7 Best Defensive Stocks for a Steady Return on Investment

After another very volatile week in the stock market, let's have an updated look at the best defensive stocks that pay reliable dividends.  

APRIL 20, 2023 Invested Advice, rankings and stock market news for investors.

Good morning, investors. Stocks flatline again, and regional bank shares soar on signs of stable deposits. Highlights of today's newsletter include our market insights plus these new articles: 7 Best Defensive Stocks for a Steady Return on Investment 7 Best Monthly Dividend Stocks With High Yields 7 of the Best ETFs to Fight Inflation 7 Best Lithium Stocks to Buy in 2023 Money Market Funds: What Are They and How Do They Work? TODAY'S FEATURED STOCK STORY 7 Best Defensive Stocks for a Steady Return on Investment Defensive stocks mostly lie in market sectors that focus on products and services that will be in demand regardless of what the economy does, such as health care and consumer staples. These resilient stocks can hang tough even in a bear market, defined as a period when securities prices suffer a 20% decline from recent highs, or in a recession with declining economic activity that lasts for months or even years. If a defensive strategy sounds like your preference for the time being, then consider adding these seven defensive stocks to your portfolio: Abbvie Inc. (ticker: ABBV). With a modest gain of 1% so far in 2023, when some other pharma stocks are deeply in the red, AbbVie has shown that it has staying power. Its strength in 2022 was thanks in part to the fact that the pharmaceutical company had a strong lineup of blockbuster drugs along with a thriving research pipeline to ensure it kept the numbers moving in the right direction. Industry analysts now predict that the $284 billion company will be the largest of all the Big Pharma stocks as soon as 2028. That means plenty of stability going forward, too, thanks to its unrivaled scale. The icing on the cake for low-risk investors is its 3.7% dividend yield, which will keep the cash trickling in no matter what short-term trends appear. Altria Group Inc. (MO). "Sin stocks" like tobacco giant Altria are some of the best defensive investments you'll find, as consumers hit hard by any downturn tend to rely on these companies to get through the tough times. Altria is behind many of the biggest brands in the space, including Marlboro cigarettes, Black & Mild cigars, and smokeless tobacco products Copenhagen and Skoal. Considering the well-known risks of these offerings coupled with the fact that they are addictive to those who use them, it's hard to imagine anything disrupting baseline demand for tobacco in the near future. MO may not have breakneck growth ahead, but it's a well-run company that has delivered dividend increases over 53 consecutive years as proof of its reliability and income potential in any market environment. Altria is up 3.1% so far this year as of April 18 and has a generous dividend yield of 8.2%. Click here to continue reading. DEFENSIVE STOCKDIVIDEND YIELD AbbVie Inc. (ticker: ABBV)3.7% Altria Group Inc. (MO)8.2% Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED)3.3% Hershey Co. (HSY)1.6% Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI)6.3% M&T Bank Corp. (MTB)4.1% Ventas Inc. (VTR)4.1%