Summary Points: *GE's shares have underperformed the broader market by a wide margin so far in 2017. *I will cover the three things that I will be looking for in 2018, as GE's management team tries to win back the market. *GE is a long-term buy at today's price. General Electric ($GE) is a company that I have closely followed since 2014, and it would be an understatement to say that the stock performance for this storied industrial conglomerate has been a major disappointment in 2017. So far this year, GE shares have underperformed the broader market by 63 percentage points. There is no denying the fact that GE's new CEO, Mr. John Flannery, has his hands full as we head into 2018, but, in my

Summary Points *ACN beat Q1 2018 analysts' estimates and management raised the company's fiscal 2018 guidance. *ACN shares are richly valued, but I believe that the company's stock deserves to trade at a premium. *ACN shares are a long-term buy at today's price. On December 21, 2017, Accenture ($ACN) reported better-than-expected Q1 2018 earnings and revenues. The company also raised its fiscal 2018 guidance and management now expects to achieve double-digit EPS growth (10-13%) for the current year. As you can expect, Accenture's beat and raise was well-received by the market. Taking a step back, this company has reported impressive operating results over the last few quarters, so investors

Summary Points: *The company's 2018 guidance was well-received by the market. *HON is a best-of-breed industrial company that deserves a 'premium' valuation. *HON shares are a long-term buy at today's price. On December 13, 2017, Honeywell's ($HON) management team held an investor meeting where it provided the company's fiscal 2018 guidance to the financial community. The 2018 guidance and management's commentary were well-received by the market. HON shares are up only ~1% since the investor meeting, but shares are outperforming the broader market by a wide margin on a YTD basis. There was a lot to like about Honeywell's 2018 guidance and, in my opinion, the bull case for this industrial con

Summary Points: *KMG shares are outperforming the broader market by a wide margin, and I believe that the outperformance will continue through 2018. *The company reported Q1 2018 results that blew away analyst estimates. *KMG is a long-term buy at today's price. On December 12, 2017, KMG Chemicals ($KMG) stock finished the trading day up 14% after the company reported strong quarterly results to start its new fiscal year. This one-day jump contributed to the already impressive YTD stock performance for KMG shares (shares are up over 60%), as the stock is now outperforming the broader market by almost 50 percentage points. As I described in early September 2017, KMG is an unknown speciality c

Summary Points: *The recent news - an anticipated $20B non-cash charge and expectations for a decline in quarterly trading revenue - has caused downward pressure for C shares. *This bank has reported impressive operating results so far in 2017 and its book value is up mid-single digits YoY. *C shares are a long-term buy at today's price. Citigroup ($C) is a bank that has greatly benefited from a positive change in investor sentiment, as shown by the fact that C shares have greatly outperformed the broader market over the last year. In my opinion, investors with a long-term perspective should seriously consider using any sizable pullback caused by the recent noise as an opportunity to add to

Summary Points *This bank has come a long way since 2010, and it still has a great story to tell. *BAC reported strong Q3 2017 results and the bank is well-positioned for 2018 and beyond. *BAC shares are a long-term buy at today's price. Bank of America ($BAC) shares have greatly outperformed the broader market since Mr. Donald J. Trump was elected to be President, as BAC shares have increased in value by 70% while the S&P 500 is up only 25%. BAC shareholders have rode the Trump train to impressive gains since November 2016 but, in my opinion, this bank still has a great story to tell as we progress toward 2018. As such, I believe that investors should stay on the train, because BAC's long-t

Summary Points: *The company reported impressive Q3 2017 results, and management guided for a strong finish to the current year. *This newly created entity has great long-term business prospects and, in my opinion, DWDP's story keeps getting better. *DWDP's shares are a long-term buy at today's price. DowDuPont ($DWDP) has had quite a year, as the newly created entity was finally formed after regulators signed off on the merger between Dow Chemical and DuPont in late-2017. Since the merger was completed, DWDP's shares are up 5%, which is slightly better than the performance of the broader market. The slight outperformance has been nice, but I believe that this global company is well-position

Summary Points *A promising deal with PayPal was announced this week, and it makes SYF's bull case stronger. *Credit quality has been a concern for SYF, but management has started getting out ahead of the issue. *SYF is a long-term buy at today's price. Synchrony Financial's ($SYF) stock has gained steam over the last few months, especially after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK.A) ($BRK.B) disclosed a stake in this private-label credit card company, but the stock price is still well-below the high's of late 2016/early 2017. Only recently has the company's management team proved that they have a good handle on Synchrony's credit portfolio and underwriting function but, as I describe

Summary Points: *The company reported Q3 2017 results that missed the bottom-line estimate by a wide margin. *The reserve hits just keep coming, but this may soon be a thing of the past. *AIG's shares (and TARP warrants) are a long-term buy. American International Group ($AIG) has underperformed the S&P 500 over the last one-, two, and three-year periods. The underperformance has caused many investors to park their money elsewhere, with MetLife ($MET) being a great example, but I believe that now may actually be a good time to start thinking about AIG as an attractive, long-term investment. Read more here.