The Best Stocks to Buy, According to Top Strategist

It doesn't hurt to have help narrowing down the best stocks to buy - especially when the advice comes from one of the country's best stock analysts.

Tobias Levkovich, Citigroup Inc.'s (NYSE: C) chief equity strategist, has sent a note to clients consisting of 18 recommended stocks and their end-of-year price targets. We've sifted through the list to bring you the 10 stocks that have the highest projected returns based on Citi's targets.

Those returns range from 10.14% to 27.27%.

Here are the companies and their price targets, accompanied by a summary of Citi's analysis for each stock:

10 Best Stocks to Buy Now

The AES Corp. (NYSE: AES): Citi says AES, an electrical utility company, is attractively valued. With its forward P/E ratio of just 8.5, much lower than the utilities sector average of 15.4, it certainly looks undervalued. Citi's price target of $14 would be a 27.27% gain from its recent price of $11.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET): Healthcare will continue to become more expensive, especially as baby boomers age. This bodes well for insurers like Aetna, which should have strong earnings growth this year. Its price target of $59 would be a 19.19% increase from its recent price of $49.50.

Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH): This designer, manufacturer and marketer of electrical, electronic, and fiber-optic connectors and cables is diversifying its products and expanding. Its price target of $79 would be a 15.3% gain from its recent price of $68.50.

Apache Corp (NYSE: APA): As an energy company involved in exploring for and producing natural gas, it has strong growth opportunities. Plus, it has a solid balance sheet. A $95 price target would be a 12.43% increase from its recent price of $84.50.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX): The delivery company has significant earnings growth potential, Citi said.Its price target is $114, which would be a 10.14% gain from its recent price of $103.50.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG): Improved consumer confidence is expected to increase retail sales in 2013. HOG's price target of $58 would be a 10.48% increase from the recent price of $52.50.

Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT):When U.S. Defense Department spending shifts finally hit defense companies, Lockheed will do better than others, thanks to its cash reserve of almost $1.9 billion. Plus, it pays a nice 5.3% dividend. A price target of $110 would be a 26.44% gain from its recent price of $87.

Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM): This telecom products company is building a chip unit and should benefit as the smartphone market remains healthy. The price target of $75 would be a 12.78% increase from the recent price of $66.50.

Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX): Starbucks' international outlook is looking better and the company will benefit from improved U.S. consumer confidence. Its price target of $65 would be a 16.07% gain from its recent price of $56.

Texas Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: TXN) Up almost 9% this year, TXN should continue to benefit from better-than-expected management of expenses. The price target of $38 would be a 13.43% increase from its recent price of $33.50.

>>Now check out The 5 Most Overrated Stocks That Retail Investors Love.

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