Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Equity and Quant Strategy team, led by Savita Subramanian, is bullish on stocks. Their year-end target for the S&P 500 in 2013 is 1600 is one of the most optimist on Wall Street.
Yesterday, Subramanian published the team's list of "10 Stocks For 2013," which align with their investment themes for the upcoming year.
The stocks meet three criteria: 1) Buy-rated by a BAML analyst; 2) favorable metrics including valuation, quality, dividend growth, foreign exposure, and GDP sensitivity; and 3) BAML's fundamental analysts approve.
Although past performance is no guarantee of future performance, it's worth noting that Bank of America's list from last year has outperformed the S&P 500 averaging an 18 percent year-to-date return thus far.
Ford Motor Co.
Ticker: F
Price Target: $20.00
2013 EPS Growth: +15.4%
Sector: Consumer Discretionary
Ford was selected due to high foreign sales and a large amount of pent-up demand.
Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Ticker: WMT
Price Target: $85.00
2013 EPS Growth: +9.6%
Sector: Consumer Staples
The team believes Wal-Mart is underowned by funds and offers a combination of high quality and high dividend growth.
Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Valero Energy Corp.
Ticker: VLO
Price Target: $46.00
2013 EPS Growth: +77.7%
Sector: Energy
Merrill Lynch expects an increase in cash returns for Valero stockholders in 2013 through dividends and buybacks.
Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.