Barron's Picks And Pans: Apple, Bank of America, Lockheed Martin And More

This weekend's Barron's cover story reveals what a panel of experts expects from the markets and economy this year.

Other featured articles discuss where to find robust dividend growth and takeaways from the Consumer Electronics Show.

Also, the prospects for the iPhone maker and for big bank, defense and shipping stocks.

Cover story "2020 Roundtable: Markets Will Gain Despite Looming Risks" by Beverly Goodman and Reshma Kapadia shares why 10 panelists see continued gains for the markets and the economy, and what that means for Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN Netflix Inc NFLX, Uber Technologies Inc UBER and many others.

Tae Kim's "How to Play Apple Stock After Its Banner Year" makes a case that Apple Inc. AAPL investors are flush with profits after the stock's furious rally, but now comes the tough part — deciding what to do with the stock.

In "Bet on the Big Banks — and Bank of America," Andrew Bary discusses how CEO Brian Moynihan has put Bank of America Corp BAC in a strong position to ride out any slowdown in the economy.

Traditional dividend havens such as utilities are expected to continue that role, offering yields of around 3% this year, according to "For Dividend Growth, Consider Health-Care and Tech Stocks" by Lawrence C. Strauss. See where those looking for more robust dividend growth should turn. Does that include Bristol-Myers Squibb Co BMY and Pfizer Inc. PFE?

In Jack Hough's "Defense Stocks' Rise Isn't Over Yet," find out why Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT and other defense stocks, despite being up handily this month on Mideast tension, look ready to climb further in the year ahead.

See also: What Dow 29,000 Does (And Doesn't) Mean For Investors

"5 Takeaways From a Very Noisy CES" by Eric J. Savitz suggests that some of technology's best ideas could push the envelope even more this year. Find out what's in store for Comcast Corporation CMCSA, Intel Corporation INTC and many more.

Investors are making a mistake by flooding those sectors they think are safe. So says a veteran fund manager in John Coumarianos's "Investors Flock to Utilities and REITs and Avoid the Banks. Why That's a Mistake." Should they be buying the likes of Wells Fargo & Co WFC instead?

In "Have Shipping Stocks Peaked?," Nicholas Jasinski points out why, if tanker rates remain high in 2020, the rally in shipping stocks such as Nordic American Tanker Ltd NAT can keep going.

Also in this week's Barron's:

How the 2019 stock picks from the Barron's Roundtable fared

Why the job market is booming but not for everyone

More than 50 reasons not to sell your stocks

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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