JPM has seen historically high returns this month
With the holiday season underway, now might be a good time to look into some new end-of-year investments. One stock in particular that tends to do well in December is bank name JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM). In fact, the equity just showed up on a list of the 25 best stocks to own in December, courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
According to White, JPM has averaged a 3.7% one-month return over the past 10 years, with eight of these returns being positive. This leaves the equity tied for fourth best on the list, and at its current perch of $122.08, a similar move would put JPMorgan stock above $126 -- just below the security's pre-pandemic levels.
A closer look at the charts shows JPM making a valiant effort to climb back atop the $135 mark, which served as support for its record peak back in January. While the stock has encountered some resistance at the $123 level, it still sports a three-month lead of 22.2%.
The stock could benefit from a round of analyst upgrades, too. The brokerage bunch is still split, with eight saying "buy" or better, and nine calling it a "hold" or worse. Adding to this, the 12-month consensus price target of $122.36 is right in line with current levels.
Another reason to get in on JPM this month: its options are reasonably priced right now. The security sports a Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 30%, which stands higher than just 14% of readings from the past year. This suggests options traders are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.