Great Stocks To Hold 2013

Well, January sure set a pleasant tone for 2013. The market recorded its best first month of the year since 1997, with the S&P 500 up 5%, the Dow up over 4% and Nasdaq up a stunning 9% from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1.

Warren Buffett didn’t seem to fare as well, though, with his iconic Berkshire Hathaway(NYSE:BRK.B) underperforming with a less than 3% return in January. But investors should know by now that Buffett stocks aren’t meant to be in your portfolio for a matter of weeks but for many months. The Oracle of Omaha has famously said that even if the market was open for just one day a year, he would still buy shares.

So don’t take this as a sign that Buffett has lost his edge just yet.

Which stocks is Buffett banking on in 2013? Here are the leaders so far. Share totals are as of the November filing for Berkshire Hathaway disclosure of equity stakes:

Great Stocks To Hold 2013:Service Corporation International (SCI)

 Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States, Canada, and Germany. Its funeral service and cemetery operations consist of funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and related businesses. The company provides various professional services relating to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral facilities and motor vehicles, and preparation and embalming services. It also sells funeral related merchandise, including caskets, burial vaults, cremation receptacles, cremation memorial products, flowers, and other ancillary products and services at funeral service locations. The company?s cemeteries provide cemetery property interment rights, including mausoleum spaces, lots, and lawn crypts; and sell cemetery related merchandise and services comprising stone and bronze memorials, markers, merchandise installations, and burial openings and closings. It also sells preneed funeral and cemetery products and services whereby a customer contractually agrees to the terms of certain products and services to be delivered and performed in the future. As of December 31, 2009, Service Corporation operated 1,254 funeral service locations and 372 cemeteries, including 208 combination locations, covering 43 states in the United States, 8 Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as 12 funeral homes in Germany. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Great Stocks To Hold 2013:Eastman Chemical Company (EMN)

 Eastman Chemical Company, a chemical company, engages in the manufacture and sale of chemicals, plastics, and fibers in the United States and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Coatings, Adhesives, Specialty Polymers, and Inks (CASPI); Fibers; Performance Chemicals and Intermediates (PCI); and Specialty Plastics. The CASPI segment manufactures resins, specialty polymers, and solvents that are used in the production of paints and coatings, inks, adhesives, and other formulated products. The Fibers segment offers Estron acetate tow and Estrobond triacetin plasticizers used in cigarette filters; Estron natural and Chromspun solution-dyed acetate yarns for use in apparel, home furnishings, and industrial fabrics; and cellulose acetate flake and acetyl raw materials for acetate fiber producers. The PCI segment offers intermediates; performance chemicals; and complex organic molecules, such as diketene derivatives, specialty ketones, and specialty anhydrides for medical, pharmaceutical, fiber, and food and beverage ingredients, which are used in specialty market applications. This segment?s products are used in various markets and end uses, including agriculture, transportation, beverages, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, coatings, medical devices, toys, adhesives, household products, polymers, textiles, and consumer and industrial products, as well as used for health and wellness uses. The Specialty Plastics segment primarily offers engineering and specialty polymers, specialty film and sheet products, and packaging film and fiber products. This segment?s products include specialty copolyesters and cellulosic plastics, which are used in specialty packaging, in-store fixtures and displays, consumer and durable goods, medical goods, personal care and consumer packaging, photographic film, optical film, fibers/nonwovens, tapes/labels, and LCD?s. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Great Stocks To Hold 2013:KBR Inc. (KBR)

 KBR, Inc. operates as an engineering, construction, and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbon, government services, minerals, civil infrastructure, power, and industrial sectors worldwide. Its Downstream business unit provides front end engineering design; detailed engineering; engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC); EPC management; and program management services to petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, and syngas markets. The company?s Government and Infrastructure business unit provides program and project management, contingency logistics, operations and maintenance, construction management, engineering, and other services to military and civilian branches of governments and private clients. Its Services business unit delivers engineering, construction, construction management, fabrication, maintenance, and turnaround services. It also offers maintenance, construction, and drilling support services for offshore oil and gas producing facilities using semisubmersible vessels. This segment serves oil, gas, petrochemicals, and hydrocarbon processing industries, as well as power, alternate energy, pulp and paper, industrial and manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries. The company?s Technology business unit offers various process technologies, including value-added technologies in the coal monetization, petrochemical, refining, and syngas markets. Its Upstream business unit constructs liquefied natural gas, gas-to-liquids, onshore oil and gas production facilities, offshore oil and gas production facilities, and onshore and offshore pipelines. The company?s Ventures business unit invests in and manages projects, where the company provides engineering, construction, construction management or operations, and maintenance services. KBR, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Great Stocks To Hold 2013:3M Company (MMM)

