Investing legend Peter Lynch, who managed the flagship Magellan Fund for Fidelity Investments, encouraged individuals to beat Wall Street by buying stocks that they saw doing well on Main Street.
From 1977 to 1990, when Lynch managed the Magellan Fund, it posted a 29.2% annual return. Clearly something worked.
Now, inspired by the investing legend, I have picked three companies that I have personal experience with to recommend. Check out my Peter Lynch stocks below.
Genuine Parts (GPC)
You would never know that I am a car enthusiast by what I drive. But my car has over 150,000 miles and is still going strong. Much of the thanks for that goes to Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC).
That is the story for more and more as Americans are keeping their cars longer. A big part of making that happen is routine maintenance, and a big part of routine maintenance is replacing parts when needed.
Your money should always work for you when you invest, and an obvious way is receiving a dividend check in the mail. Genuine Parts is also a Dividend Aristocrat, which means it is a member of the S&P 500 and has increased its dividend annually for at least the last 25 years. With a beta of 0.97x, Genuine Parts is also good for writing call or put options to make more money. Most options are not exercised and Genuine Parts does not swing much in price, so this is a nice way to make more from your holdings.
With the beta, volume of 1 million shares daily, and dividend history, this stock is also good for dividend-capture trading.
McDonald’s (MCD)
I have never had a cup of coffee in my life. But I do get a Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) from McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) every morning. Why? Because it is written to be the best and, most important of all, it tastes that way to me!
Many times there are lines at McDonald’s of those ordering coffee in the morning when I get my Coca-Cola. The fast-food chain appeals to everyone. Little kids love the Happy Meals and old timers hang out there enjoying the senior coffee.
Investors in McDonald’s enjoy some tasty margins, too. I like big profits, and the profit margin for McDonald’s is over 33%. The operating margin is over 45% and the gross margin is over 55%. Sales and earnings are up and the 2.4% dividend yield is almost twice the S&P 500 average of 1.35%.
With a below-average beta of 0.71x, volume of 3.3 million shares daily, and dividend history, McDonald’s is also suitable for dividend-capture trading.
Walmart (WMT)
As a standup comic, I can tell you there are many who do jokes about Walmart (NYSE:WMT). There is nothing to make fun of the biggest retailer about as an investment, though.
I don’t make fun of Walmart when I do comedy as it always has the protein shakes I need and the biscuits my dogs prefer. I know that Walmart will have them, and I always end up buying more stuff while I am there, too. This business model works as Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is expanding even more by going after new customers (more affluent) and building 150 new stores. With a low beta of 0.49x, high volume of 19.1 million shares daily, and dividend, history this is also good for dividend-capture trading.
On the date of publication, Jonathan Yates did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.