If there’s one sector of the American economy that’s undeniably thriving right now, it’s health and fitness. People love to spend money on nutrition and health regimens, and this demand has enabled an array of companies to emerge as buy-and-hold candidates for savvy investors.
Try these four health and fitness stocks
When you’re analyzing buy-and-hold stocks for your portfolio, you seek to focus on options that (a) are undervalued and (b) have serious potential. When you look at today’s top health and fitness stocks, there are several that meet both of these criteria. Check them out:
Nutrisystem Inc.
Nutrisystem (NTRI, Financial) is consistently ranked as one of the top weight-loss plans on the market, which means the brand is reputable and sustainable (which can be a significant concern in this niche). Nonetheless, shares of NutriSystem have dropped somewhat in value from where they were a few months ago.
Prices plummeted as much as 16% on July 27 after a second-quarter earnings report was released. Though share prices have recovered slightly, they’re still far below where they were in the middle of last month.
Interestingly, Nutrisystem’s second-quarter earnings reports really didn’t contain anything negative. This is a good sign that the current slump is no more than a momentary drop-off, and prices will soon recover. You could manage to steal some value by securing some shares today.
National Beverage Corp.
In an age when soft drink consumption numbers are going down, healthy drink products are raking in the revenue. Just ask National Beverage (FIZZ, Financial), owner of LaCroix, the fastest-growing sparkling water brand on the planet.
If you had been savvy enough to get involved with National Beverage at the beginning of the year, you’d have already seen your investment double in value. But there’s still plenty more left in this brand, and numbers suggest this could be the next major stock to own in the healthy food niche.
Baxter International Inc.
You might not be familiar with the name, but Baxter International (BAX, Financial) is a massive health-care firm that provides medical products and services in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology spaces. Although revenue has been ostensibly stagnant this year, the stock’s earnings growth has been tremendous: more than 33% since the start of 2017.
The future is bright for Baxter and its investors. The recent news was that the company has acquired Claris Injectables and made an agreement with Dorizoe Lifesciences to develop 20-plus generic injectables. This stock isn’t going anywhere but up in the foreseeable future.
Intuitive Surgical
Robotic surgery is a trend that’s expected to become even more widespread in the coming years, especially given the anticipated rise of artificial intelligence and improvement of consumer perceptions of technology in the operating room.
Leading the charge is Intuitive Surgical (ISRG, Financial), which reported revenues of $2.7 billion last year (or 13% year-over-year growth). While earnings growth has been relatively stagnant this summer, Intuitive Surgical has enjoyed nearly 50% earnings growth on the year.
Since big developments are also coming down the pipeline, it’s likely we’ll see more of this early-year growth in the latter half of 2017.
Make sure your portfolio is balanced
As much as financial advisers and other so-called experts like to talk about diversifying across major industries such as technology, health care and oil, it would also be worth every investor’s time to make sure he or she is holding onto some health and fitness stocks as well.
This is a booming niche, and there appear to be opportunities to make some smart plays for the future. Start by evaluating the stocks outlined in this article and start making a list of similar stocks that grab your attention.
Disclosure: I do not own any of the stocks mentioned in this article.
