As warm weather thaws in the Northern states, something inside investors' minds snaps. Perhaps with more�barbecues going on, investors don't want to spend time following stocks, so they sell out of the market. Either way, the phrase "sell in May and go away" gets passed around once every year. What should you do with your stocks in May?
First, don't sell. As Fool Alex Dumortier demonstrated by analyzing the returns of the�S&P 500� (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC ) from 1926 to 2012, buying and holding returned 1.6% more compared to selling in May and buying back in October. And depending on transaction fees and taxes, the outperformance of "buy and hold" compared to selling in May could be even higher.
Second, if you're still worried, take a look at these defensive stocks that have held up well from Mother's Day to Memorial Day and beyond, and those looking relatively cheap headed into May.
Top 10 Defensive Stocks To Watch Right Now: TRW Automotive Holdings Corporation(TRW)
TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells automotive systems, modules, and components for automotive original equipment manufacturers and related after-markets. It operates in four segments: Chassis Systems, Occupant Safety Systems, Electronics, and Automotive Components. The Chassis Systems segment offers product lines relating to steering gears and systems, foundation brakes, modules, brake controls, and linkage and suspension. The Occupant Safety Systems segment provides airbags, seat belts, steering wheels, and occupant restraint systems. The Electronics segment offers various products comprising safety electronics, radio frequency electronics, chassis electronics, powertrain electronics, and driver assist systems. The Automotive Components provides body controls, engine valves, and engineered fasteners and components. The company offers its products for passenger cars, light trucks, and commercial vehicles worldwid e. TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was founded in 1904 and is based in Livonia, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By James K. Glassman]
With auto sales reviving, things are looking up at TRW Automotive (symbol: TRW). The Livonia, Mich., firm is a leading supplier of safety systems to carmakers worldwide -- think seat belts, airbags, and braking and driver-assist systems. Over the past five years, TRW has cut long-term debt by 55%. It now has $1.2 billion in cash on its books -- 62% more than in 2008. And in 2012, it initiated a $1 billion share-buyback program. TRW expects revenues from China and South America to grow 10% a year through 2014, offsetting flat sales in Europe. The stock sells for 8 times estimated 2013 profits.
Top 10 Defensive Stocks To Watch Right Now: Veeco Instruments Inc.(VECO)
Veeco Instruments Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets various equipments to make light emitting diodes (LEDs) and hard-disk drives worldwide. The company?s LED and Solar segment designs and manufactures metal organic chemical vapor deposition and molecular beam epitaxy systems and components for the manufacturers of LEDs, wireless devices, power semiconductors, and concentrator photovoltaics, as well as to research and development applications. Its Data Storage segment designs and manufactures various technologies, including ion beam etch, ion beam deposition, diamond-like carbon, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and slicing, dicing, and lapping systems to create thin film magnetic heads that read and write data on hard disk drives. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Plainview, New York.
Top 10 US Companies To Invest In Right Now: PHOENIX GROUP HLDGS ORD EUR0.0001(PHNX.L)
Phoenix Group Holdings Plc operates as a consolidator of closed life and pension funds primarily in the United Kingdom. The company?s Phoenix Life segment manages a range of whole life, term assurance, and pension products. Its IGNIS Asset Management segment provides investment management services to third parties, including retail and institutional investors. The company was formerly known as Pearl Group Plc and changed its name to Phoenix Group Holdings Plc in March 2010. Phoenix Group Holdings Plc was founded in 1782 and is based in St Helier, the Channel Islands.
Top 10 Defensive Stocks To Watch Right Now: Tetra Technologies Inc.(TTI)
TETRA Technologies, Inc. operates as a diversified oil and gas services company. The company operates in three divisions: Fluids, Production Enhancement, and Offshore. The Fluids Division manufactures and markets clear brine fluids, additives, and other associated products and services to the oil and gas industry for use in well drilling, completion, and workover operations in the United States, as well as in various countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa; and markets liquid and dry calcium chloride products to non-energy markets. The Production Enhancement division offers production testing services in various oil and gas basins in the United States, as well as in Mexico, Brazil, northern Africa, and the Middle East; and wellhead compression-based production enhancement services in the onshore producing regions of the United States, as well as various onshore basins in Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, and Asia. The Offshore division pr ovides offshore services, including downhole and subsea oil and gas services, such as well plugging and abandonment, and wireline services; decommissioning and construction services utilizing heavy lift barges and various technologies for offshore oil and gas production platforms and pipelines; and conventional and saturated air diving services. It also engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas properties in the offshore and onshore U.S. Gulf Coast region. This division provides its services to oil and gas companies and independent operators. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in the Woodlands, Texas.
