JPMorgan on Thursday shared its top stock picks for September, as the market goes through a rough patch following a rally off lows seen in June. The major averages fell, as investors continued to be concerned over Federal Reserve rate hikes. The U.S. stock benchmarks were on track for weekly declines after wrapping up August on a negative note. September is also notorious for being the worst month on average for stocks. However, JPMorgan’s list highlights some stocks that could provide shelter for investors. JPMorgan’s monthly Analyst Focus list includes the bank’s favored stock ideas, spanning across sectors and including both value and growth names. Here’s a look at some of the top companies on this month’s list. Dollar General and Dollar Tree are both among JP Morgan’s picks, but the discount retailers had different stories coming from their recent earnings reports. Dollar General raised its same-store sales guidance for the fiscal year, above Wall Street’s expectations. Dollar Tree, on the other hand, released a third-quarter revenue forecast that was slightly below consensus and an earnings estimate way below expectations. Both names have about 20% upside from Wednesday’s close, according to JPMorgan’s price targets. EQT , the largest U.S. natural gas producer, is up 118% year to date thanks to the spike in natural gas prices. The company’s CEO, Toby Rice, recently told CNBC that adding more supply into the market can fix the global energy crisis. “We have the ability to quadruple our LNG exports,” he said. “The United States has the ability to be the gas champion.” JPMorgan’s price target of $56 per share implies 17% upside for EQT, as of Wednesday’s close. Salesforce , down 40% so far this year, had a strong second quarter but recently cut its full-year guidance, as the pace of consumer deals was slowed by economic uncertainty. JPMorgan has a $245 price target in the stock, implying almost 57% upside from Wednesday’s close. SVB Financial , parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, saw its shares slide after reporting an earnings miss in July, but has since recovered some of those losses. The firm, which invests in startups, lowered its 2022 outlook, noting that the recent environment has nearly closed the IPO market, slowed the pace of PE and VC investment and revalued private companies. However CEO Gregory Becker called it a “normal and necessary part of the innovation cycle” and said it is a question of “when, not if, our markets will recover.” SVB has almost 60% upside as of Wednesday’s close, according to JPMorgan’s $650 price target. Bank of America, DCP dropped This month saw two companies dropped from the list — Bank of America and DCP Midstream, LP . BofA is one of the more rate sensitive banks, but the benefit of each additional rate increase will diminish and there should be a continued normalization of credit costs, JPMorgan said. However, the firm still rates it overweight as relative to its peers. DCP Midstream was removed because the stock likely doesn’t trade on fundamentals, given the Phillips 66 bid for the DCP’s publicly traded units, JPMorgan said. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
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