If you're looking for some great investing ideas this summer, sometimes the best place to look is to the best investors. Few would dispute that Warren Buffett ranks as one of the all-time greatest investors. And the stocks that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns provide plenty of solid picks for investors who aren't billionaires.
General Electric (NYSE:GE), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) look especially promising over the long run. Here's why these are three great Warren Buffett stocks to buy in June.
WARREN BUFFETT. IMAGE SOURCE: THE MOTLEY FOOL.
General Electric
General Electric shareholders haven't enjoyed the stock's performance so far in 2017. GE shares are down year to date in part because of first-quarter results that showed lower-than-expected industrial cash flow from operations (CFOA) and mixed results for the company's power segment.
But I think this pullback presents a buying opportunity for long-term investors. GE stock now trades at less than 15 times expected earnings. While the company certainly faces some near-term challenges, GE has successfully navigated much more treacherous waters in the past.
And things aren't really that terribly bad for the industrial giant now. GE's industrial segment revenue increased slightly in the first quarter, but profits for the segment grew by a respectable 9% compared to the prior-year period. The company continues to be in good shape overall financially. Wall Street analysts project that GE will grow its earnings by an average annual rate of nearly 12% over the next five years -- a big improvement from the company's recent history.
While investors wait on GE to return to stronger growth, they should be able to depend on a nice dividend. The company's dividend currently yields 3.44%.
Johnson & Johnson
It's been a completely different story for Johnson & Johnson this year. Shares of the big healthcare company are up solidly so far in 2017. J&J beat first-quarter earnings estimates, although revenue growth proved sluggish.
What's behind the good performance for J&J stock? Probably investors' excitement about the potential for accelerated growth. The company's medical-device business was its top segment in the first quarter. However, with J&J's pharmaceutical segment generating nearly half of total revenue, that's where shareholders really hope for growth.
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Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky says that his company will grow earnings faster than the overall brand-drug market in the coming years. J&J intends to continue to reap rewards from its current lineup of potential megablockbusters: Stelara, Xarelto, Invega Trinza, Imbruvica, and Darzalex. The company's pipeline could deliver 10 new promising drugs by 2021. J&J also has great expectations from its acquisition of Actelion.
Of course, we couldn't talk about reasons to like Johnson & Johnson stock without mentioning the dividend. J&J is a Dividend Aristocrat, increasing its dividend for the last 54 consecutive years. Its dividend yield currently stands at 2.58%.
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo stock has been on a bit of a roller-coaster ride in 2017. Shares were up in the first quarter, but down in the second quarter. The fake-account scandal revealed last year continues to haunt the big bank.
I think investors would be wise to pay heed to what Buffett said about Wells Fargo, though. Buffett acknowledged that the bank had made a "huge, huge, huge error." However, he also said that "the fundamental earnings power of the bank over a period of years has not been hurt in any material way." As is often the case, Buffett is probably right.
Granted, the issues stemming from the fake-account scandal won't disappear overnight. Wells Fargo must deal with lawsuits over the matter. And it has to recover credibility with customers. I think the company will be able to move past the scandal over time. Wall Street analysts project that Wells Fargo could grow annual earnings at nearly twice the rate over the next five years than it did over the previous five years.
While investors wait for Wells Fargo to clean up the mess it made, they can be happy about one thing with the company: its dividend. The bank's dividend currently yields 2.93%. Wells Fargo is using only 38% of its earnings to fund the dividend program, which bodes well for future dividend hikes.
10 stocks we like better than General Electric
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David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now… and General Electric wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
