The 10 Best Stocks for Beginners for Under $100

For beginners, investing in stocks can certainly seem overwhelming. If you’re new to the big world of stocks — and bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and municipal bonds — you’ll want to know about safe investments and good-bet stocks and shares for beginners.

Consider your personal goals first — and get all the education you can on best stocks to invest in for beginners — when making investment decisions. Begin by checking out these 10 best stocks under $100. They just might turn into your best long-term investments.

• Industry: Auto manufacturer
• Price: $7.62
• Market cap: 9.2 billion
• YTD change: -5.41 percent
• Annual revenue 2016: $30.1 billion
• Net income 2016: $1.2 billion
• Dividend and yield: 2.07 percent, trailing 12-month

Mazda sells more than 1.2 million vehicles annually, including passenger cars, commercial fleet vehicles and SUVs manufactured in Japan, China and Thailand. Ford Motor Company holds a 3.5 percent stake in Mazda. Mazda also has a better-than-industry-average return on equity, and its current price-earnings and price-to-book ratios beat other companies within its sector.

• Industry: Auto manufacturer
• Price: $43.72
• Market cap: $58.8 billion
• YTD change: 15.90 percent
• Annual revenue 2016: $166.4 billion
• Net income 2016: $9.4 billion
• Dividend and yield: 3.76 percent, trailing 12-month

Founded in 1908 and headquartered in Detroit, General Motors designs, manufactures and sells, cars, trucks and automobile parts. After declaring bankruptcy in 2009, the company made a remarkable turnaround. In 2017, GM stayed strong in truck and SUV market segments following a 2016 increase in its stock buyback program, which is a sign leadership is confident about the future of the company. If you’re afraid of risk but want to invest, this might be a good choice.

• Industry: Consumer cyclical
• Price: $43
• Market cap: $20.9 billion
• YTD change: -4.43 percent
• Annual revenue 2016: $13.3 billion
• Net income 2016: $528.5 million
• Dividend and yield: 2.16 percent, trailing 12-month

Newell Brands is a consumer goods company with a large portfolio of household names, including Sharpie, Sunbeam, Mr. Coffee and Rubbermaid, to name a few. In September 2017, Newell Brands announced a return of its stock buyback program, which it suspended in 2014’s fourth quarter.

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• Industry: Consumer cyclical
• Price: $43.04
• Market cap: $5.6 billion
• YTD change: -12.59 percent
• Annual revenue 2016: $1.5 billion
• Net income 2016: $120 million
• Dividend and yield: n/a

The travel review site TripAdvisor has struggled over the years as it has sought to become a booking company rather than just a hotel review website. By 2017, shares of TripAdvisor stock had fallen more than 60 percent from 2014 highs reached, but an August 2017 analyst upgrade helped shares surge 5.5 percent.

Click-based advertising is a major source of revenue for the company, comprising 49 percent of its revenue in 2016’s third quarter. In early 2017, the company adopted a plan that could lay the groundwork for an acquisition, according to Bloomberg. The two most likely buyers? Expedia and Priceline.

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• Industry: Restaurant
• Price: $43.48
• Market cap: $773.6 million
• YTD change: -44.18 percent
• Annual revenue 2016: $663 million
• Net income 2016: $96 million
• Dividend and yield: 9.03 percent, trailing 12-month

In November 2007, Dine Equity brought the casual restaurant Applebee’s and family dining establishment IHOP together in a 100 percent franchised system of nearly 400 franchisees. It is now one of the largest, full-service restaurant companies in the world, with 3,700 Applebee’s and IHOP restaurants in 19 countries. In September 2017, DineEquity hired Stephen Joyce — former executive with Choice Hotels International Inc. — as its new CEO.

• Industry: Textile and apparel
• Price: $23.86
• Market cap: $9 billion
• YTD change: 14.23 percent
• Annual revenue 2016: $6 billion
• Net income 2016: $536.9 million
• Dividend and yield: 2.44 percent, trailing 12-month

If you’re interested in dividend stocks, check out Hanesbrands Inc., which manufactures Hanes, Playtex, L’eggs, Wonderbra, Bali, Jockey and other brands. The company has increased its payout every year since April 2013, returning more than $600 million in quarterly cash dividends to stockholders.

• Industry: Broadcasting
• Price: $7.94
• Market cap: $1.9 billion
• YTD change: -40.95 percent
• Annual revenue 2016: $1.4 billion
• Net income 2016: $343 million
• Dividend and yield: N/A

In June 2017, Sirius XM announced it was buying a 16 percent stake — $480 million worth of shares — in Pandora Media. The company announced in May 2017 it was exploring “strategic alternatives” as it continued to plummet, posting more than half a billion dollars in losses in the past 18 months.

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• Industry: Financial and credit services
• Price: $6.47
• Market cap: $2.5 billion
• YTD change: 16 percent
• Annual revenue 2016: $1.2 billion
• Net income 2016: $146 million
• Dividend and yield: n/a

The peer-to-peer lending website’s stock has plummeted drastically from its price of $27.98 when it went public in December 2014. Lending Club’s CEO resigned suddenly in 2016 after an internal review found an investor was sold $22 million of loans that didn’t meet his explicit criteria. Despite the troubles the company has faced, Wall Street predicts it will rebound to profitability a year from now.

• Industry: Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
• Price: $36.01
• Market cap: $212.3 billion
• YTD change: 9.91 percent
• Annual revenue 2016: $52.8 billion
• Net income 2016: $7.2 billion
• Dividend and yield: 3.56 percent, trailing 12-month

Healthcare giant Pfizer is known for dozens of brands, from Advil and Chapstick to Viagra and Xanax. It has been in business for more than 100 years and is known for its solid dividend yield.

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• Industry: Airline
• Price: $51.79
• Market cap: $34.9 billion
• YTD change: -1.97 percent
• Annual revenue 2016: $39.6 billion
• Net income 2016: $4.4 billion
• Dividend and yield: 2.53 percent, trailing 12-month

Stock trades at about 10 times earnings expectations made Delta Airlines an attractive pick in 2017. The company initiated a dividend in 2013 and has increased its payout by 50 percent each July.

For some investors, Warren Buffett’s ownership of 55 million shares of Delta Airlines serves as a reassurance that the stock is among the best safe investments. Buffett’s conglomerate also owns shares of American Airlines, United Continental and Southwest Airlines.

Decide for Yourself

Many experts argue that the best stocks for beginners are ones that pay dividends and have household names. If you do an internet search for “safe investments 2017” you’ll get a variety of opinions on industries and sectors and what constitutes safe, long-term investments. You’ll also find that viewpoints regarding the best safe investments and best stocks to buy for beginners differ from one expert to the next.

Dividend stocks are typically regarded as good stocks for beginners because they earn income even if values go down. Remember that stock values can fluctuate dramatically, and there are risks associated with stock investments. Consider consulting an investment or financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

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