Yahoo Finance

Will 2025 be a bullish year for stocks, especially after the big up year in 2024? Our forecasts say yes. Our target price for the S&P 500 is 6700, about 10%-12% above current levels. Our economic, earnings, and valuation models support a forecast for a positive year for stocks. We believe the stock market will take its cues from two sources in 2025: the Fed and earnings growth. We expect earnings growth of 12%, following a 9% increase in 2024; that interest rates will trend lower as the Fed continues to ease; and that valuations will hold steady. In a certain-to-be-unpredictable investing environment, we present 10 key themes that we believe will be important in 2025. Some of these blur boundaries between sectors. This is by design. While we have specific sector recommendations (i.e., over-weight Information Technology, Financial), we believe some factors supersede industry characteristics and can drive performance for diversified groups or portfolios of stocks. Here are our Investment Themes for 2025: Theme 1: Management Signals; Theme 2: Artificial Intelligence; Theme 3: Clean Energy; Theme 4: Sustainable Impact investing; Theme 5: Innovation; Theme 6: Cybersecurity; Theme 7: Investing in the Cloud; Theme 8: Aerospace and Defense, All Systems Go; Theme 9: Uptick in Capex amid Declining Interest Rates; and Theme 10: Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology. For this week's list, we take a deep dive into Theme 1, Management Signals. Argus recommends that investors pay close attention to companies sending upbeat signals to the market by raising guidance and increasing dividends. We think consistent -- and accelerated -- dividend growth at a company gives three important signals to investors in a stock: the company's balance sheet is strong enough to pay a dividend; management is mindful of shareholder returns, which include dividends; and a significant dividend increase can be a message from management that the near-term outlook for a company is promising, even during an economic slowdown. We especially like companies that have grown their dividends at an average double-digit pace over the past five years. The top five companies in the following list have consistently raised guidance. The next five companies have grown their dividends at an average double-digit pace over the past five years.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

The Vickers Top Insider Picks is a daily report that utilizes a proprietary algorithm to identify 25 companies with compelling insider purchase histories based on transactions over the past three months.

In this edition, a look at the utilities 2025 outlook; Federal Realty's stock pitch; and BorgWarner's EV strategy holds promise; and Elevance, Verizon Communications, and Air Products & Chemicals.