For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 30, 2022 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Amazon.com, Inc.
AMZN
, Walmart Inc.
WMT
, Chico’s FAS
CHS
, Shoe Carnival
SCVL
and Texas Roadhouse
TXRH
.
Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:
These Retail Stocks You’ll Regret Not Buying for 2023
Decade-high inflation, increase in interest rates, and concerns about a looming recession, no doubt, have made consumers cautious this year. Consequently, sales at U.S. retailers dropped considerably last month, thanks to a broader pullback in consumer outlays.
However, retail sales did bounce back during the holiday shopping season as consumers accommodated rising prices and latched onto steep discounts. The period from Nov 1 to Dec 24, which predominantly encompasses the holiday shopping season, saw retail sales climb 7.6% year over year, more than an expected 7.1% growth, per a Mastercard report.
Some of the retail majors like Amazon.com, Inc. and Walmart Inc. were able to lure consumers by offering substantial discounts to do away with excess inventory. Such large discounts, undoubtedly, led to strong demand for all types of retail items, particularly during the five-day holiday period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.
Notably, sales in the apparel and restaurant categories have jumped 4.4% and 15.1%, respectively, this holiday season, while online sales are up 10.6% compared to year-ago levels, added the Mastercard report. Moreover, retail sales during the cyber week soared nearly 11%, added a separate Mastercard SpendingPulse report, citing a
businesstoday article
.
Meanwhile, consumer confidence has lately improved noticeably and that may certainly boost spending heading into the new year. And with households expected to continue spending, both in-store and online retailers are poised to benefit.
The consumer confidence index climbed to 108.3 in December, up from November’s 101.4, and the highest reading since April, per the Conference Board. Lest we forget, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index too jumped to a preliminary reading of 59.1 in December from 56.8 in November.
To top it, a resilient labor market and solid wage growth would certainly fuel spending, which is unquestionably a boon for retailers. Consumer spending, by the way, which accounts for the bulk of US economic activity, edged up in October.
Thus, it would be judicious to invest in retailers like
Chico’s FAS
,
Shoe Carnival
and
Texas Roadhouse
that not only have made the most of the holiday shopping season but also are positioned to gain next year, banking on encouraging spending trends.
These stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). The search was also narrowed down with a
VGM Score
of A or B. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three metrics. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Chico’s FAS
is a cultivator of brands serving the lifestyle needs of fashion-savvy women 30 years and older.
CHS currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its next-year earnings has moved up 5.3% over the past 60 days. CHS’s expected earnings growth rate for next year is 9.9%.
Shoe Carnival
is one of the nation’s largest family footwear retailers, offering a broad assortment of moderately priced dress, casual and athletic footwear for men, women and children with emphasis on national and regional name brands.
SCVL currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its next-year earnings has moved up 2.6% over the past 60 days. SCVL’s expected earnings growth rate for next year is 11.4%.
Texas Roadhouse
is a full-service, casual dining restaurant chain, which offers assorted seasoned and aged steaks hand-cut daily on the premises and cooked to order over open gas-fired grills.
TXRH currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its next-year earnings has moved up 0.4% over the past 60 days. TXRH’s expected earnings growth rate for next year is almost 15%.
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Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss
.
This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit
https://www.zacks.com/performance
for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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