Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Good Place to Be Going Forward

Whether you believe the stock market still has room to run over the next several months or the rally is nearing an end Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) may be a good place to be.

With investors and economists divided over whether the economy is recovering or not, many are wondering if there is any area one can put their money which would perform well regardless of the eventual outcome. Johnson & Johnson might make sense to hedge your bets.

If the stock market keeps going up, JNJ will most likely lag, but still should perform well over the long term as a consumer staple/health care stock. The company has a very solid balance sheet and is reasonably valued at 12x forward earnings. Also the stock does yield 3.2%.

If stocks start to decline significantly again, JNJ is poised to outperform handedly. Since September 2007, the total return of JNJ stock (dividends included) is about 4%. During the same time the S&P 500 is down (also including dividends) about 25%.

JNJ is trading down 0.5% on light volume today.