3 Safe-Haven Stocks to Buy Now as the Market Sells Off

With the S&P 500 now in correction and stocks selling off quickly, investors are understandably looking for safe-haven stocks to preserve their capital and keep their portfolios guarded from potentially turbulent market conditions ahead.

Luckily, there are still several companies that could offer some degree of security. Among the safest stocks to buy now for both current security and potential long-term returns are Abbott Labs, Parker Hannafin and Cintas.

Key Points

• Abbott Laboratories (ABT) – A stable healthcare stock with strong dividend growth and steady long-term potential.

• Parker Hannifin (PH) – A growing industrial company with rising revenues, a booming aerospace segment, and strong cash flows.

• Cintas (CTAS) – A highly profitable business with strong returns (41.1% ROE) and 12% EPS growth potential.

Abbott Laboratories

As a major medical device and pharmaceuticals company, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is an established business in an industry that is somewhat insulated from economic downturns.

2024 saw incremental sales growth for Abbott, with total sales rising 4.6% to $42.0 billion. For 2025, the company projects organic sales growth in the range of 7.5-8.5% with low double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share.

One of the largest growth drivers for Abbott Laboratories is likely to be its ongoing investment in biosimilar pharmaceuticals. Abbott hopes to be able to sell these pharmaceutical products into emerging market economies, establishing a moat internationally in potentially high-growth markets.

Abbott Laboratories is also quite strong on both the valuation and dividend fronts. The stock currently trades at just 17.0 times earnings despite the fact that its earnings per share are expected to keep growing at about 10% annually over the next few years.

ABT’s dividend yield is currently 1.7%, putting it a bit above the average of the S&P 500. The stock may very well also be a solid dividend growth play, as its payout ratio is a comparatively low 28.6%. In the last five years, the company has increased its dividend at an annualized rate north of 11%, suggesting that management is prioritizing dividend growth.

With all of this said, ABT may not see massive gains in the short term. Analysts price forecasts currently give the stock a 12-month average target price of $136.26, just 4.6% higher than the current trading price of $130.28. Abbott’s appeal, however, is more as a steady, long-term compounder than an immediate high-growth stock.

Parker Hannifin

Parker Hannifin (NYSE:PH) is a manufacturer of motion and control systems that are essential to a wide range of different industries. Though it’s far from an explosive growth business, Parker Hannifin’s revenues and net income have both been trending gradually upward over many years.

Between 2014 and 2024, for instance, the company’s annual revenues rose from $13.3 billion to $19.9 billion. Over the same period, annual net income grew from $1.1 billion to $3.2 billion.

Looking forward, there are potential catalysts for future growth at Parker Hannifin. Chief among these is higher demand in its Aerospace segment, which saw 14% year-over-year organic growth in the most recently reported quarter. Parker Hannifin also generates extremely strong cash flows that give it the ability to invest in new growth opportunities largely as it pleases.

While PH’s dividend yield isn’t as high as either the S&P 500’s or ABT’s, the stock does yield a reliable 1.1% on a payout ratio of 26.0 percent. The company’s dividend has, however, grown at the extremely fast pace of 13% on an annualized basis over the last five years. While investors may not be able to expect such high rates going forward, the high trailing growth rate and low payout ratio both position PH as a potentially strong dividend growth stock.

One area where PH isn’t quite as attractive as Abbott Laboratories is valuation, which is a fair bit higher at 25.4 times earnings and 4.0x sales.

The 12-month average price target for the stock is $748.38, while PH currently trades at $613.14. If the price hits the range predicted by analysts, shareholders will see a return of over 22%.

While this may be an overly optimistic prediction due to the potential for an ongoing stock market selloff, PH could still justify its valuation by delivering decent returns over the next year.

Cintas

Last on our list of safe stocks for turbulent markets is Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS), a business services company that provides everything from uniforms and mats to safety equipment and fire extinguishers.

Cintas has demonstrated persistent top line growth recently, with revenues in the most recently reported quarter rising 7.8% to $2.56 billion. Net income jumped by an even more impressive 19.7%.

Unlike ABT and PH, CTAS may not be especially attractive for dividend investors. The stock’s yield is currently just 0.8%, and it only has a 2-year streak of dividend increases behind it. While Cintas could turn into a good dividend growth company in the coming years, the appeal as an income-generating asset may be limited at the moment.

CTAS also trades at a fairly high valuation of 46.3x earnings and 8.0x sales. Analysts appear to believe that the stock is more or less fairly valued at today’s prices, as the median 12-month target price of $195.74 implies an upside of only about 1.8%.

What Cintas lacks in dividend potential and short-term upside, however, it appears to make up for with the sheer quality of its business in terms of profitability. On a trailing 12-month basis, Cintas has been able to achieve a net margin of 17.2%, a return on invested capital of 25.3% and a return on equity of 41.1%.

Looking forward, analysts expect Cintas’ earnings per share to keep growing at a compounded rate of about 12% annually. Impressively, the company is not currently including acquisitions or share buybacks in its own guidance, suggesting that the growth over the next few years will likely be mostly organic. Cintas appears to be an extremely strong business with the ability to generate good returns on its capital, making it a potentially good stock to buy and hold for long-term gains.