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Does It Pay to Be Naughty or Nice?

Recently, we published a list of stocks that relate to the 7 Deadly Sins. Since then, the performance of the stocks on that list has been mixed.

The "sloth stock," La-Z-Boy (LZB), has been the big winner so far with a gain of more than 30% since early May. Other winners include Goldman Sachs (GS) and Disney (DIS).

Gluttony and wrath, represented on the list by Morton's Restaurant Group (MRT) and Taser International (TASR), have not fared as well. Both are down significantly. The other names on the list have traded flat. You can see the complete list of 7 Stocks for 7 Deadly Sins here.

Looking at the performance of these seven stocks got me thinking: Does it pay to be naughty... or nice? That's why I thought it would be fun to compile another list — this time using the Seven Heavenly Virtues as a guide.

Each of the Seven Heavenly Virtues corresponds directly to one of the Seven Deadly Sins — the idea being that practicing virtue helps resist the temptation of vice. Perhaps by keeping an eye on the performance of the stocks on each list, we'll have an answer to whether or not vice outperforms virtue.

Here are seven virtuous stocks that just might prove that investing in virtue can ensure positive returns...

NEXT: Sherwin-Williams (SHW)