The stock market has whipsawed investors over the past two weeks, making even a sharp two-day rally feel fragile. There are some stocks, however, that have a track record of being less volatile and outperforming the market. The list below shows stocks in the broad S & P 1500 index that are less volatile than the market. The names have also risen in 2022 and have a long-term track record of consistent success, outperforming the market on a total return basis over the last decade. Additionally, they sport a dividend yield of at least 2%. The volatility of the stocks is shown by their beta rating. Beta is a calculation of how correlated a stock is to a broad index. A measure of 1 means that a stock moves in tandem with the index, while readings less than 1 show stocks that tends to be less volatile than the market. Several of the low beta stocks on the list come from traditionally defensive sectors. For example, insurer Allstate , health-care giant Amgen and utility firm Atmos Energy , all have a beta of 0.6. The stock on the list with the lowest beta is City Holding Co ., at just 0.3, and that has proven true over the past few weeks. During the last seven trading sessions, City Holding has moved more than 1% in either direction on two occasions. The S & P 500 , meanwhile, has done so six times, including a 3% move Tuesday. The stock on the list that has performed best this year is tax services company H & R Block . The shares have gained more than 70% year to date, fueled by big bounces after each of H & R Block’s last two earnings reports in May and August. And the best-performing stock on the list over the past 10 years has been Keurig Dr. Pepper . The consumer staples stock has delivered a total return of roughly 21% over the past decade, well above the market average of 12%. Another area that has proven to be a bulwark for portfolios is defense contractor stocks. Because defense contractors tend to get the bulk of their revenue from the government, they are less sensitive to economic trends than the broader market. Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics both made the cut with dividends above 2%. And shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls is one of the best long-term performers on the list, with an annualized total return of just over 20% for the past decade.
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