In this article, we will take a look at the 10 pro-life companies to invest in.
It’s an open secret that all major companies in the US have some sort of political leanings and inclinations. Traditionally, oil and gas companies favor the Republicans while the Silicon Valley leans left. Issues like abortion, taxes, diversity & inclusion and racism now play a key part in the business dynamics of corporate America. According to a Rolling Stone article published on October 22, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce poured a whopping $40 million exclusively into Republican campaigns in 2014. However, the report noted that times are changing and the Chamber is now cutting back on its donations to the Republicans.
History shows that companies always take a wait-and-see approach and take sides with the powerful. Amid a rise in awareness related to issues like LGBTQ rights, climate change, racism, women’s inclusion in workforce and minimum wage, many companies are seen to now stand with the left. A WSJ report mentioned in detail how several companies spoke against the Supreme Court’s decision which overturned Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion. These companies included major names like J.Crew, Levi Strauss & Co., Kering’s Gucci, Yelp Inc., Match Group Inc.’s OkCupid, Bumble Inc. and Unilever PLC’s Ben & Jerry’s.
How to Find Pro-Life Companies to Invest In?
Albeit it’s known that major companies have specific political inclinations, they do not openly discusses their stance on issues like abortion. How does one find pro-life companies to invest in, then? For this article we decided to bank on the efforts of investment professionals who have made it their job to find such companies for their clients. As the political spectrum becomes more polarized and people begin to give importance to their social and religious values while making investment decisions, many new startups, investment firms and funds are sprouting who take into account the religious and political preferences of their clients.
One of the notable such funds is Ave Maria Mutual Funds, headed by George Schwartz. It is one of the largest Catholic mutual funds family in the U.S.
The Ave Maria fund invests in companies that do not violate the values propended by the Catholic Church. In an interview to CNBC, the chairman and CEO of the fund, George Schwartz, explained his company’s process in these words:
“When our analysts and portfolio managers are managing these funds, they try to find the best investments to meet the objectives of each fund. In doing so, they screen out certain companies—about 150—that violate some of the core teachings of the Catholic Church,” George Schwartz said.
The Ave Maria family runs several funds, including dividend fund, growth fund, value fund, bond fund, among others.
Our Methodology
For this article we focused on the Ave Maria Value Fund. The fund’s “moral screen” eliminates companies engaged in:
Abortion
Pornography
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Policies undermining the sacrament of marriage
In addition to this moral screening, the fund selects companies based on expected value, cash flows, growth catalysts and fundamentals. We selected the top ten holdings of the Ave Maria Value Fund for this article. These companies can easily be called some of the best pro-life companies to invest in.
Pro Life Companies to Invest In
10. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) operates global financial exchanges and clearing houses and provides mortgage technology, data and listing services. In November, Bank of America upgraded Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) partly due to its planned $13 billion acquisition of Black Knight (NYSE:BKI).
BofA analyst Craig Siegenthaler said in a note at that time that the stock was trading at a discount.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is also a popular stock among the elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey. 59 hedge funds of the 920 tracked by Insider Monkey reported having stakes in the company at the end of the third quarter, compared to 51 funds in the previous quarter.
9. Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT)
Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT) is a North Carolina-based manufacturing company. The company is involved in the research, manufacturing and selling of technical equipment, components, software, and services for manufacturing, repairing, and servicing in the mobility infrastructure industry worldwide. Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT) also pays dividends. In November, the company declared a $0.025/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous.
Analysts are bullish on the mobility business of Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT), which accounts for about 75% of its revenue. Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT)’s mobility business is known for the Gilbarco Veeder-Root, the integrated fueling dispensing, and the newly acquired DRB which focuses on integrated solutions in the car washing industry. Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT) also makes technologies for car and fleet tracking. While currently it’s focused on the North American market, its plans include expansion into high-growth markets like Europe.
A total of 34 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in the company as of the end of the third quarter.
