Barron’s Latest Picks And Pans: LyondellBasell, Prologis, Royal Dutch Shell And More

Market Trading EssentialsAugust 7, 2021

3 minutes read

This weekend’s Barron’s offers investors advice on how to play the return to work trend.
Other featured articles discuss overlooked infrastructure picks and how the reopening trade is affecting bank, HVAC and various tech stocks.
Also, see the prospects for an oil supermajor, a consumer products picks, a real estate investment trust and a plastics giant.

“Stocks to Play a Return to the Office—When It Comes” by Daren Fonda explores how the Delta variant is upending return-to-work plans for companies, from Microsoft Corporation (NYSE: MSFT) to Starbucks Corporation (NYSE: SBUX), and their employees and investors. See how Barron’s recommends that investors play the return.

In “Royal Dutch Shell Has the Most Potential of Any Big Oil Stock. Here’s Why,” Andrew Bary discusses how British-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) offers a rich yield and trades at a discount to its peers in the United States. Furthermore, says the article, it is best positioned of all the big oil stocks to deliver “a gusher” for investors.

Avi Salzman’s “Spectrum Brands Offers a Cheap Way to Play Many Consumer Trends” suggests that Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPB), which sells George Foreman grills, Kwikset locks, some Black & Decker products and more, is in the midst of a pandemic growth spurt. Get its shares while they are cheap, recommends Barron’s.

Most construction-related stocks, like Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC), have run up in anticipation of passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill. So says “These 5 Infrastructure Stocks Are Still Looking Like Bargains” by Nicholas Jasinski. But shares of firms such as Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (NYSE: J) still seem well-priced.

In Ben Levisohn’s “The Reopening Trade Is Back. These Bank Stocks Stand to Benefit,” discover why one analyst believes the deployment of excess cash into loans and securities could provide significant earnings upside for banks over the next several quarters. And see if Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is one of those banks.

“Why HVAC Stocks Can Keep Beating the Market” by Al Root points out that this business is rapidly becoming one of the most consistent end markets in the industrial universe, it benefits from post-COVID-19 back-to-work trends and it is also becoming an important ESG play. Find out whether Barron’s feels Carrier Global Corp (NYSE: CARR) is one those stocks worth consideration.

Regardless of the Delta variant, Americans have had enough sheltering in place, according to Eric J. Savitz’s “A New Economic Reality Is Weighing on Tech Stocks. This rush to leave home is having a material impact on a diverse set of tech businesses, from Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER).

In “REIT Prologis Is Reaping the Rewards of E-Commerce,” Lawrence C. Strauss makes a case that the Prologis Inc (NYSE: PLD) total annual return of 28% over the past three years more than makes up for its relatively skimpy dividend. See why Barron’s believes this supply chain play is a winner among real estate investment trusts.

Jack Hough’s “Plastics Are Still in Demand. This Stock Stands to Profit—but Beware the Risks” claims that the price of world’s most common plastic has doubled in the past year. That is good news for LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE: LYB), whose CEO says he sees strong demand for the multinational chemical company’s products. But what are the risks?

Also in this week’s Barron’s: