4 Stocks Poised to Defy August's Historical Pattern

 | Aug 16, 2023 05:37

  • August is not exactly one of the best months of the year for the markets
  • The S&P 500 has performed poorly in this month over the last 70 years
  • But some stocks always manage to defy that trend; let's see which stocks could do so this August

    • August has been a historically subdued month in the financial world. Take the S&P 500 as an example, which from 1950 to 2021 has shown an average return of -0.03% in the final month of summer, placing it as the third weakest of the year, behind only February and September.

    Shifting our focus to the Dow Jones, intriguing patterns emerge across time frames. In the last two decades, it has yielded a return of +0.07% in August, while the preceding five decades and the full last century clocked returns of -0.20% and +0.97%, respectively in the month.

    However, amidst this seemingly lackluster scenario, a cluster of S&P 500 stocks has been rewriting the narrative. Remarkably, these stocks haven't just outperformed but have trounced the broader market in the past five Augusts.

    With leading performers boasting average returns of +12%, +11%, +7%, and a modest +4.4%, their achievements easily surpass the S&P 500's average returns of approximately 2-2.2%.

    Unraveling the driving forces behind these impressive performers beckons us to go deeper, leveraging the insights provided by InvestingPro .

    It's worth noting, though, that while history guides us, it doesn't dictate the future.

    1. Walmart/h2

    Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1972, with its headquarters situated in Bentonville, Arkansas.

    Over the past 5 months of August, its shares have recorded an average increase of +4.4%.

    On January 2, it will distribute a dividend of $0.57 per share. To qualify for this dividend, shareholders must hold their shares before December 7. The annual dividend yield stands at +1.41%.