3 Rock-Solid Stocks You Need To Know Now

September is traditionally a rocky time for the markets. “I’m skeptical that the S&P can continue this uninterrupted, and I do expect we’ll see at least a 4 to 5 percent correction, at least sometime in the month of September into October,” Mark Newton, founder and president of Newton Advisors, told CNBC last week.

Here are three key defensive stocks to follow now. We used TipRanks powerful market data to source three promising stock picks, that look set to outperform whatever the weather. As you will see all three of these stocks boast a bullish ‘Strong Buy’ analyst consensus rating.

Let’s take a closer look now:

1. Costco (Nasdaq:COST)

There is no doubt that warehouse-retail chain Costco is one of the Street’s favorite stocks. Just take a look at this screenshot showing all the recent buy ratings this stock has received:

That’s 13 buy ratings in the last three months vs just 1 hold rating back in June. Top Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parikh (Profile & Recommendations) is certainly singing this stock’s praises. “We believe COST remains best positioned in our entire food and grocery coverage to deliver sustainable top- and bottom-line performance” stated Parikh on August 21. This makes the stock a favorite long-term stock pick.

Despite just initiating coverage of Costco only a few weeks ago, Parikh has already boosted his price target from $210 to $250. He explains that “Ongoing market share gains in the grocery category coupled with continued momentum in the company’s more discretionary offerings should help to sustain a mid-single-digit type comp trajectory.” Factor in a still strong consumer backdrop, and you can see why analysts are getting so excited.

Overall this ‘Strong Buy’ stock comes with an average analyst price target of $238. See what other Top Analysts are saying about COST.