Our trademark equity portfolio rocked - again - in the past year. We've updated the selection to keep these stones rolling into the future.
Will the Dow and the S&P 500 go back to their record-setting ways? Is the recent weakness the start of something much worse? With the fate of the bull market hanging in the balance, this is a perfect time to revisit the Fortune 40, the portfolio we've designed - and recalibrated annually - to help you thrive in markets both rocky and calm, and build for retirement.
Our 40 favorites turned in a banner year, trouncing even the S&P's glitzy performance. From June 2, 2006 to June 1, 2007, our diversified group returned 27.4%, compared with 21.5% for the S&P. Since its inception in 2002, the Fortune 40 has delivered an 18.3% annualized return, easily besting the S&P's 14.7%. (
See returns for all of last year's list)
This year, we've created five mini-portfolios: Growth and income; bargain growth; deep value; small wonders; and foreign value. Together they comprise a diversified portfolio.
We started with virtually the entire market and narrowed the field by running a grueling series of screens based on each experts' methods. We focused on companies whose shares appear cheapest relative to their long-term growth prospects. We combed through SEC filings, scoured analyst reports, and grilled large shareholders. We favored stocks that are also owned by fund managers with demonstrated records of success.
The table below lists all 40. Click on tabs for more on each category.
Company
(Ticker symbol) |
Current
price |
52-wk
high |
52-wk
low |
Market
Cap (mill) |
Div
Yield |
P/E
Ratio |
Earnings
growth |
| Abbott Labs (ABT) |
$45.95 |
$60.78 |
$41.27 |
$71,013.84 |
3.5% |
21.8 |
11% |
| Altria (MO) |
$16.30 |
$21.86 |
$14.34 |
$33,702.63 |
7.8% |
13.8 |
8% |
| Coca-Cola (KO) |
$48.98 |
$55.84 |
$37.44 |
$113,388.60 |
3.4% |
21.2 |
9% |
| Colgate-Palmolive (CL) |
$72.09 |
$80.49 |
$54.36 |
$36,013.64 |
2.4% |
22.4 |
11% |
| General Mills (GIS) |
$58.56 |
$72.01 |
$46.37 |
$19,265.01 |
3.2% |
18.8 |
8% |
| Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) |
$56.15 |
$72.76 |
$46.25 |
$154,725.03 |
3.5% |
15.8 |
9% |
| Procter & Gamble (PG) |
$51.10 |
$73.57 |
$43.93 |
$148,941.27 |
3.4% |
21.6 |
11% |
| Wyeth (WYE) |
$45.04 |
$49.80 |
$28.06 |
$60,078.81 |
2.7% |
17.6 |
8% |
Current price, 52-week high/low and market cap as of Jul 02 16:00
P/E based on earnings for the last 12 months.
Earnings growth based on analyst projections for the next five years, according to Baseline. |
Company
(Ticker symbol) |
Current
price |
52-wk
high |
52-wk
low |
Market
Cap (mill) |
P/E |
PEG
Ratio |
Earnings
growth |
Debt/Equity
Ratio |
| 3M (MMM) |
$60.25 |
$74.71 |
$40.87 |
$41,785.97 |
18.5 |
1.6 |
11% |
0.18 |
| AIG (AIG) |
$18.49 |
$621.80 |
$6.60 |
$2,488.62 |
11.4 |
1.0 |
11% |
0.2 |
| Accenture (ACN) |
$33.23 |
$43.04 |
$24.76 |
$24,572.52 |
21.7 |
1.4 |
14% |
0 |
| Chubb (CB) |
$38.97 |
$69.39 |
$33.47 |
$13,721.80 |
9.5 |
1.0 |
10% |
0.24 |
| ConocoPhillips (COP) |
$41.12 |
$94.60 |
$34.12 |
$60,921.50 |
8.4 |
1.2 |
8% |
0.28 |
| McKesson (MCK) |
$43.48 |
$60.45 |
$28.27 |
$11,681.34 |
20.9 |
1.4 |
14% |
0.29 |
| Microsoft (MSFT) |
$23.45 |
$28.50 |
$14.87 |
$208,693.98 |
21.3 |
1.6 |
13% |
0 |
| United Health (UNH) |
$24.08 |
$33.49 |
$14.51 |
$28,643.42 |
17.7 |
1.0 |
15% |
0.26 |
Current price, 52-week high/low and market cap as of Jul 02 16:00
P/E based on earnings for the last 12 months.
