Attempting to guess which way the market will move is a difficult exercise in the best of times. And when things are as volatile as they are now, your guess is probably as good as mine.

Take China, for example. That government is cracking down on tech companies, bailing out its construction giant, issuing directives to bring down manufacturing and a host of other things. And with the way supply chains are connected these days, there will of course be an impact in the rest of the world, no matter what it does.

China is also the manufacturing hub of so many different things that its decisions to buy or sell commodities also has a significant impact on global markets. And since we don’t really know if there are more actions in store, a bit of China-driven volatility and risk will be there.

Then there’s the Fed that has been supportive so far. But conversations on tapering and interest rate hikes have escalated, and this of course has an impact on sentiments. Particularly when companies appear to be losing sales because of supply chain issues and when input cost inflation is set to increase further, partly driven by sky-high energy prices. And given all this, we are seeing steadily rising inflation, however temporary it may be.

The third point is to do with the earnings season. A good earnings season usually lifts the market. But with the supply chains being what they’ve been, we could be in for some negative surprises. Analyst estimates don’t look too bad right now with third quarter earnings for the S&P 500 expected to be up 26.1% year over year, on revenue that’s expected to grow 13.8%.

This is nothing to scoff at, but it’s worth noting that it follows a second quarter earnings increase of 95.3% on revenue growth of 25.3%. So it’s possible that investors will be disappointed with this showing, even if we don’t see the negative surprises, which will very likely be there considering that supply side issues have piled up rather than alleviated through the quarter.

And finally, we have COVID, which is another unguessable phenomenon. It continues to create production issues in Asia and consumption issues in the U.S., although there have been some reports that restaurants are holding up.

So that’s where we’re at right now, and although all these problems will likely blow over, it’s better to adopt a safe strategy, if we still want to buy stocks.

Today’s recommendations are therefore based on large cap safe plays that have a steady and rising dividend, as well as solid cash flows to ensure continuity in the dividend stream.

Zacks metrics like a Zacks Buy or Strong Buy Rank, Value and Growth Scores of A or B, and an attractive Zacks Industry Rank outline the safety parameter. The estimated earnings growth is indicative of positive current prospects. The dividend stream ensures that returns for investors even if all else fails.

Additionally, all these stocks have an attractive valuation.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY Quick QuoteBBY - Free Report)

Best Buy is a multinational specialty retailer of consumer electronics, home office products, entertainment software, communication, food preparation, wellness, heath, security, appliances and related services. The company operates in the United States and Canada.

The Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock with value and Growth Scores of A belongs to the Retail - Consumer Electronics industry, which is in the top 10% of Zacks-classified industries.

The company is expected to grow its earnings 25.9% this year. Its dividend yields 2.65% and its 5-year historical dividend growth is 19.0%.

Valuation multiples of 10.6X earnings and 0.50X sales indicates that investors are undervaluing both its revenue and earnings.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW Quick QuoteCHRW - Free Report)

C.H. Robinson operates as an asset-light logistics company offering freight transportation services and logistic solutions to companies across a range of industries. It has both single-shipment as well as comprehensive and integrated relationships.

The scale of its operations is evident in the 19 million shipments it handled in 2020 that served more than 105,000 customers. This was achieved through 73,000 contracted transportation companies, including motor carriers, railroads (mainly intermodal service providers), air and ocean carriers.

The Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock with Value and Growth Scores of B operates in the Transportation – Services industry (top 24% of 250+ Zacks-classified industries).

Currently, its earnings are expected to grow 45.4%. Its dividend yields 2.36%. The dividend has grown 3.5% over the past five years.

The shares are currently trading at a P/E multiple of 16.0X and a P/S multiple of 0.60X, both of which support appreciation in share prices.

Deutsche Post AG

One of the world’s largest logistics services companies, Deutsche Post operates in Germany, Europe, America, Asia Pacific and other regions. Its Post-eCommerce-Parcel division offers various mail delivery services; the Express division offers time-definite international (TDI) shipments of urgent documents and goods; Global Forwarding transports goods by rail, road, air and sea; the Supply Chain division warehousing, distribution, managed transport, value-added services and supply chain management and consulting services; the eCommerce Solutions segment provides parcel delivery and cross-border non-TDI services.

The supply chain issues stemming from port congestion and driver shortages impacts the company just as it does other transportation companies. But the company is seeing pricing strength, which is likely an offsetting factor in the current environment.

The Zacks Rank #2 stock with Value and Growth Scores of A also operates in the Transportation – Services industry.

It is currently expected to grow its 2021 earnings by 67.0%. The company’s dividend yields 1.87% at current share prices. The dividend has grown 1.0% over the last five years.

Its P/E valuation of 13.9X and P/S valuation of 0.88X indicate upside potential in share prices.

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD Quick QuoteSTLD - Free Report)

Steel Dynamics is among the leading steel producers and metal recyclers in the United States. It is also extremely diversified with a vast range of specialty steel products. It currently has steelmaking and coating capacity of more than 11 million tons.

The Zacks Rank #1 stock with value and Growth Scores of B operates in the Steel – Producers industry (top 24%).

The company’s earnings are set to grow 431.0% this year. Its dividend has grown 15.0% over the last five years and now yields 1.78%.

At 3.9X earnings and 0.92X sales, the shares are definitely worth considering.

ITOCHU Corp. (ITOCY Quick QuoteITOCY - Free Report)

This is a trading company with domestic trading operations in Japan, as well as import and export operations. It deals in textiles, machinery, information and communications technology, aerospace, electronics, energy, metals, minerals, chemicals, forest products, general merchandise, food, finance, realty, insurance, etc.

The Zacks Rank #2 stocks with Value and Growth Scores of A and B, respectively operates in the Retail – Miscellaneous industry (top 40%).

Its earnings are expected to grow 69.8% this year. Its dividend yields 2.25% and it has grown 20.9% over the last five years.

Additionally, Its 6.5X earnings and 0.43X sales indicates an extremely cheap valuation.

One-Month Price Performance

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