10 of the best blue-chip stocks to buy for 2022

For your weekend reading, I submit this week's edition of U.S. News Invested since, as investors have been flocking back to the blue chips of late, here are their top 10 picks for 2022.  All are solid names.  Enjoy the weekend.  

DECEMBER 9, 2021 Invested Advice, rankings and stock market news for investors. Good morning, investors. Stocks cooled off a bit on Wednesday, but still ended higher as a December rally continued. TODAY'S FEATURED STORY 10 of the Best Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy for 2022 There are many ways to construct a portfolio. But when it comes to time-tested paths to long-term wealth, it's hard to top blue-chip stocks. While many styles come in and out of favor, there's rarely a time when owning high-quality growth and income stocks leads an investor astray. Companies with a long track record of growing earnings and dividends that can withstand the occasional recession tend to provide the most reliable long-term results. Still, it's important to pick these blue-chips with prudence. A good company bought at a bad price will be a poor investment. So where are the bargain blue chips today? Here are 10 of the best blue-chip stocks to buy for 2022: 1. Verizon Communications Inc. (ticker: VZ). Verizon is one of the country's three large mobile phone networks. All three have seen their share prices decline sharply in recent months. Of them, Verizon is the most attractive for growth and income investors. AT&T Inc. (T) is slashing its dividend amid its complicated corporate restructuring and T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) doesn't pay a dividend at all, leaving Verizon as the safest choice. Shares are yielding 5% and trading at March 2020 levels. At some point, Verizon will start to reap the benefits of the current 5G deployment cycle and see sentiment swing upward again. In the meantime, shares are selling for less than 10 times earnings. 2. Visa Inc. (V). Unlike most blue chips, Visa isn't a big dividend payer yet; it yields just 0.8%. However, it more than makes up for that with its incredible growth. Over the past 10 years, it has grown earnings and free cash flow at 16% and 15% compounded annually, respectively. Not surprisingly, it's managed to post 18% annualized dividend increases as well, given its rapidly growing earnings. The issue with Visa, however, is that normally the stock is expensive. But Visa stock now trades for less than 30 times forward earnings, a rare event for that stock. For a company that traditionally grows at 15% per year, investors should do well buying at this price, with the stock down more than 20% from recent highs. Click here to continue reading.   10 of the best blue-chip stocks to buy for 2022: Verizon Communications Inc. (ticker: VZ) Visa Inc. (V) Global Payments Inc. (GPN) Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) Clorox Co. (CLX) Coca-Cola Co. (KO) Brown-Forman Corp. (BF.B) Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BDX) Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) Walmart Inc. (WMT)