The three most widely followed indexes closed the holiday-shortened week higher in a topsy-turvy November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.8%, 1.5% and 0.7%, respectively.
The FOMC minutes for the Fed November meeting released in the week reaffirmed that the central bank anticipates a slower pace of interest rate hikes in the coming months. Stocks did well on the news even as the volume of trade was low because of Thanksgiving. Strong earnings numbers coming in from the retail sector also lifted investor mood.
Consumer spending usually goes up during the holiday season. Coupled with the fact that the Fed would not be squeezing demand as it has been recently, investors are optimistic about a strong end to the year. However, global macroeconomic factors like the Ukraine situation and the Covid-related unrest in China remain concerns.
Regardless of market conditions, we, here at Zacks, provide investors with unbiased guidance on how to beat the market.
As usual, Zacks Research guided investors over the past three months with its time-tested methodologies. Given the prevailing market uncertainty, you may want to look at our feats to prepare better for your next action.
Here are some of our key achievements:
Tenaris, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico Surge Following Zacks Rank Upgrade
Shares of
Tenaris S.A.
TS
have surged 17.3% since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on September 13.
Another stock,
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico
PAC
, was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), also on September 13and has returned 8.2% since then.
Zacks Rank, our short-term rating system, has earnings estimate revisions at its core. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
This stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally audited track record, with Zacks Rank #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +24.8% since 1988.You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here >>>
Check Tenaris’ historical EPS and Sales here>>>
Check Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>
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Zacks Recommendation Upgrade Drives International Seaways and California BanCorp Higher
Shares of
International Seaways, Inc.
INSW
and
California BanCorp
CALB
have gained 32% and 16.4% since their Zacks Recommendation was upgraded to Outperform on September 16 and September 13, respectively.
While the Zacks Rank is our short-term rating system that is most effective over the one- to three-month holding horizon, the Zacks Recommendation aims to predict performance over the next 6 to 12 months. However, just like the Zacks Rank, the foundation for the Zacks Recommendation is trends in earnings estimate revisions.
The Zacks Recommendation classifies stocks into three groups — Outperform, Neutral and Underperform. While these recommendations are determined quantitatively, our analysts have the flexibility to override them for the 1100+ stocks they closely follow based on their better judgment of factors such as valuation, industry conditions and management effectiveness than the quantitative model.
To access our research reports with Zacks Recommendations for the 1100+ stocks we cover,
click here>>>
Zacks Focus List Model Portfolio Lululemon, Agilent Surge Ahead
Shares of
Lululemon Athletica Inc.
LULU
, which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have surged 22.7% over the past 12 weeks. The stock was added to the Focus List on December 12, 2017. Another Focus-List holding,
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
A
, which was added to the portfolio on July 11,2017, has returned 21.7% over the past 12 weeks.
The Zacks Focus List is a model portfolio of 50 hand-picked stocks that possess the right fundamental ingredients to outperform the market over the next 12 months. These 50 stocks are picked from a long list of stocks with the highest Zacks Rank.
Since its inception on February 1, 1996, the Focus List portfolio has delivered an annualized return of +12.9%.
Unlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Focus List, Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium.
Gain full access now >>
Zacks ECAP Stocks AutoZone, Tractor Supply Soar High
AutoZone, Inc.
AZO
, a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), jumped 19.4% over the past 12 weeks.
Tractor Supply Company
TSCO
followed AutoZone with 19.1% returns.
ECAP is a model portfolio of 30 concentrated, ultra-defensive, long-term Buy and Hold stocks.
With little to no turnover and annual rebalance periodicity, the ECAP seeks to minimize capital loss by holding shares of companies whose earnings streams exhibit a proven 20+ year track record of surviving recessionary periods with minimal impact on aggregate earnings growth relative to the overall S&P 500.
The ECAP and many other model portfolios are available as part of Zacks Advisor Tools, a cloud-based solution to access Zacks award-winning stock, mutual fund and ETF research.
Click here to schedule a demo
.
Zacks ECDP Stocks Quest Diagnostics, Amgen Outperform Peers
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
DGX
, which is part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), has returned 18.2% over the past 12 weeks. Another ECDP stock,
Amgen Inc.
AMGN
, has climbed 15.6% over the same time frame. Of course, the inclination of investors toward quality dividend stocks to secure an income stream amid the heightened market volatility contributed to this performance.
Check Quest Diagnostics’ dividend history here>>>
Check Amgen’s dividend history here>>>
With an extremely low Beta and a history of minimum earnings variability over the last 20+ years, this 25-stock portfolio helps significantly mitigate risk. The ECDP has consistently outperformed the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF
NOBL
.
Click here to access this portfolio on
Zacks Advisor Tools
.
Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to Double”
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.
Click to get this free report
