The trade war is back on center stage.

Economic growth is slowing.

And stock valuations are at a 10 year high.

Add all this together and you understand why stocks have been so volatile lately. That’s because we are truly having a battle for control of the market.

The most likely case is for the bulls to stay in charge. But, unfortunately, there are growing concerns that bears are finally ready to come out of hibernation.

Sure it’s more fun to select to select growth and value stocks with more upside potential like those found in these recent articles:

10 Perfect Stocks for October

Top 5 Stocks from the #1 Ranked Industry

However, volatile times like these demand that we have some safer positions in our portfolio like AbbVie (ABBV - Get Rating).  Defensive positions like AbbVie do just fine during the bull runs especially as investors are happy to count on the ample 5.82% dividend yield. More importantly, they help you sleep at night each time the market tanks…which is a bit too often these days.

In all I have found 7 safe stocks with attractive qualities to outperform in this volatile market environment.

• POWR Rating of A or B = proof of a stocks momentum
• Large caps only ($10 billion market cap or higher)
• 3%+ dividend yield. We want it well above the S&P average dividend yield and 10 year Treasury yield. And thus a beacon for income seeking investors. Note that we have some clocking in over 6% dividend yield.
• Defensive industries only: Consumer Staples, Medical, Utilities (includes telecom and pipelines). These are the ones that investors cling to when the “stuff hits the fan”.
• Average earnings beat greater than 0% the past 4 quarters. This is meant to show a consistency of earnings quality with little risk of faltering in the future.
• Minimum 10% upside from current price to average target price. You’d be surprised how much this criteria narrowed up the list because the low rate environment has led to many of these stocks being bid up beyond fair value. Gladly each of these stocks has 12 to 26% upside potential to fair value.

What should stand out from the list above is how many more parameters I put in. About 2X more than most of my research studies. That’s because I am really narrowing down to the stocks with the most positives and thus the least question marks. Those are the ones investors will run to during these “Flight to Safety” times.

Time to check out these 7 best safe stocks. Be sure to click on the ticker for each to research further. Remember that the POWR Ratings system has 4 component elements that helps you explore the full attractiveness of the stock.

Want more great stock picks? Then check out these additional resources:

List of Best High Yield Dividend Stocks

Reitmeister Total Return portfolio

ABBV shares were trading at $73.84 per share on Wednesday morning, up $0.31 (+0.42%). Year-to-date, ABBV has declined -16.59%, versus a 17.85% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

About the Author: Steve Reitmeister

Steve is better known to the StockNews audience as “Reity”. Not only is he the CEO of the firm, but he also shares his 40 years of investment experience in the Reitmeister Total Return portfolio. Learn more about Reity’s background, along with links to his most recent articles and stock picks. More...

More Resources for the Stocks in this Article