5 Defensive Stocks Gurus Are Buying

British American Tobacco tops the list

Author's Avatar
Apr 01, 2020
Article's Main Image

According to the GuruFocus All-In-One Screener as of April 1, the following stocks are popular among gurus.

British American Tobacco

Tobacco giant British American Tobacco PLC (BTI, Financial) has a market cap of $81.23 billion. Its revenue of $33.3 billion has grown 5% over the past 10 years.

The company is held by six gurus, the largest of which is Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.11% of outstanding shares, followed by Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.10% and Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.04%.

As of April 1, the stock was trading with a price-earnings ratio of 11.48. The share price of $35.48 was 22.26% below the 52-week high and 29.87% above the 52-week low. Over the past 10 years, the stock has gained 1.4%.

Anheuser-Busch InBev

The world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD, Financial), has a market cap of $85.58 billion. Its revenue of $53 billion has grown 4.2% over the past decade.

Among the seven gurus invested in the company, Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) is the largest shareholder with 0.36% of outstanding shares, followed by Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)’ Renaissance Technologies with 0.11%.

As of April 1, the stock was trading with a price-earnings ratio of 9.32. The share price of $43.30 was 57.84% below the 52-week high and 32.90% above the 52-week low. Over the past decade, the stock has lost 14.54%.

Conagra Brands

Packaged food company Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG, Financial) has a market cap of $14.53 billion. Its revenue of $10.5 billion has declined 5% over the past 10 years.

The company is held by eight gurus. The largest guru shareholder is Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.42% of outstanding shares, followed by the T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.76% and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.4%.

As of April 1, shares were trading with a price-earnings ratio of 18.14. The share price of $30 was 15.88% below the 52-week high and 35.17% above the 52-week low. Over the past 10 years, the stock has gained 51%.

Bunge

Bunge Ltd. (BG, Financial), which is an agribusiness and food company, has a market cap of $5.62 billion. Its revenue of $41 billion has declined 1.5% over the past decade.

Nine gurus hold the stock. With 1.21% of outstanding shares, T. Rowe Price's Equity Income Fund is the company's largest guru shareholder, followed by Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) with 1% and Simons’ firm with 0.41%.

On April 1, the stock traded with a price-book ratio of 1.07. The share price of $39.26 was 34.18% below the 52-week high and 35.38% above the 52-week low. Over the past decade, the stock has lost 36%.

Coca-Cola European Partners

Coca-Cola European Partners PLC (CCEP, Financial), which sells nonalcoholic drinks in Europe, has a $17 billion market cap.

Five gurus own the stock. The company’s largest guru shareholder is Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss with 0.59% of outstanding shares, followed by Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.33% and Simons’ firm with 0.09%.

On April 1, the share price of $37 was 37.21% below the 52-week high and 30.55% above the 52-week low. The stock was trading with a price-earnings ratio of 12.09. Over the past 10 years, the stock has gained 31%.

Disclosure: I do not own any stocks mentioned.

Read more here:

Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.