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3 Low-Beta Stocks to Minimize Portfolio Risk: LQDA, ET & PBF

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Key Takeaways

  • Liquidia is seeing rapid YUTREPIA adoption, rising referrals, more prescribers and market-share gains.
  • Energy Transfer's 140,000-mile pipeline network supports stable fee-based revenue across key U.S. basins.
  • PBF Energy may benefit as strong refinery utilization offsets high-oil-price input costs.

Oil prices are climbing again as the Iran war intensifies. This is creating uncertainty, and the market will likely be volatile. With fears dominating the market, it is an ideal time for investors to increase their allocation to low-beta companies. Stocks that seem to be good bets now are Liquidia Corporation (LQDA - Free Report) , Energy Transfer LP (ET - Free Report) and PBF Energy Inc. (PBF - Free Report) .

What Does Beta of a Stock Measure?

Beta measures the volatility or risk of a particular asset compared to the market. In other words, beta measures the extent of a security’s price movement relative to the market. In this article, we are considering the S&P 500 as the market.

If a stock has a beta of 1, then the price of the stock will move with the market. So, the stock is more volatile than the market if its beta is more than 1. In the same way, the stock is not as volatile as the market if its beta is less than 1.

For example, if the market offers a return of 20%, a stock with a beta of 3 will return 60%, which is overwhelming. Similarly, when the market slips 20%, the stock will sink 60%, which is devastating.

Screening Criteria Using Research Wizard:

We have taken a beta between 0 and 0.6 as our prime criterion for screening stocks that are less volatile than the market. However, this should not be the only factor to be considered while selecting a winning strategy. We need to take into account other parameters that can add value to the portfolio.

Percentage Change in Price in the Last 4 Weeks Greater Than Zero: This ensures that the stocks saw positive price movement over the last month.

Average 20-Day Volume Greater Than 50,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stocks are easily tradable.

Price Greater Than or Equal to $5: They must all be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher.

Zacks Rank Equal to 1 (Strong Buy):Zacks Rank #1 stocks indicate that they will significantly outperform the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Here are three of the 24 stocks that qualified for the screening:

Liquidia

Liquidia is experiencing rapid growth in YUTREPIA adoption, with increasing patient referrals, expanding prescriber base and rising market share. The company has achieved profitability and is generating positive cash flow, supported by a strong cash position. It is also pursuing expansion into additional indications and larger market opportunities through ongoing and planned clinical developments.

Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer has a stable business model with its huge pipeline network of natural gas, oil and refined petroleum products across 140,000 miles. The partnership has midstream assets in all the key basins in the United States, generating stable fee-based revenues.

The partnership has offered a higher dividend yield than the composite stocks belonging to the industry over the past three consecutive years. For this year, the partnership is likely to see earnings growth of 18.2%.

PBF Energy

PBF Energy is among the leading refiners in the United States. Strong refinery utilization in the United States to meet resilient demand is expected to continue to offset the negative impacts of elevated input costs, driven by high oil prices. This is possibly aiding PBF’s bottom line.

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