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Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Jefferies Financial Group and Bank of America
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 4, 2022 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Features: Jefferies Financial Group, Inc. (JEF - Free Report) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC - Free Report) .
Sector Analysis: Energy, Financials Leading the Charge in 2022
Last year surprised many investors as 2021 was the inverse of 2020 with respect to leading market sectors. The three worst-performing S&P sectors in 2020 (energy, financials, and real estate) reversed course last year and were the three best performers.
An important caveat with respect to this sector outperformance is that the majority of the gains for energy and financials in 2021 came in the first half of the year. From June to December, both sectors essentially moved sideways, notching only slight gains.
While this relative underperformance in the second half of the year can be viewed negatively, the two sectors may have simply been taking a needed breather after starting out last year extremely strong. Energy and financials are leading the charge on the first trading day of the year and appear set to resume their next leg up. The sector consolidation throughout the last six months looks like it is paving the way for a repeat of outperformance in the beginning months of 2022.
With bond yields spiking today, we’re going to focus on two financial companies that are breaking out to the upside. The Zacks Finance sector is currently ranked #1 out of all 16 sectors. Investing in the top sectors and industry groups provides a constant tailwind to your investing success.
Jefferies Financial Group, Inc.
Jefferies Financial Group is a global financial services company that engages in investment banking and capital markets, merchant banking, as well as alternative asset management. JEF offers financial advisory, debt and equity underwriting, equity research, wealth management, and corporate lending services. Jefferies Financial Group was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
JEF trades at an attractive valuation (10.1 forward P/E) and has surpassed earnings estimates in each of the last eight quarters. A Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) stock, JEF most recently reported quarterly EPS back in September of $1.51, a +48.04% surprise over consensus. JEF has delivered an average earnings surprise of +222.85% over the past four quarters, supporting the stock’s climb of roughly 65% in the past year.
Analyst covering JEF have increased their full-year earnings estimates by 4.79% in just the past 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 EPS now stands at $6.34, representing growth of 139.25% relative to 2020. JEF is scheduled to report its final set of ’21 quarterly earnings after the bell today.
Bank of America Corp.
Bank of America is a leading financial institution that serves individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, as well as large corporations. BAC provides a full range of banking, investing, asset management and related products and services. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, Bank of America provides services to over 66 million clients and operates approximately 4,300 retail financial centers.
BAC has beaten earnings estimates in each of the last three quarters and trades at a very reasonable 12.73 forward P/E. The company has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of +22.79%. BAC most recently reported earnings back in October when the firm posted EPS of $0.85, a +19.72% surprise over consensus. BAC stock has been a steady outperformer over the past year, returning north of 55%.
The opening of new branches along with enhanced digital capabilities should continue to support the stock’s run. BAC maintains a strong balance sheet and liquidity position, and as a result hiked their dividend last year by 17% to 21 cents per share. The company’s share repurchase plan of $25 billion was also renewed in October.
A Zacks #2 Buy, BAC revenues are expected to grow nearly 5% in 2022. Given its robust fundamentals, BAC’s impressive performance is expected to continue when the company reports earnings on January 19th.
These two financial firms are poised to continue their momentum as we start out the new year on a strong note.
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2022
In addition to the investment ideas discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2022?
From inception in 2012 through November, theZacks Top 10 Stocks gained an impressive +962.5% versus the S&P 500’s +329.4%. Now our Director of Research is combing through 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank to handpick the best 10 tickers to buy and hold. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these stocks when they’re released on January 3.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Jefferies Financial Group and Bank of America
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 4, 2022 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Features: Jefferies Financial Group, Inc. (JEF - Free Report) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC - Free Report) .
Sector Analysis: Energy, Financials Leading the Charge in 2022
Last year surprised many investors as 2021 was the inverse of 2020 with respect to leading market sectors. The three worst-performing S&P sectors in 2020 (energy, financials, and real estate) reversed course last year and were the three best performers.
An important caveat with respect to this sector outperformance is that the majority of the gains for energy and financials in 2021 came in the first half of the year. From June to December, both sectors essentially moved sideways, notching only slight gains.
While this relative underperformance in the second half of the year can be viewed negatively, the two sectors may have simply been taking a needed breather after starting out last year extremely strong. Energy and financials are leading the charge on the first trading day of the year and appear set to resume their next leg up. The sector consolidation throughout the last six months looks like it is paving the way for a repeat of outperformance in the beginning months of 2022.
With bond yields spiking today, we’re going to focus on two financial companies that are breaking out to the upside. The Zacks Finance sector is currently ranked #1 out of all 16 sectors. Investing in the top sectors and industry groups provides a constant tailwind to your investing success.
Jefferies Financial Group, Inc.
Jefferies Financial Group is a global financial services company that engages in investment banking and capital markets, merchant banking, as well as alternative asset management. JEF offers financial advisory, debt and equity underwriting, equity research, wealth management, and corporate lending services. Jefferies Financial Group was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
JEF trades at an attractive valuation (10.1 forward P/E) and has surpassed earnings estimates in each of the last eight quarters. A Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) stock, JEF most recently reported quarterly EPS back in September of $1.51, a +48.04% surprise over consensus. JEF has delivered an average earnings surprise of +222.85% over the past four quarters, supporting the stock’s climb of roughly 65% in the past year.
Analyst covering JEF have increased their full-year earnings estimates by 4.79% in just the past 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 EPS now stands at $6.34, representing growth of 139.25% relative to 2020. JEF is scheduled to report its final set of ’21 quarterly earnings after the bell today.
Bank of America Corp.
Bank of America is a leading financial institution that serves individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, as well as large corporations. BAC provides a full range of banking, investing, asset management and related products and services. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, Bank of America provides services to over 66 million clients and operates approximately 4,300 retail financial centers.
BAC has beaten earnings estimates in each of the last three quarters and trades at a very reasonable 12.73 forward P/E. The company has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of +22.79%. BAC most recently reported earnings back in October when the firm posted EPS of $0.85, a +19.72% surprise over consensus. BAC stock has been a steady outperformer over the past year, returning north of 55%.
The opening of new branches along with enhanced digital capabilities should continue to support the stock’s run. BAC maintains a strong balance sheet and liquidity position, and as a result hiked their dividend last year by 17% to 21 cents per share. The company’s share repurchase plan of $25 billion was also renewed in October.
A Zacks #2 Buy, BAC revenues are expected to grow nearly 5% in 2022. Given its robust fundamentals, BAC’s impressive performance is expected to continue when the company reports earnings on January 19th.
These two financial firms are poised to continue their momentum as we start out the new year on a strong note.
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2022
In addition to the investment ideas discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2022?
From inception in 2012 through November, theZacks Top 10 Stocks gained an impressive +962.5% versus the S&P 500’s +329.4%. Now our Director of Research is combing through 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank to handpick the best 10 tickers to buy and hold. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these stocks when they’re released on January 3.
Be First To New Top 10 Stocks >>
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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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.