When choosing stocks for your portfolio, the idea is to pick companies that outperform the market. At the same time, you want to weed out the risky ones. With variables like meme stocks clouding the picture, that can be tough. To help you out, I’ve put together a collection of five stocks to buy for October.

When the market shows signs of volatility, it’s especially important to make smart choices. Each of these stocks to buy has been chosen because it has earned a triple “A” rating in Portfolio Grader.

  • Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA)
  • Joint Corp (NASDAQ:JYNT)
  • Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS)
  • Mesa Royalty Trust (NYSE:MTR)
  • SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE:SEAS)

There are no guarantees when it comes to the stock market. However, with their stellar, triple-A rating, these stocks offer a compelling long-term growth story combined with solid fundamentals.

A-Rated Stocks to Buy: Euroseas (ESEA)

The supply chain has been one of the big stories during the pandemic. Companies across the world are struggling to ship their products to market, and to find transportation for parts. Even when products are available, there have been shortages due to the challenges in getting them where they need to be. That has put shipping and logistics in the spotlight.

Athens, Greece-based Euroseas has been in the shipping business for over a century. At the moment, the company operates a fleet of 14 container ships (nine in the Feeder class, and five in the intermediate class), with two more vessels on order. Euroseas is experiencing unprecedented demand. That has resulted in the rates for shipping exploding and the company is forecasting continued strong demand through 2022.

ESEA stock is up 422% so far in 2021. But this isn’t a meme stock type pattern, loaded with sharp spikes followed by selloffs. It has been consistent growth. And given the seemingly insatiable demand for space on container ships, ESEA deserves its spot on this list of stocks to buy for October.

ESEA stock scores “A” Portfolio Grader ratings for its fundamental grade, quantitative grade and overall grade.

Joint Corp (JYNT)

Arizona-based Joint Corp operates The Joint Chiropractic: the nation’s largest provider of chiropractic care. This includes a network of 633 clinics (a combination of corporate-operated and franchised) spanning 33 states.

If you’ve experienced a sore back or neck while working from home during the pandemic, you’re not alone. Joint Corp has seen its business ramp up significantly. In its latest quarter, the company reported revenue up 61% year-over-year. The company also sold 64 franchise licenses in the quarter, compared to 11 a year ago.

Now openings bring its total to 633 clinics — 555 of them franchised and 78 company-owned.

The company’s CEO noted in its Q2 earnings report: “These trends support long-term growth, which we expect to continue to accelerate and build upon our financial foundation … We continue to march toward our goal of 1,000 open clinics by the end of 2023, which we expect to be a tipping point for national brand recognition to drive growth at an even faster pace.”

Reflecting that growth, JYNT stock is up more than 3,000% over the past five years, and 197% so far in 2021 alone.

JYNT stock scores top ratings in Portfolio Grader, with “A” ratings across the board.

Kohl’s (KSS)

One of the segments that suffered the most during the pandemic was department stores. In fact, we lost several iconic names to bankruptcy over the past year.

Kohl’s was one of the department stores frequently cited as being in danger of collapse. With stores closed due to lockdowns, sales dove 33% in the first half of 2020. However, the company worked hard on a turnaround plan, shooting not just for survival but also a return to the growth that had eluded it for a decade. The plan included a focus on active and casual clothing while trimming the number of brands it carries.

There is a new emphasis on beauty products and the company expanded its e-commerce capabilities.

The turnaround plan is working. When Kohl’s reported Q2 earnings in August, net sales were up 31.4% YoY. The company delivered record second-quarter earnings and upped its full-year guidance. It also reported having $2.6 billion in cash, and repurchased $255 million in shares. That’s all good news for growth. Over the past 12 months, KSS stock is up 117%.

The current Portfolio Grader rating for KSS stock is “A,” with A-rated fundamental, quantitative and overall grades.

Mesa Royalty (MTR)

Mesa Royalty Trust owns a number of gas and oil fields in Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado. The company doesn’t operate any drilling rigs, but it collects royalties from producers that do. Not being on the hook for capital, operational and logistical costs helped Mesa Royalty escape the fate of the many small producers that went belly up when oil and gas prices tanked in 2020. It didn’t escape unscathed, though. MTR stock dropped over 40% in 2020.

However, 2021 has turned into a big year. Gas and oil haven’t just rebounded in value, they’ve taken off. Natural gas has doubled in price this year, while oil has hit a 7-year high. That’s good news for a company that collects royalties from oil and gas producers. After a decline that lasted over a decade (roughly corresponding to those falling fossil fuel prices), MTR stock is back in growth mode. At this point in 2021, it has delivered a return of 44% since the start of the year.

MTR stock can’t be topped with it’s perfect, triple-“A” Portfolio Grader scores.

SeaWorld (SEAS)

Oil and gas producers had it bad in 2020, but operators of theme parks arguably had it worse. Look at SeaWorld. The company operates the SeaWorld parks in the U.S., as well as others like Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay and Sesame Place in Philadelphia.

In its fiscal 2020, SeaWorld reported attendance at its parks dropped by 16.3 million to 6.4 million visitors. Revenue was just $431.80 million, down $966.50 million from the previous year.

The disappointing year had surprisingly little negative impact on SEAS stock. In the aftermath of the March 2020 stock market crash, SEAS shares quickly recovered, and by April were at an all-time high. In August, SeaWorld reported its Q2 revenue was $439.8 million. That’s higher than for all of fiscal 2020. With its parks rebounding from the pandemic’s effects, investors have been rewarded with impressive growth. SEAS stock is up 92% over the past 12 months. Its performance and growth trajectory make SEAS one of the best stocks to buy for October.

At the time of publication, SEAS stock was rated “A” in Portfolio Grader for its fundamental, quantitative and overall grades.

— Louis Navellier and the InvestorPlace Research Staff

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Source: Investor Place