Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2014

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been getting the short end of the stick in 2013. With the blue chip stock index trailing the S&P 500 350 basis points, it's the less exciting of the big indexes, despite the stuffy old Dow being up 25.7% since the first session of the year.

But even though the Dow is trailing, it's still been posting some impressive numbers: More than half of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow are up more than 30% in 2013. So much for boring blue chips.

Better yet, the Dow could hold the keys to even more gains in 2014. All you have to do is look for the "dogs."

The Dogs of the Dow is a strategy that's built around simply buying the ten highest-yielding Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks, rebalancing once a year, and holding on. Because yield is inversely related to performance, these big names tend to be late bloomers out of the big index's 30 names. So, should you be buying the dogs as the calendar flips over to 2014?

Top 5 Safest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brendan Conway]

  My Best Stocks for 2014 entry these days is weighed down by lackluster returns in massive stocks like Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and Walmart (WMT), and disappointment in the retail sector. Fortunately, VIG isn�� about shooting the moon — it�� about favorable risk-adjusted returns.

• [By Jesse Solomon]

  Even the big guys like Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) could feel the pain, asserted Fadel Gheit, an energy analyst at Oppenheimer and Co. Those stocks have the potential to affect the broader market because of their mega market capitalizations. Some large energy producers, like ConocoPhillips, have already said they're cutting back spending due to the drop in oil prices.

Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2014: Visa Inc.(V)

Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) slipped 2.41% for the day, likely on the coattails of an earnings miss by rival MasterCard In. (NYSE: MA). Consumer finance stocks were near the top of today�� sector losers. Shares closed at $215.56 in a 52-week range of $154.14 to $235.50. Volume was about 70% above the daily average of around 3 million shares.

Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2014: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Jubak]

  If those traders are right, and food commodity prices are headed much higher, it would be bad news for consumers and for consumer companies such as McDonald�� (MCD) and PepsiCo (PEP) that have to pay higher prices.

• [By Dividend Growth Investor]

  After all, a company like McDonald�� (MCD) would keep being in the restaurant business for as long as possible. Its business model of delivering a consistent customer experience on a global scale should not change much. Its expansion might come not just by opening new stores internationally however, but by renovating existing locations, innovations in its menu and attracting new customers from a young age. These megatrends do not happen overnight, and would likely take years to develop. Another example includes Wal-Mart (WMT), which is the world�� largest retailer. While the company has largely saturated US market, it could grow substantially abroad. In addition, it could also grow organically by making stores more appealing to consumers. At the same time, if investors use the company�� product or service in their everyday lives, they might gain an insider�� look at things, even before the annual reports are out.

• [By Charley Blaine]

  McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) shares were trading at around $93.15, about 0.6% above the 52-week low of $92.59, which was hit on Tuesday. They are down nearly 4% this year. The shares have been pressured by flat growth at its U.S. stores, probably a reflection of consumer worries about jobs and the economy. Another issue: intense competition from competitors such as Wendy’s. The consensus target price is $103.30, an 11% premium to the current level.

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  It will be difficult for strikers who have challenged wages that are barely above those allowed by law to have any success. Their primarily argument is that $8, $9 or even $10 does not constitute a living wage — one that will pull them above the poverty level. McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE WMT) and other large retail and fast-food firms have countered that much higher hourly compensation would ravage their bottom lines. That would harm investors, consumers who will have to pay higher prices to offset labor’s advance, and workers themselves as companies resort to layoffs to balance out soaring worker compensation.

Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2014: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) was down, falling 1.12 percent to $82.76. Analysts at Bank of America downgraded Philip Morris International from Buy to Neutral and lowered the target price to $87.