If You Buy the Dogs, Should You Sell These Dow Leaders?

investing.com:

The Dogs of the Dow is a popular strategy getting much attention now that the year-end is here. The theory assumes that this year’s losers will be next year’s winners, which is often true. Dow Dogs offers value and above-average yield, with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) being a primary example. Walgreens is 2023’s worst-performing Dow stock, down 30% YOY but now trading at a deep value while paying more than 7% in yield. The value and yield alone are an attractive force, add in the new CEO, a potential sale of Boots and the outlook for turnaround, and it’s a viable if speculative investment for income seekers.

But should you sell this year’s Dow winners? Stocks like Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) are up 100% (or close enough) compared to last year, while others, like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), are up a solid 50%, offering attractive price points for profit-taking. Ultimately, aside from a little profit-taking, the answer is no. A general rule of thumb is to “let your profits run,” an adage that keeps traders and investors from selling out too early.

Salesforce.com has a triple tailwind to drive business in 2024. The company is the leader in customer engagement, management and retention, expanding its business via new customers, deepening penetration of services and higher prices for subscriptions. That has the company on track to grow revenue by 11% and widen margins, with the top-line estimate likely low. Analysts have been upping their estimates for 2023 all year, and the consensus has yet to catch up with reality. Regarding the outlook for stock prices, Salesforce.com is the #3 Most Upgraded Stock on the Marketbeat.com platform for 2023, with recent upgrades