If I Could Buy Only 1 Stock, This Would Be It

If I could only buy one stock right now, then there are a few boxes that stock needs to check. I'd like the holding to be relatively safe in a tumultuous time but still look likely to generate modest short-term growth, while having the potential for exceptional long-term growth. I also want the stock to have a robust balance sheet and be relatively cheap in this expensive market -- and is a little dividend too much to ask? For all of that, look no further than...

Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) finances are massive in almost every way, with sales in the fiscal Q4 ended Sept. 24 of $47 billion. Sales and earnings actually slowed during the during quarter, down 9% and 19%, respectively, but the company has guided for a return to sales growth in fiscal Q1. In terms of valuation, Apple still looks cheap. Even though the stock is up 20% over the past six months, it's still trading at just 14 times earnings. Compare that with around 25 times earnings on average for the S&P 500, Google at 30, and Amazon at 185. Also, Apple stock has run up quickly lately, but it's still down from its high of around $135 in mid-2015, so its recent run doesn't look unreasonable. Apple stock also pays a 2% dividend yield, which could very well rise as Apple deploys more of its huge cash load in 2017.

Source: Motley Fool

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