time in history, the company has achieved a milestone of over $40 billion in quarterly sales. Secondly, it reported net earnings of $4.8 billion or $4.53 per diluted share, increasing by 12.7% year-over-year. Given the impressive financials, will you consider HD stock a top consumer discretionary stock worth watching right now?
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Nike Inc.
Next on this list, we have Nike, a multinational corporation that designs and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and services. The company is one of the most valuable sports brands in the world. It also owns brands like Converse. NKE stock currently trades at $170.22 as of 12:40 p.m. ET. In early August, the company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.275 per share on the company’s outstanding Class A and Class B Commons Stock, payable on October 1, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 30, 2021.
In June, the company reported its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter and full-year results. Notably, fourth-quarter revenues were $12.3 billion, up by 96% year-over-year while full-year revenues increased by 19% to a whopping $44.5 billion. Its Nike Brand revenue for the full year was $42.3 billion while its Converse revenue was $2.2 billion, up by 17% and 16% respectively. The company says that its impressive quarter and full-year results were driven by growth across all its segments and recovery of its business operations due to the impact of the pandemic in the prior year. All things considered, will you add NKE stock to your watchlist?
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Target Corporation
Target Corporation is a general merchandise retailer with stores in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Also, the company boasts over 350,000 employees and claims that 75% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Target store. TGT stock currently trades at $253.23 as of 12:40 p.m. ET and has enjoyed gains of over 80% in the past year alone.
Last week, the company announced Kindfull, its new owned brand of dog and cat food. Furthermore, this builds upon its one-stop pet shop by offering a signature mix of owned and national pet brands. Ultimately, this would give guests hundreds of options across all categories, including pet supplies, food and treats to create a one-stop-shop for pet needs. With that being said, will you watch TGT stock?
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Lowe’s Companies Inc.
Another name to consider in the consumer discretionary trade now would be Lowe’s Companies. In essence, the North Carolina retailer primarily operates in the home improvement space. For a sense of scale, Lowe’s serves approximately 20 million customers weekly throughout the U.S. and Canada. It accomplishes this via a network of over 2,200 home improvement and hardware stores. In the case that pandemic conditions continue to deteriorate, I could see investors flocking to LOW stock.
Now, the company’s shares currently trade at $182.93 a share as of 12:41 p.m. ET. After gaining by over 170% since its pandemic era low, could more growth be in the books for LOW stock? To help answer this question, investors would be eagerly waiting for the company’s second-quarter fiscal due before tomorrow’s opening bell. After all, Lowe’s would stand to benefit from the robust housing market this year. According to Wall Street estimates, the company could see an earnings per share of $4 on revenue of $26.79 billion. This would mark sizable quarter-over-quarter increases of 24% in earnings per share and 9% in total revenue. After considering all of this, will you be keeping an eye on LOW stock?
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General Motors Company
Topping off our list today is the General Motors Company (GM). Now, as one of the leading names in the global automotive industry, GM would be worth noting. This would especially be the case as the company is actively looking to electrify its current portfolio. Accordingly, all this would be part of its plans to go fully electric by 2035. For consumers and investors looking to invest in more environmentally focused businesses, GM would be increasingly relevant.
As it stands, GM stock is trading at $50.39 as of 12:39 p.m. ET with year-to-date gains of over 24%. Given the current dip in its shares this week, would it be a good time to invest in the company’s shares? To highlight, GM saw green across the board in its second-quarter fiscal posted earlier this month. Namely, the company’s total revenue doubled year-over-year, totaling $34.17 billion for the quarter. Aside from that, GM also posted gains of 474% in net income over the same period. With the company seemingly firing on all cylinders ahead of the electric vehicle revolution, could GM stock be a top watch for you?
