Investors may want to start preparing their portfolios for a potential government spending spree on infrastructure.
The Senate passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill on Tuesday, sending part of the Biden administration’s broad-based economic agenda to the House for a vote, which may not come for a while.
Luckily for investors, they have several ways to get exposure to possible beneficiaries, two market analysts told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Tuesday.
- Xylem
The water technology company is already in a position of strength, Laffer Tengler Investments chief investment officer Nancy Tengler said.
“They just beat and raised in their most recent earnings report,” with digital orders growing 29%, Tengler said, calling the stock “a little expensive on our valuation work, but not terribly.”
Xylem is up about 27% year to date, trading at a nearly 47 times forward price-to-earnings multiple.
- Jacobs Engineering
Tengler’s second pick is Jacobs Engineering, which provides construction services to government agencies and commercial businesses around the world.
Up almost 21% year to date, it’s still trading at a “reasonable” valuation and should be a beneficiary of higher infrastructure spending, she said Tuesday in an email to CNBC.
- Steel Dynamics
Steel producers such as Steel Dynamics should also get a boost if the bill is passed, Tengler said.
Though the stock is up 85% year to date, it’s trading at only a less than five times forward price-to-earnings multiple, meaning it should still have upside, she said.
- Technology infrastructure
Biden’s infrastructure plans will be “transformational for many sectors,” said Michael Bapis, managing director of Vios Advisors at Rockefeller Capital Management.
“Technology infrastructure surrounding semiconductors, surrounding any part of the infrastructure bill that goes through technology we believe will lead the charge coming out for the next 12-24 months of economic growth,” he said in the same interview.
- Financials
Financial stocks could be tangential beneficiaries, Bapis said.
“With rates rising and hopefully inflation coming, but at a moderate pace, and then … domestic economic growth, financials are probably the sector that comes out on top,” he said,
- ESG
The infrastructure bill will also focus on mitigating climate change, which investors can trade via environmental, social and governance-related assets, Bapis said.
“For people that want to get a broad-based positive from infrastructure growth, it’s through the ESG sector and strategy,” he said.
- Industrials
One of the most visible beneficiaries will likely be the industrials sector, Bapis added in a Tuesday email to CNBC.
“Industrial and construction activity has been booming and supply chains are stretched,” he wrote. “Supply chain issues will have an impact — keeping up with supply and demand will be a crucial component as well.”
