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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Dillard's, United Bankshares and International Game Technology
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 20, 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: Dillard's (DDS - Free Report) , United Bankshares (UBSI - Free Report) and International Game Technology (IGT - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
The Top Trades in 2023? Global Week Ahead
In the Global Week Ahead, the state of the U.S. housing market is one focus.
In Europe, unusually cold weather has raised concerns of electricity outages and renewed anxiety about energy costs.
In Asia, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will be the last of the major developed country central banks to hold a policy meeting this year.
Finally, central bank policy-makers in emerging economies also mark the year-end, with policy rate decisions.
Next are Reuters' five world market themes, reordered for equity traders—
(1) The Top Trades in 2023?
'Tis the season to be bullish about the year ahead, at least if you sell stocks for a living.
With recessions looming in the United States and Europe, however, money managers expect another poor year for equities and are huddling around lower-risk trades.
Investors surveyed by Deutsche Bank predict a -2.2% fall for the S&P500 next year, citing a worse-than-expected recession.
One trend many agree on is that inflation will subside, powering enthusiasm for U.S. Treasuries and investment grade corporate credit following a rout in 2022.
Expectations of a softer dollar as the U.S. economy slows have sparked optimism about emerging markets, which should also benefit from China easing COVID-19 restrictions.
Money managers are widely betting on the yen against the dollar, as speculation mounts that the BoJ will move away from its ultra-dovish monetary policies.
(2) Incoming U.S. Macro Data, with a Housing Focus.
Can the United States ward off a recession as consumer prices come off the boil?
Investors get a fresh read-out on the world's top economy and its inflation pressures on Tuesday when November Housing Starts and Existing Home Sales numbers are due.
In October, rising mortgage rates saw U.S. existing home sales sink for a record ninth straight month, home-building fell sharply with single-family projects dropping to a near 2-1/2 year low.
Wednesday will see the Conference Board consumer confidence survey, which slipped to a four-month low in November. The reading for the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index is also for release on Dec. 23rd after recent inflation data came in softer-than-expected.
(3) Winter in Europe. Causing the Risk of Blackouts to Rise.
A cold snap in Europe raises the risk of electricity blackouts that could exacerbate pain inflicted by the energy shock and high inflation.
It also tests Europe's resolve to save energy and mitigate the economic impact of the Ukraine war.
Europe's gas storage is almost 90% full after European Union governments acted to build reserves following disruption of Russian supplies, but a series of nuclear outages, especially in France, has added to nervousness of electricity outages.
France is striving to avert power cuts, and Germany is bleeding cash to keep the lights on.
Emmanuel Macron says it was absurd to worry that blackouts would cripple infrastructure, while officials warn of possible outages and France's Banking Federation said cash machines would be affected.
Traders, trying to assess how deep Europe's economic slowdown will prove, should pay attention to the weather report.
(4) When Does the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Pivot?
Even the uber-dovish Bank of Japan has not been spared from investors trying to pick central bank pivot points.
A shock acceleration in Tokyo consumer prices to the fastest pace in 40 years has emboldened some to short Japanese government bonds ahead of Tuesday's policy decision.
Speculation was heightened by rare hints from policy board members that it might be time to review ultra-easy stimulus settings.
But BOJ watchers say a shift will not happen until Governor Haruhiko Kuroda steps down in April after a decade at the helm.
There's good reason to take it slow: the recovery is fragile and inflation, while high, is nowhere near European and U.S. levels.
And nationwide CPI data will only be due after the policy decision — made public on Friday.
(5) A Set of Emerging Market Central Banks Also Meet on Policy Rates.
A set of emerging market central banks will mark the end to a year, in which the scale and pace of rate hikes in developing economies hit multi-year highs.
In emerging Europe, where inflation pressures are still persistent, policy makers in Hungary and the Czech Republic are set to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, both of which held rates stable at the last meetings but pledged to tackle inflation.
Thursday has meetings scheduled for Indonesia — where the central bank has just seen growth added to its mandate — as well as Egypt, which is in line for support from the International Monetary Fund.
Outlier Turkey is due to make a decision the same day, though watchers expect no change after rates were lowered to single digits ahead of next year's election despite rising inflation.
Zacks #1 Rank (STRONG BUY) Stocks
Given the major recession fear out there, I found three names on our list this week that surprised me.
(1) Dillard's: This is a $310 a share, Regional Department Store group, with a market cap of $5.4B. I see a Zacks Value score of A, a Zacks Growth score of B and a Zacks Momentum score of A.
(2) United Bankshares: This is a $38 a share, Southeast U.S. Bank, with a market cap of $5.3B. I see a Zacks Value score of C, a Zacks Growth score of C and a Zacks Momentum score of F.
(3) International Game Technology: This is a $24 a share, Consumer Discretionary-Gaming firm, with a market cap of 5.0B. I see a Zacks Value score of A, a Zacks Growth score of C and a Zacks Momentum score of D.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Our 5 best-performing strategies have blown away the S&P's impressive +28.8% gain in 2021. Amazingly, they soared +40.3%, +48.2%, +67.6%, +94.4%, and +95.3%. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
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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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Dillard's, United Bankshares and International Game Technology
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 20, 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: Dillard's (DDS - Free Report) , United Bankshares (UBSI - Free Report) and International Game Technology (IGT - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
The Top Trades in 2023? Global Week Ahead
In the Global Week Ahead, the state of the U.S. housing market is one focus.
