We recently compiled a list of 10 Safe Stocks To Invest In For The Long Term in 2024. In this article, we will look at where NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) ranks among 10 Safe Stocks To Invest In For The Long Term in 2024.
The Sectors with Promising Growth
The recent market action can be attributed to the Fed’s decision. To discuss the future of the equity market, Drew Pettit, Citi US equity strategist, appeared in an interview on Yahoo Finance on September 26, 2024.
According to Pettit, the market is yet to hit an all-time high if you look beneath the surface. He suggests that the Fed’s decision and if the potential softness in the labor data comes through, investors may regain confidence positioning the market for recovery. He adds that in the past quarter, cyclical and secular stocks have been performing well, but are yet to hit the market peak.
Speaking of growth sectors, some sectors have outperformed others, growing exponentially. Pettit adds that stocks with mature business models have yielded greater returns from minuscule upsides in sales. As for the tech sector, he believes that stocks will remain resilient and will be able to handle some deceleration. He advises investors to remain cautious of tech stocks moving forward and focus on overlooked areas of the market such as consumer goods, financials, and cyclicals.
Investors Must Focus More on Fundamentals
The market saw a great run-up after the easing cycle. However, the question of a soft landing still stands. On September 30, Liz Young Thomas, SoFi head of investment strategy, appeared in an interview on CNBC to discuss the latest market trends and opportunities for investors.
Thomas believes that the maximum gains have already been achieved up until the easing cycle, however, growth may continue till the end of 2024. She stresses that the next 30 to 60 days are extremely crucial for the market and will help investors understand the motive behind the rate cuts, and whether the cuts were needed in the first place.
While growth in the tech sector has been slowing down, other sectors have reportedly grown and more than 80% of the S&P 500 has been trading above the 200-day moving average. She adds that the tech sector has started to strengthen and the optimism surrounding the Chinese economy may combine to yield positive results for the market.
Thomas reiterates that while multiples are rich, to ensure a soft landing, the market must move to trade based on fundamentals rather than on multiples. She explains that this simply means that multiples are unlikely to expand from here, but earnings may get more steady. Sectors such as industrials have been growing and expanding while financials have been slower. Thomas advises investors to focus on stocks that have strong fundamentals and steady earnings growth.
Our Methodology
To come up with the safest stocks to invest in for the long term in 2024 we consulted multiple reports and also screened for reliable growers using the Finviz stock screener. We compiled an initial list of 30 stocks. We then referred to the 10% year revenue growth rate for each of the stocks along with their history of dividend payouts. Companies with the highest growth rates and a history of dividend growth were included in the list. The 10 safe stocks to invest in for the long term in 2024 are in ascending order of their 10-year revenue growth rate.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) is a prominent renewable energy company that provides energy to more than 3 million customers in the United States. The company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power, generated through wind, solar, nuclear, and natural gas, across North America.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) provides its services across two major segments including Florida Power & Light (FPL), an electric utility business, and NextEra Energy Resources (NEER), a clean energy producer. FPL accounts for the majority of its revenue.
Since 2001, NextEra Energy’s (NYSE:NEE) innovations have helped customers save over $16 billion in fuel costs. During the second quarter of 2024, the company added more than 3,000 megawatts of new renewables and storage. In June, the company announced an agreement with Entergy to develop close to 4.5 gigawatts of new solar and energy storage projects. These projects will provide cheaper renewable energy to customers across the United States, especially in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
To capitalize on its strategic investments, NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) plans to invest somewhere between $8 billion and $8.8 billion in capital expenditures for the fiscal full year 2024. At the end of Q2 2024, 73 hedge funds were bullish on the stock with total stakes amounting to $2.1 billion.
ClearBridge Investments’ ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“AI-related momentum was a key driver of performance in the second quarter, lifting the enablers in technology as well as holdings like renewable power producer NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) that supply the increasing energy needs of data centers. Parts of the market lacking an AI connection, like our medical device holdings, underperformed despite no change to fundamentals. We have managed through several similar momentum periods over our tenure and have delivered long-term results for shareholders by staying true to an approach that emphasizes diversification across three buckets of growth companies (select, stable and cyclical) and seeks to take advantage of attractive entry points into quality growth businesses.”
Overall NEE ranks 7th on our list of safe stocks to invest in for the long term in 2024. While we acknowledge the potential of NEE, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NEE but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about thecheapest AI stock.
