The year 2024 was an extremely fruitful one for investors, with the S&P 500 Index soaring in excess of 20%. Adding to the optimism, data pertaining to manufacturing activity was impressive in January. The Institute of Supply Management's survey, released earlier this month, showed that its manufacturing PMI jumped to 50.9 in January, the highest reading since September 2022. The significant decline in inflation followed by the Fed's rate cuts has gone a long way in boosting the demand scenario. Donald Trump's return as President has also added to the optimism.
Given this encouraging backdrop, investors would do well to keep a tab on broker-friendly stocks like Dana DAN, Camping World CWH, ABM Industries ABM, Cardinal Health CAH and DXC Technology DXC.
We have designed a screen to shortlist stocks based on improving broker recommendations and upward revisions in earnings estimates over the past four weeks. Also, since the price/sales ratio is a strong complementary valuation metric in the presence of broker information, it has been included. The price/sales ratio takes care of the company's top line, making the strategy a well-rounded one.
Screening Criteria
# (Up- Down Rating)/ Total (4 weeks) =Top #75 (This gives the list of the top 75 companies that have witnessed net upgrades over the last 4 weeks).
% change in Q (1) est. (4 weeks) = Top #10 (This gives the top 10 stocks that have witnessed earnings estimate revisions over the past 4 weeks for the upcoming quarter).
Price-to-Sales = Bot%10 (The lower the ratio, the better. Companies meeting this criterion are in the bottom 10% of our universe of over 7,700 stocks with respect to this ratio).
Price greater than 5 (as a stock trading below $5 will not likely create significant interest for most of the investors).
Average Daily Volume greater than 100,000 shares over the last 20 trading days (Volume has to be significant to ensure that these are easily traded).
Market value ($ mil) = Top #3000 (This gives us stocks that are the top 3000 in terms of market capitalization).
Com/ADR/Canadian= Com (This takes out the ADR and Canadian stocks).
Here are five of the 10 stocks that made it through the screen:
Dana is a provider of power conveyance and energy-management solutions for vehicles and machinery in North America, Europe, South America and the Asia Pacific. The company is headquartered in Maumee, OH.
DAN currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DAN's 2025 earnings has been revised 15.4% upward over the past 60 days.
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
Camping World Holdings, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), retails recreational vehicles and related products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Good Sam Services and Plans and RV and Outdoor Retail.
The company aims to capitalize on the current favorable environment for dealership mergers and acquisitions. CWH outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in two of the last four quarters and missed the mark in the other two. The average beat was 16.6%.
New York-based ABM Industries is a provider of integrated facility solutions in the United States and other countries. ABM currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company has an impressive surprise history, with its earnings surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average beat being 11.6%.
ABM launched ELEVATE in 2021. It is designed to drive organic growth and modernize its digital ecosystem. The acquisition of RavenVolt in 2022 strengthened the company's presence in EV infrastructure and power solutions.
Cardinal Health is a nation-wide drug distributor and provider of services to pharmacies, healthcare providers and manufacturers. CAH has two reporting segments — Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions, Global Medical Products and Distribution and Others.
Cardinal Health has an expected earnings growth rate of 5.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.4% over the last 60 days. CAH currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
DXC Technology is benefiting from strength in the digital business and partnerships, which are helping it expand in the cloud computing space. DXC is implementing robust cost-saving measures to enhance its financial performance.
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DXC Technology's current-year earnings has increased 5.4%. DXC's earnings surpassed estimates in the last four quarters, the average beat being 22.2%. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for a 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard stock picking and backtesting software. You can also create your own strategies and test them first before making investments.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks' portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance
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