5 Best Bear Market Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley

4. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72

Consumer staples stocks fare well during recessionary periods as customers rely on their products for everyday use. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is one such name that gained nearly 51% between March 2009 and December 2011, the period of high recession. Moreover, the company is a dividend champion, raising its dividends consistently for the past 66 years, with a dividend yield of 2.51%, as of June 8’s close.

In its fiscal Q3 2022 report, The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) posted an EPS of $1.33, beating estimates by $0.04. The company’s revenue also exceeded analysts’ consensus by $710 million at $19.4 billion. For FY22, the company expects its organic sales growth in the range of 6% to 7%, with earnings per share growth to fall between 3% to 6%, versus the consensus of 3.5%.

According to Insider Monkey’s Q1 data, The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was a part of 72 hedge fund portfolios, compared with 67 funds a quarter earlier. These hedge funds hold a collective stake of over $6 billion in the company. Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partner was the company’s leading shareholder in Q1, with stakes worth over $1.5 billion.

In June, Deutsche Bank set a $171 price target on The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), with a Buy rating on the shares, highlighting the company’s strong performance in the first half of 2022. Morgan Stanley added the company to its list of best bear market stocks, setting a $177 price target on PG.