Stocks ticked higher this morning, looking to take back some of the previous session’s losses after the worst selloff this year. Technology shares suffered the most yesterday, with the Nasdaq sinking 2.5%. Meanwhile, the Dow and the S&P 500 slumped by around 2%.
With volatility widely expected to persist, many market participants are loading up on defensive stocks, which typically outperform the market during a selloff. But not all the defensive sectors are a buy right now. Today’s recommendation is a consumer staples stock offering a reliable payout, which should alleviate the pain of rocketing inflation.
Archer-Daniels-Midland
Despite the challenging conditions in the stock market last year, its stock has gained over 6.4%. Stronger-than-anticipated results from South America have helped it post robust top and bottom-line numbers in recent quarters. In its fourth quarter, sales and operating profits were up 13.6% and 18%, respectively. Surprisingly, ADM stock trades at 0.4 times forward sales estimates, roughly 62% lower than the sector average.
ADM has a yield of 2.21% and boasts an A-graded dividend profile, demonstrating dividend growth for 50 consecutive years. Moreover, its forward dividend per share growth of 7.4% is more than 40% higher than the sector average.
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