Top 10 Defensive Stocks To Watch Right Now: Lorain Capital Corp(MWX.V)
Medworxx Solutions Inc. engages in the provision of health information technology solutions for hospitals primarily in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It develops technologies that are used to assist health care practitioners? abilities to communicate, aggregate, and analyze knowledge. The company offers patient flow solutions, including Medworxx utilization management, a clinically-based solution to assess, analyze, and advance patient flow challenges; Medworxx bed board, an electronic bed board that presents status indicators for every bed and patient; and Medworxx assessments for special patient flow measures. It also provides compliance and education solutions comprising Medworxx learning management system that supports the development, management, and delivery of classroom and online learning; Medworxx content management system, a content management system that is used by hospitals to improve the functionality and content of Intranet and Internet W ebsites; Medworxx policy and documentation management system, which enables healthcare organizations to automate and simplify the management and publication of policies and procedures in a Web-based environment; and Medworxx emergency readiness systems. In addition, the company offers maintenance and hosting, and consulting services. Medworxx Solutions Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
Top 10 Defensive Stocks To Watch Right Now: Ascent Solar Technologies Inc.(ASTI)
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a development stage company, focuses on commercializing flexible photovoltaic (PV) modules using its proprietary technology. The company intends to manufacture roll-format PV modules that use copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) on a plastic substrate. Its proprietary manufacturing process deposits multiple layers of materials, including a thin-film of CIGS semiconductor material on a plastic substrate and laser patterns the layers to create interconnected PV cells or PV modules through monolithic integration process. The company would serve the building applied photovoltaic (BAPV) and building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) market, as well as specialty markets, such as defense, portable power, transportation, electronic integrated photovoltaic, and space and near-space. It has a strategic relationship with Norsk Hydro Produksjon AS to access customers in the BIPV/BAPV markets worldwide. Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. was founded in 200 5 and is based in Thornton, Colorado.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chuck]
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc.(NASDAQ: ASTI) closing price in the stock market Tuesday, Jan. 3, was $0.42. ASTI is trading -34.41% below its 50 day moving average and -50.53% below its 200 day moving average. ASTI is -89.37% below its 52-week high of $3.95 and 16.67% above its 52-week low of $0.46. ASTI‘s PE ratio is N/A and its market cap is $16.36M .
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. is a development stage company. ASTI focuses on commercializing flexible photovoltaic (PV) modules using its proprietary technology. ASTI intends to manufacture roll-format PV modules that use copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) on a plastic substrate.
Top 10 Defensive Stocks To Watch Right Now: Sonic Healthcare Ltd(SHL.AX)
Sonic Healthcare Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides medical diagnostic services, and administrative services and facilities to medical practitioners. The company offers pathology/clinical laboratory services, and radiology and diagnostic imaging services to medical practitioners, hospitals, community health services, and their collective patients. It has operations in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and Ireland. The company was formerly known as Sonic Technology Australia Limited and changed its name to Sonic Healthcare Limited in 1995. Sonic Healthcare Limited is headquartered in Macquarie Park, Australia.
Top 10 Defensive Stocks To Watch Right Now: Reply(REY.MI)
Reply S.p.A. provides consulting, system integration, business process outsourcing, and application management services primarily in Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The company designs and develops various solutions based on communication channels and digital media. It also provides applications to optimize corporate processes; and innovative technology-based solutions to enable communication between customers, business partners, and suppliers. In addition, the company offers Click Reply, a reply platform for supply chain execution that delivers optimized management of inventory, warehouse, transportation management, and order fulfillment processes; and Definio Reply, a risk management and wealth management platform for the financial companies, including banks, asset management companies, insurance companies, pension funds, banking foundations, family offices, and investments and private banks. Further, it provides Discovery Reply, a digital asset management platfo rm that supports integrated production models; Gaia Reply, which integrates data coming from any structured source, formats it according to the service criteria, and makes it available in a standard format for various channels or mobile devices; TamTamy, a social network platform; and SideUp Reply, a reply service platform for warehouse management. Additionally, the company offers finance and administration services; human resource services; and CFO services, such as identification of the corporate control model, budgeting and strategic planning, drafting of the consolidated balance sheets, and IPO support services, as well as management and control of pharmaceutical expenditure. It serves telco and media, banking, insurance and financial companies, industry and services, energy and utilities, and public administration markets. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Turin, Italy. Reply S.p.A. is a subsidiary of Alika S.r.l.
Top 10 Defensive Stocks To Watch Right Now: Clean Energy Fuels Corp.(CLNE)
Clean Energy Fuels Corp., together with its subsidiaries, provides natural gas as an alternative fuel for vehicle fleets in the United States and Canada. The company designs, builds, operates, and maintains fueling stations, as well as supplies compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Its CNG is used in automobiles, light to medium-duty vehicles, refuse trucks, and transit buses as an alternative to gasoline and diesel. The company also sells non-lubricated natural gas compressors and related equipment used in CNG and LNG stations; and produces renewable natural gas, which is used as vehicle fuel or sold for power generation. In addition, it offers vehicle finance services for the purchase of natural gas vehicles, as well as for the conversion of gasoline or diesel powered vehicles to operate on natural gas. Further, the company provides natural gas conversions, alternative fuel systems, application engineering, service and warranty support, and research and development services for natural gas vehicles. As of December 31, 2011, it served approximately 530 fleet customers with approximately 25,000 natural gas vehicles; and owned, operated, or supplied 273 natural gas fueling stations in 23 states within the United States, and British Columbia and Ontario within Canada, as well as in Peru. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Seal Beach, California.
Top 10 Defensive Stocks To Watch Right Now: MutualFirst Financial Inc.(MFSF)
MutualFirst Financial, Inc. operates as a holding company for MutualBank that provides financial products services to individuals and businesses. It accepts various savings deposit accounts, NOW and demand accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides one- to four-family residential mortgage loans, multi-family and commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, commercial business loans, and consumer loans, including home equity and lines of credit, home improvement, auto, boat, and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by savings deposits, and credit card and unsecured loans. In addition, it operates as an insurance agent and sells life insurance, and credit-life and health insurance products. Further, the company provides investment money management and trust services. It operates 33 full service financial centers located in Delaware, Elkhart, Grant, Kosciusko, Randolph, St. Joseph, and Wabash counties, Indiana. The co mpany was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Muncie, Indiana.
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