Punxsutawney Phil predicts longer winter. Where should you invest?
Punxsutawney Phil, the world's celebrity groundhog, made his appearance on Friday morning, forecasting a longer winter.
As the legend goes, if Phil sees his shadow and he returns to his burrow then the U.S. will endure six more weeks of winter, but if Phil doesn’t see his shadow and he leaves his burrow, soon spring will come. This time, Phil saw his shadow and quickly scurried into his burrow.
Leading up to the event, the odds were that Phil would see his shadow. Before Groundhog day 2018. According to Data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, between 1887 and 2017, Phil saw his shadow 103 times and didn’t 18 times. That makes 2018 the 104th time that Phil saw his shadow.
With Phil forecasting a longer winter, here are some stocks that could benefit from another six weeks of winter.
Companies involved in the energy sector can benefit from cooler temperatures ad this causes more people to turn up the heat in their homes, and more heating means more energy use and that is good for energy companies and utilities.
When the temperatures drop people are less likely to go out for dinner and are more likely to stay in. This in turn can be a positive for restaurants that offer delivery as well as for food delivery companies.
It is important to note that you shouldn’t put much faith in Phil’s prediction. According to Stormfax Almanac data, Phil's forecast has only been correct about 39% of the time.