In this article, we will take a look at the 10 pro-life companies to invest in. To see the top 5 companies in this list, click 5 Pro-Life Companies to Invest In.
It’s an open secret that all major companies in the US have some sort of political leanings and inclinations. Traditionally, oil and gas companies favor the Republicans while the Silicon Valley leans left. Issues like abortion, taxes, diversity & inclusion and racism now play a key part in the business dynamics of corporate America. According to a Rolling Stone article published in October 22, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce poured a whopping $40 million exclusively into Republican campaigns in 2014. However, the report noted that times are changing and the Chamber is now cutting back on its donations to the Republicans.
History shows that companies always take a wait-and-see approach and take sides with the powerful. Amid a rise in awareness related to issues like LGBTQ rights, climate change, racism, women’s inclusion in workforce and minimum wage, many companies are seen to now stand with the left. A WSJ report mentioned in detail how several companies spoke against the Supreme Court’s decision which overturned Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion. These companies included major names like J.Crew, Levi Strauss & Co., Kering’s Gucci, Yelp Inc., Match Group Inc.’s OkCupid, Bumble Inc. and Unilever PLC’s Ben & Jerry’s.
How to Find Pro-Life Companies to Invest In?
Albeit it’s known that major companies have specific political inclinations, they do not openly discusses their stance on issues like abortion. How does one find pro-life companies to invest in, then? For this article we decided to bank on the efforts of investment professionals who have made it their job to find such companies for their clients. As the political spectrum becomes more polarized and people begin to give importance to their social and religious values while making investment decisions, many new startups, investment firms and funds are sprouting who take into account the religious and political preferences of their clients.
One of the notable such funds is Ave Maria Mutual Funds, headed by George Schwartz. It is one of the largest Catholic mutual funds family in the U.S.
The Ave Maria fund invests in companies that do not violate the values propended by the Catholic Church. In an interview to CNBC, the chairman and CEO of the fund, George Schwartz, explained his company’s process in these words:
“When our analysts and portfolio managers are managing these funds, they try to find the best investments to meet the objectives of each fund. In doing so, they screen out certain companies—about 150—that violate some of the core teachings of the Catholic Church,” George Schwartz said.
The Ave Maria family runs several funds, including dividend fund, growth fund, value fund, bond fund, among others.
Our Methodology
For this article we focused on the Ave Maria Value Fund. The fund’s “moral screen” eliminates companies engaged in:
Abortion
Pornography
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Policies undermining the sacrament of marriage
In addition to this moral screening, the fund selects companies based on expected value, cash flows, growth catalysts and fundamentals. We selected the top ten holdings of the Ave Maria Value Fund for this article. These companies can easily be called some of the best pro-life companies to invest in.
Pro Life Companies to Invest In
10. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) operates global financial exchanges and clearing houses and provides mortgage technology, data and listing services. In November, Bank of America upgraded Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) partly due to its planned $13 billion acquisition of Black Knight (NYSE:BKI).
BofA analyst Craig Siegenthaler said in a note at that time that the stock was trading at a discount.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is also a popular stock among the elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey. 59 hedge funds of the 920 tracked by Insider Monkey reported having stakes in the company at the end of the third quarter, compared to 51 funds in the previous quarter.
9. Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT)
Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT) is a North Carolina-based manufacturing company. The company is involved in the research, manufacturing and selling of technical equipment, components, software, and services for manufacturing, repairing, and servicing in the mobility infrastructure industry worldwide. Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT) also pays dividends. In November, the company declared a $0.025/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous.
Analysts are bullish on the mobility business of Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT), which accounts for about 75% of its revenue. Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT)’s mobility business is known for the Gilbarco Veeder-Root, the integrated fueling dispensing, and the newly acquired DRB which focuses on integrated solutions in the car washing industry. Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT) also makes technologies for car and fleet tracking. While currently it’s focused on the North American market, its plans include expansion into high-growth markets like Europe.
A total of 34 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in the company as of the end of the third quarter.
Here is what Madison Mid Cap Fund has to say about Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:
“We exited our position in Vontier in the third quarter. We invested in the company when it was spun out of Fortive Corporation two years ago. The stock was, and remains, quite cheap, but the transformation that we expected to occur post-spin is taking a little longer than we thought. The company has a long history of operational excellence. Its core segments exhibit very high returns on capital, but are quite mature with limited growth. We thought they had a chance to re-invest excess capital into adjacent areas with more growth, but opportunities appear more limited than we had thought. We considered it better for now to re-allocate that capital ourselves.”
8. Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR)
Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR) is a relatively unknown name in our list of the best pro-life companies to invest in. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company provides radiation detection, measurement, analysis, and monitoring products and services. Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR) accounts for about 3.4% of Ave Maria Value Fund’s portfolio, as of the end of the third quarter. The company’s innovative technologies are expected to have a wider usage in defense, research and clean energy in the coming years. The company’s technologies can help companies harness the powers of ionizing radiation. Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR) has come a long way since its inception and has evolved through different stages. The company’s revenue shows a CAGR of 10% between 2005 and 2021.
Mirion is also getting the attention of the smart money. A total of 26 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported having stakes in Mirion as of the end of the third quarter. The total value of these stakes was $286 million. In the previous quarter, 23 funds had stakes in the company. Notable investors in the company include Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group and Stephen J. Errico’s Locust Wood Capital Advisers.
Here is what Baron Growth Fund has to say about Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“This quarter, the Fund initiated a position in Mirion Technologies, Inc., a leader in ionizing radiation detection and measurement technologies to the medical, laboratory, and nuclear power industries. The business consists of a portfolio of niche, mission-critical products that represent a small portion of a project’s costs but can cause extensive collateral damage if they fail. Products include dosimeters that monitor radiation levels of medical professionals, quality assurance equipment and software for nuclear medicine treatments, and instrumentation and equipment that is core to the construction, operation, and decommissioning of nuclear power plants.
We think that Mirion has the potential to be a compelling industrial compounder. The company is already the largest player in over 80% of its end markets, and in aggregate is approximately 3.5 times larger than its nearest competitor. We estimate that Mirion’s end markets should grow at 5% to 6% annually, driven by favorable secular trends and a consistent replacement cycle. We expect Mirion to grow in line with or ahead of its end markets on an organic basis, as it leverages its scale advantage to take modest market share. Organic growth should be complemented by Mirion’s successful acquisition strategy, driving aggregate growth into the doubledigit range. In addition, we believe the company has an opportunity to expand markets by 500 bps-plus of margin over time through a favorable mix shift, higher utilization rates, and ongoing M&A synergy realization.
We believe that Mirion boasts a capable and accomplished senior management team. CEO Tom Logan has been with the company since 2005 and has led the strategy that has grown Mirion’s revenues from $123 million at inception to approximately $700 million currently. The new chairman of Mirion, Larry Kingsley, has a strong history of shareholder value creation as the former CEO of industrial technology leaders Pall Corporation and IDEX Corporation. We think his expertise will be well utilized as Mirion embarks on its next stage of growth.”
7. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK)
Another important pro-life company in Ave Maria’s Value Fund portfolio is Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), whose donations and lobbying funds have shown overwhelming support for the Republicans over the past few years, as evident from the data shared by funding and lobbying data website OpenSecrets.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) has a PE ratio of 5.3 as of January 4 and a dividend yield of 11%. It’s one of the favorite value stocks of investors. Over the past 12 months, Chesapeake shares gained about 32% in value.
In November, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) posted strong third quarter results after which the company’s shares gained ground. The company’s quarterly results were helped by soaring natural gas prices. Adjusted earnings in the period doubled to a whopping $5.06/share from $2.38/share in the year-earlier quarter. The company generated $1.3 billion of operating cash in the period and ended the quarter with $75 million cash in hand.
However, the company’s management said that Chesapeake is expecting the production to remain flat in 2023 amid rising costs of materials and labor.
Carillon Tower Advisers made the following comment about Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHK) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:
“Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHK), a natural gas exploration and production company, emerged from bankruptcy with little fanfare in 2021, despite having rid itself of its debt burden and onerous pipeline contracts. The company was able to make two large acquisitions at very reasonable prices within its core producing areas, allowing for scale and cost savings. Then in 2022, natural gas prices began to rise well above expectations, increasing the value of Chesapeake’s large natural gas resources and production and contributing to its outperformance.”
6. Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) is another oil and gas stock in Ave Maria Value Fund portfolio that pays dividend and has been getting attention of value investors ever since things started going south in the stock market.
Recently, Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) made it to Citi’s list of contrarian stock picks for 2023. The firm said in a note that it has “learnt to be suspicious of attention-grabbing contrarian strategies.”
The note also said that contrarians in 2023 are expected to be short oil and gold.
In November, Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) CEO Olivier Le Peuch said in an interview with Bloomberg that rising investments in the oil and gas sector are causing a “super cycle” that will drive demand for drilling equipment for many years.
Ave Maria has an $11.6 million stake in the oil and gas services company, as of the end of the third quarter. During the same period, 63 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database of 920 funds had stakes in the company, compared to 64 funds in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes was $2.4 billion.
Click to continue reading and see 5 Pro-Life Companies to Invest In.
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Disclosure: None. 10 Pro-Life Companies to Invest In is originally published on Insider Monkey.