10 Top Stocks To Buy for 2024

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While most analysts forecast a “soft landing” with no recession in the coming months, there’s less consensus over what the market will look like in 2024. That leaves investors to wonder which stocks to place their bets on. Needless to say, it’s important to keep a close eye on the market and make your own judgments.

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Investment opportunities can come from many different sectors, and you should remain vigilant to find the best investment options for you and avoid expensive mistakes. Read on to learn the top stocks to buy this year.

Top Stocks To Buy for 2024

The top stocks to invest in for 2024 are spread across varied sectors, including technology, energy and leisure. Here’s a quick list of the top stocks to buy this year:  

1. ServiceNow Inc. (NOW)
2. Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
3. Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)
4. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)
5. Meta Platforms Inc. (META)
6. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A)
7. Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI)
8. Travel + Leisure Co. (TNL)
9. Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO)
10. Devon Energy Corp. (DVN)

Stocks With Growth Potential

When companies have a strong leadership team, strong sales, a large audience and a good growth market, they offer solid long- and short-term opportunities for investors. Here are some to consider investing in this year.

1. ServiceNow Inc. (NOW)

California-based ServiceNow operates a cloud-based platform called Now that helps enterprises digitize and optimize their processes and workflows. The company boasts roughly 7,700 customers, and about 85% of Fortune 500 companies use its services.

Last quarter, ServiceNow exceeded its guidance for growth and profitability, reporting a 27% year-over-year increase in subscriptions and 26% growth in total revenues. In fact, total revenues have grown in each of the last 10 quarters, and profits are up nearly 24% compared to a year prior.

The consensus rating among 34 analysts polled by Yahoo Finance is “strong buy.” Zacks rates it a “hold” but gives it a style score of “A” for growth.

2. Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)

Chipmaker Nvidia performed well in 2023, more than doubling its total revenue from the quarter ended on Jan. 31, 2022, to the quarter ended on Jan. 31, 2023. Diluted earnings per share grew from $1.74 to $11.93 over the same period.

Some analysts believe the stock has gone about as high as it’s going to, but the consensus rating is still “strong buy,” and several investment houses maintained their “buy” and “outperform” ratings in March. Zacks also rates it a “strong buy.”

3. Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)

Qualcomm is a major player in the wireless industry and a leader in the 5G and chipset market. While not without competition nipping at its heels, Qualcomm is a blue chip stock with a 10-year history of increasing dividends, currently yielding 1.89%.

QCOM’s price took a hit last year because of falling demand for smartphones at a time when the industry at large was carrying excess inventory. However, first-quarter revenue and earnings beat analysts’ predictions, and handset deliveries were up 16% year over year, CNBC reported.

Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance rate the stock a “buy.” Zacks gives it an “A” for growth and rates it a “hold,” which means it expects 9.44% annualized returns over the next one to three months.

High-Performing Stocks

To measure stock performance, analysts and investors should take into account the stock’s potential and ability to increase its shareholders’ wealth during an estimated period. Here are some of the best-performing stocks to keep an eye on.

4. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is already a market leader in search, cloud computing and online advertising, and it promises to play a similar role in artificial intelligence. While shares haven’t recovered to the same degree as some other tech powerhouses, like Meta, they have risen 49% in the past year and seem poised for further gains despite challenges like competition from Microsoft in the rapidly developing generative AI industry.

Analysts rate GOOGL a “strong buy” with a price target of $163.10. Shares closed at $150.87 on March 28.

5. Meta Platforms Inc. (META)

While Meta’s investment in the metaverse hasn’t paid off yet, a push to position itself at the forefront of artificial intelligence is coming on the heels of major cost-cutting measures, including the elimination of 21,000 employees.

Meta stock has been trending upward for nearly 18 months, and as of March 28, it was up 141.97% for the year. Analysts rate the stock a “strong buy,” and Zacks gives it a “B” for momentum.

Value Stocks

When considering a stock, value investors tend to choose those trading for less than what they’re worth. The strategy includes measuring fundamental business metrics against the stock price with the hopes the price will rise alongside the company’s worth. Here are some of the best value stocks for 2024.

6. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A)

It might seem counterintuitive that the world’s most expensive stock could be considered a good value, but consider this: Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company for businesses representing dozens of brands in industries as diverse as insurance, freight rail transportation, utilities, furniture, confections, batteries and recreational vehicles, to name a few, and it’s helmed by one of the world’s most successful value investors.

Diversified earnings and excellent management bode well for patient investors. Plus, Berkshire Hathaway is flush with cash it can use to gobble up growth stocks and buy back shares.

Berkshire Hathaway shares are up nearly 17% since the beginning of the year. Of course, most will still have to buy a fractional share of the stock, which closed at $629,610 on March 28, or pick up budget-priced Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway for about $417.

7. Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI)

Herc Holdings is a Florida-based equipment supplier that rents out aerial equipment; air compressors; compaction, earthmoving and material handling equipment; trucks and trailers; and lighting equipment. It also provides equipment maintenance, repair, training and labor, among other services.

Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance rate the stock a “buy” with an average price target of $166.13, which is almost $1 less than the closing price on March 28. However, that average includes a low estimate of $110 and a high of $212, so it makes sense to consider other factors. For example, the stock has performed significantly better than the transportation sector overall, and the P/E ratio is a low 13.93, which suggests shares are priced low. Zacks rates it a “buy” and gives it an “A” for value.

8. Travel + Leisure Co. (TNL)

Formerly known as Wyndham Destinations, Travel + Leisure is a hospitality products and services company that operates vacation ownership and travel and membership segments in the U.S. and internationally. The company has benefited from the return to travel, with vacation ownership making an especially strong showing.

In its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings release for 2023, Travel + Leisure reported 5% revenue growth year over year, thanks to strong performance in vacation ownership, the company’s core business. In addition, CEO Michael Brown, acknowledging Travel + Leisure’s strong cash flow, announced that he planned to ask the board for a 50-cent increase in the company’s dividend. That increase was approved on March 13.

Analysts rate the stock a “buy” and set an average price target of $52.95. Shares closed at $48.96 on March 28. TNL pays a 4.13% dividend and has a low 9.40 P/E ratio that suggests the stock is significantly undervalued.

9. Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO)

Shares of MRO have been volatile over the past year, which isn’t surprising considering the uncertainty that exists around the short-term energy outlook, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Analysts are exercising caution, with several of the 27 who watch the stock shifting their recommendation from “buy” or “strong buy” to “hold.” But the consensus still recommends MRO as a “buy” with about 13% upside as of March 28.

10. Devon Energy Corp. (DVN)

This company’s stock faltered last year but has regained its traction in 2024 — a trend that was bolstered by a full-year earnings surprise for 2023. Although revenue and earnings were down from the fourth quarter of 2022, both beat Zacks Consensus Estimates.

Of 32 analysts who watch the stock, 23 rate it a “buy” or “strong buy” and nine recommend holding. Devon pays a 4.82% dividend yield and has a low 8.59 P/E ratio. Shares could be undervalued — with a $55.19 price target, according to MarketBeat, Devon appears to be a good value at its current price hovering around $50.

Final Take

The stock market is in constant evolution, and those looking to invest need to pay close attention to its frequent ups and downs. When looking to invest in new stocks and diversify your portfolio, do your research and evaluate what’s best for you in the long run.

The guide above is meant to give you some insight into some of the best options in the stock market nowadays. Be aware that these conditions may vary over time.

Good To Know

Experts recommend investing in stocks over bonds if your goal is growth and you have a strong appetite for risk. Although stocks are more volatile than bonds, historically, they have produced larger long-term gains. If investing in individual stocks is too risky for you, consider a mutual fund that invests in a basket of growth stocks.

John Csiszar and Daniela Rivera-Herrera contributed to the reporting for this article.

The article above was refined via automated technology and then fine-tuned and verified for accuracy by a member of our editorial team.

Data was compiled on March 29, 2024, and is subject to change. Information on analyst ratings was sourced from Yahoo Finance.

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