Bank of America says try the 'Magnificent 80' portfolio instead as income investing comes back into favor

Published Tue, Feb 13 20248:30 AM ESTUpdated Tue, Feb 13 202412:15 PM EST

The narrow stock market rally could broaden out beyond megacap tech, and investors should target the "Magnificent 80" stocks, according to Bank of America's Savita Subramanian. The firm's head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy wrote in a Friday note that the "Magnificent Seven" — Amazon , Apple , Alphabet , Meta Platforms , Microsoft , Nvidia and Tesla — likely won't experience a meaningful deceleration this year. She forecasts the remaining S & P 493 will catch up in June or earlier and says the broader field of stocks could surpass the Magnificent Seven's profits in the fourth quarter. Both are key reasons Subramanian sees the market rally broadening, alongside an expected spike in volatility tied to the U.S. election and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. To play the expected widening market rally, Subramanian points toward the so-called Magnificent 80 stocks, which are composed largely of companies with strong fundamentals. These names, which Bank of America screened for, have higher equity income potential than cash, touting competitive dividend yields. They are also expected to grow their dividends by at least 5% over the next three years. Here are a few of those Magnificent 80 companies that are rated buy by Bank of America. Ford made Bank of America's cut. The automaker's shares have gained more than 6% in 2024. The firm expects Ford's dividend to grow 5% over the next three years and sees a three-year annualized dividend yield of 5.1%. F YTD mountain Ford stock. Ford beat Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines in the fourth quarter last week and announced plans for a special dividend of 18 cents, which is on top of the regular dividend of 15 cents per share. Oil giant Chevron also made the list. Shares have climbed about 2% from the start of the year. Bank of America also expects Chevron's dividend to grow 5% over the next three years, and it anticipates a three-year annualized dividend yield of 4.1%. CVX YTD mountain Chevron stock. In Chevron's most recent quarterly results, the company approved an 8% increase to its dividend beginning in March. Chevron returned a total of $11.3 billion back to shareholders through dividends last year and it bought back $14.9 billion in shares. Other stocks that made the list include Truist Financial and Philip Morris .