In Europe, unusually cold weather has raised concerns of electricity outages and renewed anxiety about energy costs.
In Asia, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will be the last of the major developed country central banks to hold a policy meeting this year.
Finally, central bank policy-makers in emerging economies also mark the year-end, with policy rate decisions.
Next are Reuters' five world market themes, reordered for equity traders—
(1) The Top Trades in 2023?
'Tis the season to be bullish about the year ahead, at least if you sell stocks for a living.
With recessions looming in the United States and Europe, however, money managers expect another poor year for equities and are huddling around lower-risk trades.
Investors surveyed by Deutsche Bank predict a -2.2% fall for the S&P500 next year, citing a worse-than-expected recession.
One trend many agree on is that inflation will subside, powering enthusiasm for U.S. Treasuries and investment grade corporate credit following a rout in 2022.
Expectations of a softer dollar as the U.S. economy slows have sparked optimism about emerging markets, which should also benefit from China easing COVID-19 restrictions.
Money managers are widely betting on the yen against the dollar, as speculation mounts that the BoJ will move away from its ultra-dovish monetary policies.
(2) Incoming U.S. Macro Data, with a Housing Focus.
Can the United States ward off a recession as consumer prices come off the boil?
Investors get a fresh read-out on the world's top economy and its inflation pressures on Tuesday when November Housing Starts and Existing Home Sales numbers are due.
In October, rising mortgage rates saw U.S. existing home sales sink for a record ninth straight month, home-building fell sharply with single-family projects dropping to a near 2-1/2 year low.
Wednesday will see the Conference Board consumer confidence survey, which slipped to a four-month low in November. The reading for the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index is also for release on Dec. 23rd after recent inflation data came in softer-than-expected.
(3) Winter in Europe. Causing the Risk of Blackouts to Rise.
A cold snap in Europe raises the risk of electricity blackouts that could exacerbate pain inflicted by the energy shock and high inflation.
It also tests Europe's resolve to save energy and mitigate the economic impact of the Ukraine war.
Europe's gas storage is almost 90% full after European Union governments acted to build reserves following disruption of Russian supplies, but a series of nuclear outages, especially in France, has added to nervousness of electricity outages.
France is striving to avert power cuts, and Germany is bleeding cash to keep the lights on.
Emmanuel Macron says it was absurd to worry that blackouts would cripple infrastructure, while officials warn of possible outages and France's Banking Federation said cash machines would be affected.
Traders, trying to assess how deep Europe's economic slowdown will prove, should pay attention to the weather report.
(4) When Does the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Pivot?
Even the uber-dovish Bank of Japan has not been spared from investors trying to pick central bank pivot points.
A shock acceleration in Tokyo consumer prices to the fastest pace in 40 years has emboldened some to short Japanese government bonds ahead of Tuesday's policy decision.
Speculation was heightened by rare hints from policy board members that it might be time to review ultra-easy stimulus settings.
But BOJ watchers say a shift will not happen until Governor Haruhiko Kuroda steps down in April after a decade at the helm.
There's good reason to take it slow: the recovery is fragile and inflation, while high, is nowhere near European and U.S. levels.
And nationwide CPI data will only be due after the policy decision — made public on Friday.
(5) A Set of Emerging Market Central Banks Also Meet on Policy Rates.
A set of emerging market central banks will mark the end to a year, in which the scale and pace of rate hikes in developing economies hit multi-year highs.
In emerging Europe, where inflation pressures are still persistent, policy makers in Hungary and the Czech Republic are set to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, both of which held rates stable at the last meetings but pledged to tackle inflation.
Thursday has meetings scheduled for Indonesia — where the central bank has just seen growth added to its mandate — as well as Egypt, which is in line for support from the International Monetary Fund.
Outlier Turkey is due to make a decision the same day, though watchers expect no change after rates were lowered to single digits ahead of next year's election despite rising inflation.
Zacks #1 Rank (STRONG BUY) Stocks
Given the major recession fear out there, I found three names on our list this week that surprised me.
(1) Dillard's: This is a $310 a share, Regional Department Store group, with a market cap of $5.4B. I see a Zacks Value score of A, a Zacks Growth score of B and a Zacks Momentum score of A.
(2) United Bankshares: This is a $38 a share, Southeast U.S. Bank, with a market cap of $5.3B. I see a Zacks Value score of C, a Zacks Growth score of C and a Zacks Momentum score of F.
(3) International Game Technology: This is a $24 a share, Consumer Discretionary-Gaming firm, with a market cap of 5.0B. I see a Zacks Value score of A, a Zacks Growth score of C and a Zacks Momentum score of D.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Our 5 best-performing strategies have blown away the S&P's impressive +28.8% gain in 2021. Amazingly, they soared +40.3%, +48.2%, +67.6%, +94.4%, and +95.3%. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
See Stocks Free >>
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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/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.