Earnings growth based on analyst projections for the next five years, according to Baseline. |
Company
(Ticker symbol) |
Current
price |
52-wk
high |
52-wk
low |
Market
Cap (mill) |
Div
Yield |
P/E |
Current
ratio |
| Aetna (AET) |
$24.33 |
$44.64 |
$14.21 |
$10,873.08 |
0.2% |
17.7 |
2.5 |
| Applied Industrial Tech (AIT) |
$19.20 |
$31.29 |
$14.12 |
$811.28 |
3.1% |
15.6 |
2.6 |
| Carpenter Technology (CRS) |
$20.29 |
$43.12 |
$11.72 |
$893.82 |
3.5% |
13.4 |
4.0 |
| Lufkin Industries (LUFK) |
$40.42 |
$95.23 |
$26.96 |
$600.68 |
2.5% |
13.2 |
4.0 |
| Pfizer (PFE) |
$14.53 |
$20.13 |
$11.62 |
$98,029.92 |
4.4% |
12.3 |
2.2 |
| Tidewater (TDW) |
$41.78 |
$65.86 |
$31.09 |
$2,159.11 |
2.4% |
12.0 |
4.8 |
| VF Corp. (VFC) |
$54.75 |
$84.60 |
$38.22 |
$6,056.06 |
4.3% |
18.6 |
2.5 |
Current price, 52-week high/low and market cap as of Jul 02 16:00
P/E based on earnings for the last 12 months.
Earnings growth based on analyst projections for the next five years, according to Baseline. |
Company
(Ticker symbol) |
Current
price |
52-wk
high |
52-wk
low |
Market
Cap (mill) |
P/E
ratio |
Return
on assets |
Free Cash
Flow |
| CSG Systems International (CSGS) |
$13.95 |
$20.16 |
$11.00 |
$489.95 |
19.3 |
9% |
$82 million |
| K-Swiss (KSWS) |
$9.07 |
$20.76 |
$6.44 |
$316.22 |
13.9 |
19% |
$62 million |
| Navigant Consulting (NCI) |
$12.79 |
$22.78 |
$10.59 |
$638.22 |
20.4 |
9% |
$56 million |
| Park Electrochemical (PKE) |
$19.69 |
$30.91 |
$12.99 |
$403.15 |
16.4 |
9% |
$6 million |
| Penn Virginia Resource (PVR) |
$13.40 |
$27.38 |
$8.34 |
$694.11 |
19.0 |
10% |
$31 million |
| Plexus (PLXS) |
$20.44 |
$32.17 |
$10.48 |
$806.44 |
13.4 |
10% |
$71 million |
Current price, 52-week high/low and market cap as of Jul 02 16:00
P/E based on earnings for the last 12 months.
Earnings growth based on analyst projections for the next five years, according to Baseline. |
Company
(Ticker symbol) |
Current
price |
52-wk
high |
52-wk
low |
Market
Cap (mill) |
P/E
ratio |
Div
Yield |
Earnings
growth |
| Diageo (DEO) |
$58.94 |
$77.58 |
$40.93 |
$36,831.59 |
23.4 |
2.9% |
11% |
| Novartis (NVS) |
$40.26 |
$61.30 |
$33.34 |
$106,188.06 |
17.5 |
1.7% |
12% |
| Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) |
$38.86 |
$71.77 |
$14.73 |
$98,575.13 |
11.2 |
0.6% |
15% |
| Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) |
$29.70 |
$37.11 |
$23.95 |
$78,143.19 |
10.9 |
1.7% |
7% |
| Total (TOT) |
$52.64 |
$83.84 |
$42.60 |
$124,851.97 |
10.7 |
2.8% |
8% |
| UBS (UBS) |
$11.92 |
$23.07 |
$7.04 |
$34,955.89 |
13.3 |
2.0% |
14% |
| Unilever (UL) |
$23.62 |
$30.21 |
$16.95 |
$30,308.88 |
19.7 |
2.1% |
12% |
| Vodafone Group (VOD) |
$19.01 |
$31.21 |
$15.30 |
$99,783.47 |
14.1 |
4.2% |
6% |
Current price, 52-week high/low and market cap as of Jul 02 16:00
P/E based on earnings for the last 12 months.
Earnings growth based on analyst projections for the next five years, according to Baseline. |
