Zacks.com featured expert Kevin Matras highlights: Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc., Hexcel Corp., On Assignment, Inc., Advance America, Cash Advance Centers, Inc. and Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Chicago, IL – December 13, 2011 - Stocks in this week's article include Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA - Snapshot Report), Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL - Snapshot Report), On Assignment, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASGN - Snapshot Report), Advance America, Cash Advance Centers, Inc. (NYSE: AEA) and Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN - Snapshot Report). Kevin Matras gives you his checklist for finding winning stocks.

Screen of the Week written by Kevin Matras of Zacks Investment Research:

It's that time again. Every few months, I like running this screen to find the new top rated sectors. It's especially timely now as recent ups and downs have produced a new list of top groups.

And since roughly half of a stock's price move can be directly attributed to the group that it's in, it's important to stay on top of this.

By definition, a strong Sector or strong Industry will have more of its companies moving higher than a weak Sector or weak Industry.

If the majority of stocks are going down in an industry, it can't be a strong industry. If more stocks are going up, it is a strong industry.

What's interesting is that I've done some testing over the past and found that, often times, just getting into an average stock in a strong group will outperform the best stocks in a troubled group.

This doesn't mean you can just pick anything and you'll make money. Far from it. But it illustrates how powerful the underlying group is to the success of your stock picking.

There are several ways you can define the best Sectors or Industries.

Today, I'm combining my two favorite ways...

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Read the full analyst report on ULTA

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Read the full analyst report on ASGN

Read the full analyst report on AEA

Read the full analyst report on ACHN