Barron's Picks And Pans: Williams-Sonoma, McKesson, LyondellBasell And More

• Featured stories this weekend in Barron's ponder the prospects for an "Amazon-proof" retailer and a drug wholesaler.
• The prospects for a multinational chemical giant and a global investment management firm are also examined.
• The cover article offers 24 new investment ideas from the Barron's 2016 Midyear Roundtable.

"Retailer Williams-Sonoma Is 'Amazon-Proof'" by Avi Salzman suggests that with more than half of the sales at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) coming from online, the San Francisco-based kitchenware retailer increasingly sees its stores as billboards for its brands. See why Barron's believes the shares could return more than 25 percent in a year.

In "McKesson Shares Could Rise 15% or More," Lawrence C. Strauss points out that, after this drug wholesaler's stock was unjustly battered by slowed pricing growth for its generic drugs, McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is gaining clients and expanding its lucrative specialty-drug business. See why its shares could pop in the next year.

Jack Hough's "LyondellBasell Offers a 4.2% Yield and Upside" makes the case that petrochem giant LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE: LYB) has cost efficiency that few can match. Its shares may be down 20 percent as rivals add capacity, but Barron's sees the generous dividend yield boosting a total return that could exceed 20 percent.

Related Link: Barron's: The Midyear Roundtable

After mistakenly voting to approve Dell's buyout and costing four of its mutual funds a lucrative claim, T. Rowe Price Group Inc (NASDAQ: TROW) announced it would repay the funds' shareholders, according to "T. Rowe Price's $194 Million Proxy Blunder" by Beverly Goodman. See how much the one-time charge will affect diluted earnings per share in the second quarter of 2016.

In Lauren R. Rublin's cover story, "2016 Midyear Roundtable: 24 Investment Ideas," the Barron's panel of marketing experts is back with its middle-of-the-year update. See why they expect stocks to rise 5 percent in the second half, an improved outlook for oil and for retailers, and more worries about China. The many picks include Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE).

Also In This Week's Barron's

• How a Donald Trump presidency could affect the economy and the markets
• Whether the good times are over at Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) and Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE: PG)
• Whether the Internet of Things is too confusing
• Going beyond yield in picking payout stocks
• How much Michael Dell and Silver Lake underpaid Dell shareholders
• Whether Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) could be largest U.S. company by 2020
• Seven China A-shares analysts are most bullish on
• How a Treasury bond rally could signal trouble ahead

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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