Buy these 'free cash flow favorites' as the S&P 500 prepares to test the lows
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As investors prepare for equities to possibly retest their lows of the year, Evercore ISI has lowered its target on the S & P 500 and said traders should look to buy shares of companies with strong cash flow. Markets have tumbled this week on fears the Federal Reserve's commitment to aggressive rate hikes through the rest of this year will tip the economy into a recession. The major averages ended Thursday at their lowest levels since they fell to their lows of the summer. The S & P 500 fell to about 3,757, about 3% above its June low of 3,636. "Within the context of a 3,975 target, we expect a full retest of the June low in the coming weeks before September/October volatility seasonality yields to a year-end rally," Evercore ISI senior managing director Julian Emanuel said in a note Thursday. Evercore ISI analysts recommend "patient accumulation" of its collection of free cash flow favorites. The stocks on its list are geared toward value, have strong free cash flow and shareholder return profiles and lower volatility. Here are 10 of the names: Synchrony Financial has generated a free cash flow (FCF) yield of 47.5% over the past 12 months and a shareholder return of 28.8% over same period. Its share price is down about 36% this year. Bank of America has a FCF yield of 19.5% and shareholder return of 8.1%. Both Marathon Oil and Marathon Petroleum screened well, with FCF yield of almost 20%, and shareholder returns over the past 12 months of about 13% and 22%, respectively. GoDaddy and Dell Technologies are among the smaller names by market cap on the Evercore ISI list. GoDaddy's free cash flow yield is about 7.5% while Dell's is 9.6%. Meta Platforms and Charter Communications are also in the group, along with homebuilders Lennar and NVR.