It’s one of Wall Street’s favorite traditions: the biggest banks publish their ‘top picks,’ revealing where they see the best opportunities. Now that we’re well into the second half of the year, it’s time to look at those top picks – this time, from J.P. Morgan.
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JPM analysts are highlighting stocks they believe are positioned for gains in the coming months, even with some challenges on the horizon. Recent data, including a July jobs report that missed expectations, along with ongoing questions over the President’s tariff policy, have added a note of caution to the market. Still, JPM is focusing on companies they expect will navigate these conditions with ease.
To dig deeper, we turned to the TipRanks platform and pulled up two of those picks. The broader analyst community seems to agree – both carry a Strong Buy consensus rating. Let’s take a closer look.
MasTec (MTZ)
The first of JPM’s ‘top picks’ that we’ll look at is MasTec, a building contractor that specializes in infrastructure projects, particularly those connected to the communications, energy, technology, and water/waste segments. The company brings a suite of advantages to the table, including more than 30 years’ experience; a deep understanding of the particular sectors where it works; and proven skill in all aspects of project management.
MasTec is an American company, based in Coral Gables, Florida, and it has operations across North America. The company boasts a workforce of 22,000, and fully owns its extensive fleet of specialized construction vehicles and equipment. MasTec is able to meet the most challenging demands of the industry, leaning on its combination of expertise and geographic reach.
Among the projects that MasTec works on are fiber and copper cable upgrades for the military, urban public sewage systems, utility-scale solar power installations, natural gas pipeline construction, and improvements to city-scale water and sewage treatment plants. The company is well known for its work in the energy sector, and has experience engineering power plants for a variety of energy sources: thermal, wind, solar, and alternative fuels. Among the more recent additions to its line-up of capabilities is EVi, MasTec’s foray into electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
On the financial side, MasTec’s recent 2Q25 report showed a top line of $3.55 billion, up 20% year-over-year and beating the forecast by $150 million. At the bottom line, the company realized a non-GAAP EPS of $1.49, or 9 cents per share better than had been expected. While MasTec’s free cash flow for the quarter came to a deficit of $45 million, we should note that the company has a solid work backlog, totaling $16.5 billion for the next 18 months and up more than 23% year-over-year.
JPM’s Drew Chamberlain took in MasTec’s earnings call, and he believes that it highlighted the company’s clear path toward continued success.
Outlining that path, and why MasTec is a top pick, Chamberlain writes: “While we believe management is working to taper street expectations for future year growth timing, which was evident throughout the call, the CEO suggested during Q&A the business could exceed $8 of EPS in FY26, well-ahead of the street’s $7.26 current consensus FY26 estimate. We have nudged our FY26 estimate higher in response (now $8.02, from $7.83) and left our FY27 EPS largely unchanged. We believe the stock is much more closely aligned, or even discounted, to historical trading multiples when looking at our FY27 EPS, and believe the path to $10 of earnings is becoming increasingly clear. The earnings growth visibility gives us comfort with the stock trading near all-time highs and MTZ remains our top EPC pick.”
This stance backs up the analyst’s Overweight (i.e., Buy) rating on the stock, while his $214 price target suggests a 16% upside potential over the next year. (To watch Chamberlain’s track record, click here)
The 14 recent analyst reviews on MasTec are all positive, naturally coalescing to a Strong Buy consensus rating. The shares are priced at $184.39, and their $202.43 average target price implies a one-year gain of 10%. (See MTZ stock forecast)
Entergy Corporation (ETR)
Next on our list today is Entergy Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and a major utility-scale power provider in the lower Mississippi Valley. The company generates electric power and distributes it to approximately 3 million customers in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The company also provides natural gas to some 204,000 customers, mainly in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Entergy is a $40 billion company, a reflection of the scale of its business. Its widespread power distribution business is backed by 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity, and is moved along 123,000 circuit miles of distribution and transmission lines. Entergy has been in business for over 110 years, and traces its roots back to 1913. The company got started in Arkansas, and has always focused its operations in the lower Mississippi region. The company’s headquarters today are located in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Entergy pays out a reliable dividend. The last payment, for 60 cents per common share, went out on June 2; the next, also at 60 cents, is scheduled for September 2. The dividend annualizes to $2.40 per share, and the forward yield currently stands at 2.7%.
Turning to the financials, in 2Q25, the last period reported, Entergy had revenues of $3.33 billion, a figure that beat the forecast by $157 million. Entergy’s earnings figure, reported as a non-GAAP EPS of $1.05, was 11 cents better than the estimates.
When we get to the JPM view, we find that 5-star analyst Jeremy Tonet has tagged ETR as a top pick.
Tonet’s upbeat view of the stock is based on several factors, and he writes of the utility company: “Entergy remains our favorite regulated name given secular differentiated USGC industrial growth trends (including expanding data center toeholds) as well as meaningful generation and resiliency investment underpin a top tier >8% EPS CAGR. We see load benefiting from a triple threat as: 1) favorable industrial trends/commodity feedstocks underpin a USGC advantage, 2) onshoring trends leverage this backdrop, plus attractive infrastructure and workforce availability (also benefitting commercial and residential by extension), and 3) meaningful data center growth targets the region’s favorable capacity + power price positions, pro-growth state policies, and increasing renewables buildout… We reaffirm ETR as a top pick and add the company to our Analyst Focus List.”
Tonet goes on to rate ETR as Overweight (i.e., Buy), and his $102 price target points toward an upside potential of 12% in the next 12 months. (To watch Tonet’s track record, click here)
There are 9 recent analyst reviews on record for Entergy, and they break 7 to 2 in favor of Buy over Hold for a Strong Buy consensus rating. The stock has a selling price of $90.89 and an average target price of $93.57, together suggesting a modest 3% one-year upside. With this in mind, watch out for either price target hikes or rating downgrades shortly. (See ETR stock forecast)
To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.