Here is what Madison Mid Cap Fund has to say about Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:
“We exited our position in Vontier in the third quarter. We invested in the company when it was spun out of Fortive Corporation two years ago. The stock was, and remains, quite cheap, but the transformation that we expected to occur post-spin is taking a little longer than we thought. The company has a long history of operational excellence. Its core segments exhibit very high returns on capital, but are quite mature with limited growth. We thought they had a chance to re-invest excess capital into adjacent areas with more growth, but opportunities appear more limited than we had thought. We considered it better for now to re-allocate that capital ourselves.”
8. Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR)
Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR) is a relatively unknown name in our list of the best pro-life companies to invest in. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company provides radiation detection, measurement, analysis, and monitoring products and services. Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR) accounts for about 3.4% of Ave Maria Value Fund’s portfolio, as of the end of the third quarter. The company’s innovative technologies are expected to have a wider usage in defense, research and clean energy in the coming years. The company’s technologies can help companies harness the powers of ionizing radiation. Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR) has come a long way since its inception and has evolved through different stages. The company’s revenue shows a CAGR of 10% between 2005 and 2021.
Mirion is also getting the attention of the smart money. A total of 26 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported having stakes in Mirion as of the end of the third quarter. The total value of these stakes was $286 million. In the previous quarter, 23 funds had stakes in the company. Notable investors in the company include Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group and Stephen J. Errico’s Locust Wood Capital Advisers.
Here is what Baron Growth Fund has to say about Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“This quarter, the Fund initiated a position in Mirion Technologies, Inc., a leader in ionizing radiation detection and measurement technologies to the medical, laboratory, and nuclear power industries. The business consists of a portfolio of niche, mission-critical products that represent a small portion of a project’s costs but can cause extensive collateral damage if they fail. Products include dosimeters that monitor radiation levels of medical professionals, quality assurance equipment and software for nuclear medicine treatments, and instrumentation and equipment that is core to the construction, operation, and decommissioning of nuclear power plants.
We think that Mirion has the potential to be a compelling industrial compounder. The company is already the largest player in over 80% of its end markets, and in aggregate is approximately 3.5 times larger than its nearest competitor. We estimate that Mirion’s end markets should grow at 5% to 6% annually, driven by favorable secular trends and a consistent replacement cycle. We expect Mirion to grow in line with or ahead of its end markets on an organic basis, as it leverages its scale advantage to take modest market share. Organic growth should be complemented by Mirion’s successful acquisition strategy, driving aggregate growth into the doubledigit range. In addition, we believe the company has an opportunity to expand markets by 500 bps-plus of margin over time through a favorable mix shift, higher utilization rates, and ongoing M&A synergy realization.
We believe that Mirion boasts a capable and accomplished senior management team. CEO Tom Logan has been with the company since 2005 and has led the strategy that has grown Mirion’s revenues from $123 million at inception to approximately $700 million currently. The new chairman of Mirion, Larry Kingsley, has a strong history of shareholder value creation as the former CEO of industrial technology leaders Pall Corporation and IDEX Corporation. We think his expertise will be well utilized as Mirion embarks on its next stage of growth.”
7. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK)
Another important pro-life company in Ave Maria’s Value Fund portfolio is Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), whose donations and lobbying funds have shown overwhelming support for the Republicans over the past few years, as evident from the data shared by funding and lobbying data website OpenSecrets.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) has a PE ratio of 5.3 as of January 4 and a dividend yield of 11%. It’s one of the favorite value stocks of investors. Over the past 12 months, Chesapeake shares gained about 32% in value.
In November, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) posted strong third quarter results after which the company’s shares gained ground. The company’s quarterly results were helped by soaring natural gas prices. Adjusted earnings in the period doubled to a whopping $5.06/share from $2.38/share in the year-earlier quarter. The company generated $1.3 billion of operating cash in the period and ended the quarter with $75 million cash in hand.
