Updating your Conservative stocks: Chevron, Howmet Aerospace and Motorola Solutions

Article Excerpt

CHEVRON CORP. $150 (www.chevron.com) is a buy. The company recently agreed to buy rival oil producer Hess Corp. (New York symbol HES) in an all-stock merger. The deal is worth about $60 billion, including Hess’s debt, which is equal to 21% of Chevron’s market cap (the total value of all outstanding shares) of $283.6 billion. However, annual cost savings of $1 billion will offset that cost. Chevron also aims to sell $10 billion to $15 billion of the combined firm’s less-important assets by 2028. Chevron is a buy. HOWMET AEROSPACE INC. $53 (www.howmet.com) is a hold. The maker of jet engine components and industrial products has jumped nearly 40% in the past year thanks to strong demand from airplane makers as travel volumes rebound from COVID-19 restrictions. However, the stock now trades at a high 29.8 times the $1.78 a share that Howmet will probably earn in 2023. Howmet is a hold. MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. $309 (www.motorolasolutions.com) is a buy. The company makes communications equipment such as two-way radios for police and fire…