I spent the week covering defensive stocks, and today I will write about another way to cover your assets.
When I hear the term “cover your assets,” it’s usually concerning someone who wants to hide their valuables from bill collectors, a former spouse, the government or lawsuit settlements.
Nothing that dramatic today! I am referring to covering the assets your investment portfolio. The defensive stocks I covered can provide protection during a recession. Aside from making products that have pretty steady demand, these stocks share another important characteristic: they pay dividends.
Here are their dividend yields: Colgate-Palmolive (2.5%), Reynolds America (7.8%), Molson Coors (2.1%), Kraft Foods (4.1%), Campbell Soup (3.3%), McDonald’s (3.6%), Coca-Cola …read more

Today, I’ll conclude this week’s coverage of defensive stocks with Pepsico and Merck.
PepsiCo (Ticker: PEP) was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York. Pepsi offers snacks, foods, and beverages worldwide. Some its brands include Doritos, Gatorade and Rice-A-Roni. Its snacks are salty and sweet, let’s see what the stock is up to.
In the past two years, Pepsi’s stock price is down about 18 percent. It’s worth noting that PEP paid dividends of $3.275 per share, which results in a holding period return of negative 12 percent.
PEP is in the red, but it still outperformed the Dow and the S&P 500. Both lost about 30 percent for the same period. (View …read more

Today, I’ll continue my coverage of defensive stocks with Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble.
Coca-Cola (Ticker: KO) was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Coca-Cola offers over 3,000 beverages and its brands include Sprite, Fanta, A&W and Hi-C. In its last fiscal year, Coca-Cola brought in $31.9 billion in sales.
In the past two years, Coca-Cola’s stock price is down about 9 percent. However, KO paid dividends of $3.02 per share, which really puts the stock at a loss of less than 4 percent. 
KO is in the red for the 2-year holding period, but it still outperformed the Dow and the S&P 500 easily. …read more

Today, I’ll continue my coverage of defensive stocks with Campbell Soup and McDonald’s.
Food manufacturers and fast food restaurants typically see increased sales during recessions. Consumers often shy away from dine-in restaurants and turn to fast food or home-cooked meals in order to cut costs. Let’s see if these two stocks have had a recession bounce.
Campbell Soup Company (Ticker: CBP) was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey. Campbell’s brands include Pepperidge Farm, V8, Swanson and Prego. In its last fiscal year, Campbell brought in $7.998 billion in sales.
In the past two years, the stock is down about 17 percent. While …read more

Which side of the investing game are you on?
During tough economic times, investment advisors may recommend defensive stocks. These companies offer products or services which will continue to sell even when consumers cut their spending.
Some industries with defensive stocks include:
Fast food companies – In a contracting economy, consumers often cut back on the fine dining experience and flock to fast-food restaurants for a cheaper, quicker alternative.
The quality may not be as high, but the savings can make a big difference for those operating on a tight budget.
Drug companies – Even in the worst of times, people still need their medicine. Drug companies can count …read more

Shares of discount retailer, Dollar Tree, have provided over a 700 percent return on investment since their public debut in 1995.  Last year, the rate actually peaked over 1,000 percent.

Today Dollar Tree surprised Wall Street by reporting a quarterly sales increase of eight percent and a profit increase of fourteen percent.  The company posted sizable gains on the sale of food, cleaning products and health-care items as consumers sought relief from sky-high gas and food prices.
Shares traded up about seven percent on today’s good news.  The company warned that fuel prices will impact profits in upcoming quarters, but that is a systematic risk that should already be …read more