Another firm Fidler likes is Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a global real estate services firm specializing in commercial property management, leasing, and investment management services. He predicts commercial real estate will grow much faster than residential as the economy fully recovers. The stock now trades around $60 a share versus $108 three months ago.
In addition to Lazard and Jones Lang LaSalle, Fidler is attracted to CBS Corp. (CBS). Currently trading around $23 a share, CBS is a “dirt cheap†stock given it’s now growing very rapidly and well-positioned to benefit from mammoth spending during the 2012 political campaign.
“These businesses are worth substantially more than where they are trading today,†he maintains. “Their (current) value gives you a sense of how quickly the market has nosedived in the last month.â€
Seek out dividend-paying stocks. According to Piedmont’s Green, some companies have managed to significantly grow earnings over the past decade, generating free cash flow and starting to offer investors strong dividend yields. He maintains that companies with above-average dividend yields, moderate dividend payout ratios, and a history of growing the dividend are very attractive now.
Vast opportunities can be found in the consumer products world. Green points to major packaged food and beverage companies and household products firms manufacturing goods ranging from detergent and toothpaste to soda and cheese. Many food and beverage companies, household product manufacturers, and pharmaceutical firms offer annual dividend yields of 3% or 4%, he says. “That yield is going to grow with the growth rate of those companies,†Green says. “That looks like a pretty good investment to me right now.â€
(Continued on next page)