Which of These Stocks to Buy?

[OTFJim9]

I'm a "new again" investor getting back into the market after a 10 year absence. I'm looking to initially purchase around $15K - $20K worth of stock. I've narrowed my selection down to the following companies:

GE
SUN
UMC
CROX
JOSB
CHIC
OYOG
GME
KMX
SYY
PFE
MCO
BNI

Ideally, I would like to buy about half of those. Around $2K in shares each. I'm looking at optimally holding them between 2-5 years. I'm soliciting opinions on which stocks you think would do the best during that time period.

My thanks in advance for your time.

[ZaNoob]

If you are looking at long term then BNI looks good. But watch where you enter. It looks like the stock has pulled back and might be turning around but it could go down some more. Also look at CSX.

As my name says I'm a noob at this.

[aiki14]

GE is at a P/E versus the S&P that usually signals a bottom for it (approx 20% discount to the S&P) which may make it a valuation play, but I would have a hard time making a case for it on any other basis. What was your thinking on this?
SUN is subject to margin shrinkage with high oil prices and a weak consumer environment. Also it's mainly east coast locations and the type of refineries they have (mainly suited to light sweet crude) put it at a bit of a disadvantage to it's peers considering the significant discount of sour crude to light sweet. Morningstar rates it a buy as of friday with a fair value of $64. I attached the Morningstar 7 pager from friday below.
They had a good day today though and a 2.95% dividend yield adds to it's attractiveness.

[wallstreetsedge]

i browsed through all of the stocks you listed... unfortunately 2yrs+ is a bit of a long time to hold imo... the only one out of that list that i would consider buying for 2+ yrs is OYOG, theres a good chance you can catch it as low as $52-53

i did see a few on there that looked way oversold which you could buy for quick bounces over a couple of weeks... GME, KMX, SYY

if you want me to go by fair value and point out which ones look like great potential buyout targets, over the next yr.. let me know and i can list those too

[OTFJim9]

ZaNoob: Thanks for the input on BNI.

aiki14: Thanks for the input. GE - Pretty much strictly a valuation play as you surmised. It was on the "fringe" of my list. SUN - You make some good points. And thx for attaching the Morningstar article. I browsed through it and am going to read it in detail later today.

wallstreetsedge: Thanks for your input and I would greatly appreciate the additional info Re: "want me to go by fair value and point out which ones look like great potential buyout targets, over the next yr".

[deerhunter]

GE and PFE both have some pretty solid dividends, especially with the dip in share prices. If you held for 5 years, who knows. Can't really predict what is going to happen, especially with a pharmaceutical like Pfizer.

[wallstreetsedge]

with new regulations to forming to prevent M&A's id probably look to see a lot of consolidation over the next year...

SUN - looks undervalued where buyout target could be around $62
UMC - looked like it can be bought out at $3.60
CROX - valued around $60, can probably look to get bought out at $20-25 if theyre desperate to be bought out... i think its a great value to own
JOSB - valued around $40 but i dont think anyone would look to acquire them... unless it was to go private
CHIC - can look for it to be acquired about $25
SYY - undervalued could be bought out about $35
MCO - good chances it can be taken private at $45-50

[OTFJim9]

Thanks everyone for all the great opinions and insights. Much appreciated!

[Horsefish]

In the interest of being diversified and looking at 2 to 3 years, Might I suggest UPS. If you wait a week or two and we get another 5 to 10% market swoon, this will be a great buy at around 58.90. Has a 3% yield and will come back well when the economy picks up.