Top 3 S&P 500 Stocks in April
April was not a good month for the stock market as all major indices fell. The S&P 500 fell about 3.4% last month, ending a five-month streak of gains that had seen it hit record highs.
More than 350 of the 500 stocks in the index ended the month in the red, but some stocks stood out with double-digit returns in April. The top three companies in the S&P 500 last month were:
GE Aerospace took first place.
The company that performed best in the large-cap benchmark is a familiar company. general electric (NYSE:GE), now known as GE Aerospace. GE posted a return of 15.1% in April alone.
Earlier this month, legacy GE officially became three separate investment companies following the spin-off of its power generation unit, GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV), in early April. GE Healthcare Technologies (NASDAQ:GEHC) went its own way in 2023, leaving the original GE as a separate company.
However, the new company was nothing like the conglomerate that Jack Welch once ran and was focused solely on building jet engines for commercial, military, business, and general aviation aircraft, so it changed its name to GE Aerospace.
GE stock prices are falling, having soared about 57% as of May 1 and 97% over the past year. These results were primarily part of a larger group of companies that until recently included GE Vernova. However, GE Aerospace released its first earnings report as an independent company on April 23, and the results were very good.
On a standalone basis, GE Aerospace’s orders increased 34% to $1 billion, and adjusted revenue increased 15% to $8.1 billion. The company’s operating profit rose 24% to $1.5 billion, and its operating margin surged 140 basis points to 19.1%. Additionally, GE Aerospace’s free cash flow increased from $800 million to $1.7 billion.
When these figures were released on April 23, the company’s stock price soared 8%. Stay tuned in July for GE Aerospace’s first earnings report as its own company.
ResMed and Newmont also surged.
ResMed Medical equipment and suppliers (NYSE:RMD) ranked second among large-cap stocks in April, up 13% for the month.
ResMed, a maker of devices for sleep apnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rose after reporting strong fiscal third quarter results in the quarter ended March 31. ResMed beat earnings estimates, reporting revenue of $1.2 billion, up 7% year-over-year. Net income rose 29% to $300 million, or $2.04 per share. The already high gross margin also increased by 260 basis points to 57.9%.
ResMed stock is up about 26% year to date (YTD) and is trading at about $216 per share. The consensus price target is $219 per share, so growth expectations for the next 12 months are low. It is trading at about 33x earnings, up from 28x at the start of the year.
The third best stocks in the S&P 500 in April were gold and copper miners. Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM). The company’s stock price rose 11.6% in April, giving it a YTD return of about 1%.
Newmont has benefited from rising gold prices, which have risen about 11% this year to about $2,300 an ounce. This was a significant improvement in Newmont’s first quarter performance, with adjusted net income up 39% year-over-year to $630 million, or 55 cents per share.
Gold is a volatile asset, so investors should be cautious about it and keep it a smaller part of a diversified portfolio. But it seems to be a hot commodity now, and some analysts believe gold prices will continue to rise until 2025. Certainly, investors are advised to do their own research on this stock and gold in general before making a purchasing decision.
Newmont is trading at $41 per share and the consensus price target is $46 per share.
