StreetAuthority | May 27, 2012 01:22AM ET
My, how quickly the market's tide can turn. By the end of March, we were sitting on a 17% rally. Since then, the S&P 500 has fallen more than 8%, and the future looks troubled at best.
The 180-degree turnaround and subsequent tumble is a sharp reminder that the market always poses some sort of danger no matter how safe it feels. And for the average mom-and-pop investor, a dip of this magnitude can be disheartening, possibly to the point of pushing them out of the market altogether. That's too bad, since there are plenty of great stocks out there posing less-than-average risk and less-than-average volatility.
In fact, there are three such stocks I'd even be willing to recommend to my mom, who has no desire to follow her portfolio on a daily basis. She just wants to sleep well at night knowing she doesn't have to.
1. Patterson Cos. (Nasdaq: PDCO)
Though generally categorized as a dental supply company, the description doesn't quite do Patterson Cos. justice. Patterson does keep dentists' offices up and running by providing X-ray film, hand instruments, sterilization products and the like, but it's also got tremendous exposure the veterinarian market as well as the rehabilitation market.
Perhaps more important to an investor like my mom, the top line has been growing for years thanks to the always-in-demand nature of its product line. And the bottom line has been on the mend since a very modest lull in fiscal 2008 (most of calendar 2009). Patterson posted a profit of $199.6 million that year, but has cranked that number up to $213.4 million for the past four quarters. No, it's not amazing growth, but the slide from fiscal 2007's $224.8 million profit wasn't dramatic either.
That's the point -- consistency.
BY James Brumley
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