However, the company’s management said that Chesapeake is expecting the production to remain flat in 2023 amid rising costs of materials and labor.
Carillon Tower Advisers made the following comment about Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHK) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:
“Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHK), a natural gas exploration and production company, emerged from bankruptcy with little fanfare in 2021, despite having rid itself of its debt burden and onerous pipeline contracts. The company was able to make two large acquisitions at very reasonable prices within its core producing areas, allowing for scale and cost savings. Then in 2022, natural gas prices began to rise well above expectations, increasing the value of Chesapeake’s large natural gas resources and production and contributing to its outperformance.”
6. Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) is another oil and gas stock in Ave Maria Value Fund portfolio that pays dividend and has been getting attention of value investors ever since things started going south in the stock market.
Recently, Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) made it to Citi’s list of contrarian stock picks for 2023. The firm said in a note that it has “learnt to be suspicious of attention-grabbing contrarian strategies.”
The note also said that contrarians in 2023 are expected to be short oil and gold.
In November, Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) CEO Olivier Le Peuch said in an interview with Bloomberg that rising investments in the oil and gas sector are causing a “super cycle” that will drive demand for drilling equipment for many years.
Ave Maria has an $11.6 million stake in the oil and gas services company, as of the end of the third quarter. During the same period, 63 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database of 920 funds had stakes in the company, compared to 64 funds in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes was $2.4 billion.
5. Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV)
Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) is a Canadian company that is operating in two segments: Mining and Energy. The gold-focused company posted mixed third quarter results back in November, posting an adjusted EPS of $0.83 which missed estimates by $0.03. Revenue in the period fell 3.8% to total $304.3 million. However, the company said that it was on track to meet its full-year guidance. Copper production guidance for 2022 was however slashed from 330,000 – 360,000 tonnes to 340,000 – 350,000 tonnes.
Over the past 12 months, Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) shares have gained about 10%, a no ordinary feat given the market situation in 2022. The company is also a dividend payer. In January last year, its board upped the company’s quarterly dividend by 6.7%.
Here is what Horizon Kinetics has to say about Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:
“Back to basic principles. We don’t hold gold in client portfolios, we hold gold royalty companies. The two have surprisingly little in common. The gold royalty company generates very impressive profits even if the gold price never rises, and it earns those profits year after year. Here is a long-term chart of Franco Nevada Corp., the premier gold royalty company vs. gold itself: a comparable gold price today than a decade ago, yet Franco Nevada returned 12.5% annually, matching the S&P 500 return, despite its nearsole source of revenues unchanged. What will Franco Nevada’s earnings and share price do if gold rises over the course of a decade?”
4. Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE)
Blood and plasma supplies and services company Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) was one of those rare stocks that managed to outperform the market in 2022 by huge margins. Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) is up about 43% over the past year. Ave Maria Value Fund has a $13.6 million stake in the company.
For the fiscal second quarter of 2023, the Massachusetts-based company easily beat expectations, posting non-GAAP EPS of $0.83, which was $01.6 above estimates. Revenue in the quarter jumped about 24% and totaled $297.48 million, beating analyst estimates by $28.26 million. The company also updated its previous fiscal 2023 GAAP total revenue growth guidance from 8% – 11% to 12% – 15% vs. consensus growth of 10%.
Haemonetics is also gaining ground among the smart money. 25 hedge funds of the 920 funds tracked by Insider Monkey ended the third quarter of last year with Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) in their portfolios, compared to 20 funds in the previous quarter.
Here is what Heartland Value Plus Fund has to say about Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“Haemonetics, which provides disposables and devices used for blood and plasma collection, appears to be a recession-friendly stock as its products are not economically dependent. Moreover, as households feel economic pressures, they are more likely to donate plasma, for which they are compensated.”
3. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is one of the best value stocks and also a dividend aristocrat, having raised its dividend consistently over the past 35 years. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) has historically been a right-leaning company and its addition in the Ave Maria Value Fund testifies that it’s a pro-life company. Data from the lobbying and donation record website OpenSecrets shows that most of the funding and donations from Chevron’s affiliates went to the Republicans over the past few years.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is making headlines after the company’s CEO Mike Wirth said in an interview to Bloomberg that the oil industry’s record profits in 2022 should not be seen in isolation and people should keep in mind that the industry was losing billions of dollars a few years back. His comments came after President Biden criticized major oil companies for making huge profits amid the Ukraine war.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is also a hedge fund favorite. 66 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey were bullish on the company as of the end of the third quarter of last year.
2. Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD)
Texas-based Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) is one of the best pro-life stocks to buy according to Ave Maria Value Fund. Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) is involved in hydrocarbon exploration and is operating in the Cline Shale, which is a part of the Spraberry Trend of the Permian Basin.
The Fortune 500 company has a dividend yield of about 11% as of January 2023. In October last year, it was reported by Reuters that Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) was planning to increase its productivity levels in 2023 by reshuffling its drilling portfolio to target wells with potentially higher returns. The company is reportedly eyeing to operate 24 to 26 drilling rigs in 2023, compared to 22 to 24 rigs in 2022. The Reuters report also quoted the company’s President Richard Dealy, who said that productivity in the year was “less” and the company plans to rectify this problem. In the third quarter, the company saw a 9% year-over-year drop in oil production.
1. Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE:TPL)
Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE:TPL) is one of the biggest private landowners in the state of Texas. The stock accounts for about 15% of the Ave Maria Value Fund, as of the end of the third quarter. In the third quarter of 2022, the company posted GAAP EPS of $16.82, easily beating the consensus estimates by $2.44. Revenue in the period jumped about 55% to come in at $191.1 million, beating the Street estimates by $15.4 million. The company’s management said that it continues to profit from strong commodity prices and operator development activity in the Permian Basin.
Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE:TPL) also has a decent standing when it comes to hedge fund popularity. As of the end of the September quarter of last year, 20 funds in Insider Monkey’s database of 920 funds had stakes in the company. The total value of these stakes was $2.7 billion.
Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE:TPL) is also a dividend payer. On November 1, 2022, the company’s board announced a cash dividend of $3.00 per share, which was payable on December 15, 2022 to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 8, 2022.
Here is what Wedgewood Partners specifically said about Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE:TPL) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:
“Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE:TPL) was a top contributor to performance during the quarter. Revenue vaulted over +80% as oil and gas royalties more than doubled, plus water sales nearly doubled. Most of this was driven by higher realized prices on the production of oil and gas on the Company’s acreage. Production of oil and gas also grew +21%. The Company’s royalty interests span over 880,000 acres in West Texas. Most of this land is located in the highly productive Delaware Basin within the Permian Basin. We expect development activity will continue to grow at a rapid pace in this region, primarily driven by both domestic and multinational producers looking to maximize returns on increasingly scarce oil and gas capital expenditures. Further, as the tragic war in Ukraine has unfolded, energy security has become an increasingly important issue for countries around the globe. The production of hydrocarbons on Texas Pacific’s acreage represents a “port in the storm” for the U.S. and for allies too that are dependent on the energy of hostile countries. It is difficult to know how any specific policy will evolve but possessing a commanding acreage position in one of the most productive regions in the country puts the Company in an excellent strategic and competitively advantaged position.”
You can also take a peek at 10 Stocks to Buy According to Mark T. Gallogly’s Centerbridge Partners and 8 Stocks to Buy According to Alexander Captain’s Cat Rock Capital.
Suggested articles:
- 12 Most Active Stocks To Buy
- Top 10 Clothing Companies in the World
- Biggest Beauty Companies in the World
Disclosure: None. 10 Pro-Life Companies to Invest In is originally published on Insider Monkey.