 3M Company, together with subsidiaries, operates as a diversified technology company worldwide. The company?s Industrial and Transportation segment offers tapes, coated and non-woven abrasives, adhesives, specialty materials, filtration products, energy control products, closure systems for personal hygiene products, acoustic systems products, and components and products that are used in the manufacture, repair, and maintenance of automotive, marine, aircraft, and specialty vehicles. Its Health Care segment provides medical and surgical supplies, skin health and infection prevention products, inhalation and transdermal drug delivery systems, dental and orthodontic products, health information systems, and food safety products. The company?s Display and Graphics offers optical film solutions for LCD electronic displays; computer screen filters; reflective sheeting for transportation safety; commercial graphics sheeting and systems; and mobile interactive solutions, including mobile display technology, visual systems products, and computer privacy filters. The company?s Consumer and Office segment provides office supply products, stationery products, construction and home improvement products, home care products, protective material products, certain consumer retail personal safety products, and consumer health care products. Its Safety, Security and Protection Services segment offers personal protection products, safety and security products, cleaning and protection products for commercial establishments, track and trace solutions, and roofing granules for asphalt shingles. The company?s Electro and Communications segment provides packaging and interconnection devices; fluids that are used in the manufacture of computer chips, and for cooling electronics and lubricating computer hard disk drives; high-temperature and display tapes; insulating materials, including tapes and resins; and related items. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Advisors' Opinion:

< P>By Richard Young At 2012-2-22Click to EnlargeThis is 3M’s (NYSE:MMM) 100th year in business and 100th year of innovation. 3M uses its research and development teams to churn out new products for its customers. One of 3M’s newest innovations is an ingenious patch that injects immunizations using hundreds of micro-needles. The invention allows injections without intimidating syringes. To create the micro-needle patches, 3M repurposed micro-replication technology it had pioneered to enhance the visibility of reflective road signs. 3M’s breakout over its 50-day moving average is a strong signal. Buy.

By Carlson At 2011-9-26
The shares closed at $73.99, up $1.09, or 1.5%, on the day. Its market capitalization is $52.50 billion. About the company: 3M Co. conducts operations in electronics, telecommunications, industrial, consumer and office, health care, safety, and other markets. The Company’s businesses share technologies, manufacturing operations, brands, marketing channels, and other resources. 3M serves customers in countries located around the world.

By Dave Friedman At 2011-9-22
The shares closed at $83.31, up $0.77, or 0.93%, on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $78.01 to $98.19. Volume today was 4,130,195 shares, against a 3-month average volume of 4,252,690 shares. Its market capitalization is $59.11billion, its trailing P/E is 14.14, its trailing earnings are $5.89 per share, and it pays a dividend of $2.20 per share, for a dividend yield of 2.70%. About the company: 3M Co. conducts operations in electronics, telecommunications, industrial, consumer and office, health care, safety, and other markets. The Company’s businesses share technologies, manufacturing operations, brands, marketing channels, and other resources. 3M serves customers in countries located around the! world.< /p>

By Jim Cramer,TheStreet At 2011-9-7

The disappointing analyst meeting and the negative previous quarter haunt this stock going into 2011. But if you are like me and believe there will be worldwide growth, you would be nuts not to consider buying this 13% grower for just 15 times earnings. 3M (MMM) has got so much going for it in Asia and has so many new businesses -- it remains the most potent inventor of new products among the major companies I follow -- that I think it will drift back up to its 52-week high of $91, if not higher. Perhaps $100, which I think is my stretch goal, given its $6.16 in composite EPS estimates.

Why $100? I think the dollar gets weaker, and this is one of the most sensitive companies to the greenback, which means that $6.16 could be too low. Cheap stock that's in the penalty box because of the ever-so-slight shade down of earnings, a shade down that, when I analyze the company, is something that will be left behind in 2011.