Stock & Options Trading

14 Stocks for Retirement

CNN Money picked these 14 stocks one year ago, but the advice of sticking to blue chips still holds.

- Amgen (AMGN) Strong earnings and promising new drugs propel this biotech.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) This cheap networking giant awaits a pickup in IT spending.
- FedEx (FDX) The overnight shipper would benefit from lower fuel prices.
- Intel (INTC) New microprocessors could revive this leading chipmaker.
- Lowe's (LOW) Store openings are bolstering growth for this DIY retailer.
- General Electric (GE) This stellar industrial conglomerate looks cheap.
- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) A leader in drug, medical, and health and beauty products.
- Procter & Gamble (PG) Acquisition of Gillette strengthens this consumer giant.
- Raytheon (RTN) Rising defense R&D spending fuels this cruise-missile maker.
- 3M (MMM) Higher dividends for 47 straight years, as well as growth.
- Citigroup (C) Undervalued assets stir rumors of a corporate breakup.
- DuPont (DD) Dirt cheap after damage to chemical plants by hurricanes.
- Pfizer (PFE) New drugs could revive this deeply depressed drug giant.
- Sara Lee (SLE) Restructuring could boost earnings growth over five years.

When it comes to selecting specific companies from this list of superior blue chips, there are two things to keep in mind.

First, you should look for stocks that are down of late. When a stock has been shooting higher and higher, you can never really know whether it is close to a peak. But you can identify shares that Wall Street seems to have beaten down unfairly -- based on historical price/earnings ratios, historical yield levels, estimates of breakup value and similar benchmarks.

Second, companies with moderately above average return prospects actually offer the best shot at long-term growth -- chiefly because they are less apt to take a big hit than superstars are. It's easier for a company to deliver 8 to 12 percent earnings growth and a 2 percent dividend yield year after a year than it is for one to grow 25 to 30 percent a year indefinitely.

With a long enough time horizon, you don't need to worry about when a depressed stock will rebound. Buy well, and sooner or later you'll get your reward.