"For our latest Focus Stock we look to the consumer staples chain, add Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG) to our portfolio," says Chris Johnson.

In The Insightful Investor, the advisor explains, "Consumer staples stocks continue to provide a bullish alternative within this potentially slowing economic environment." Here is his review.

"Proctor & Gamble is attractive for a number of reasons. First, the obvious: in the consumer staples universe, it's hard to get bigger than P&G. The Cincinnati-based company produces everything from Ivory soap to Pampers diapers to various snack foods.

"In other words, P&G has a heavy presence in most every household, something that probably won't change too much should the economy slow down.

"Second, PG has an incredible international presence, which provides a few valuable fundamentals. Demand for their products continues to grow with the strength in overseas economies. And a weakening dollar won't hurt P&G's balance sheet as it may other domestic companies.

"From a technical perspective, P&G is in great shape. The stock is trading above key intermediate- and long-term trendlines. Additionally, the equity is one of very few that has remained in an uptrend while the rest of the market moves sideways or declines. This technical leadership is partly due to the stock being perceived as a 'safety play.'

"On the sentiment front, P&G is seeing some pessimism that has us believing that there is further upside potential. The stock's volume put/call ratio is coming off a recent relative high spurred by active put volume.

"The current ratio is hovering around the 1.0 level, similar to that seen in July and September. Both instances were just prior to a new bull run in the stock price.

"Short interest on P&G has climbed for the past three months. While the current short-interest ratio is not among the higher readings of the past two years, the trend of higher short interest is a sign of growing pessimism toward the stock. That's something we like to see for a bullish play.

"Finally, analyst recommendations on the stock show room for upgrades. Only 69% of the 16 analysts covering the stock have it ranked a 'buy' or higher. P&G is clearly not in the 'over-loved' category.

"We consider P&G a solid play in a potentially weak environment. The fact that the stock is currently seeing signs of growing pessimism only adds to its attractiveness in the short term."