Clean Up With P&G, Clorox Shares Says HighTower’s Bahnsen

Procter & Gamble (PG) has seen its shares sink over 21% so far in 2015 due to currency headwinds and a shifting strategy for its brand portfolio. David Bahnsen, chief investment officer for the Bahnsen Group at HighTower, said the tide will soon turn for the maker of Tide and other household products. 'Always we think forex is a short term phenomena and ultimately value trumps out,' said Bahnsen. 'These are strong brand names. It’s a highly defensive stock. We want it to protect against broader macro risk and it is well managed.' Staying in the consumer staples sector, Bahnsen is also bullish on Clorox, which has seen its shares rise over 10% year-to-date, partly because it is more domestic oriented than its rivals. Clorox pays a dividend of 2.8%. 'Clorox provides the same type of thing that P&G does in terms of brand leadership. It is not CapEx intensive and it does not rely on debt markets,' said Bahnsen, adding that it is also not affected much by fears of a China slowdown.