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4 Momentum Stocks Helping Markets Hit New Record Highs

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The major benchmarks posted significant gains over the past one-month period due to a strong rally in crude prices. In this scenario, momentum investing might be a winning strategy for those seeking higher returns within a short duration. This is because the strategy looks to capture profits by buying hot stocks that have been on an uptrend over the past few weeks or months.

Oil Price Improves

The current market scenario has opened up a huge scope for momentum traders to stuff money into their pockets. This is because both The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) have improved significantly after OPEC agreed to cut global oil supply last month. In details, Dow and the S&P 500 have improved 5.4% and 3.4%, respectively.

In a favorable turn of events for the oil sector, the price of Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – crossed the$55 a barrel mark last week. This was mainly because some of the world's largest oil producers agreed to cut output by around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), or over 3%, to 32.5 million bpd for the first time since 2008 in a bid to support prices. Also, non-OPEC producers – including Russia – agreed to reduce oil output with additional cuts totaling 600,000 barrels a day.

Following the rise in oil prices to above the $50 per barrel level, the players involved in exploration and production (E&P) activities are now in a position to sell crude at higher prices. This should enable them to generate more cash flows for shareholders in the coming days.

4 Momentum Stocks on Fire

Given the optimism prevailing in the market, it will be prudent to invest in momentum stocks. A great way to narrow down the selection of momentum stocks is to look at their short-term price activity as this reflects the current interest in a stock and their earnings momentum.

We have picked four stocks using our Zacks style score system that promises strong momentum at present. These stocks not only have a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) but also have a momentum score of ‘A’ and ‘B.’ These also rallied considerably in the last four weeks.

Abraxas Petroleum Corporation (AXAS - Free Report) : Abraxas Petroleum, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploitation, development, and production of oil and gas properties in the United States. The company has gained 36% over the past one month.

Momentum Style Score: A

Zacks Rank: #2

Azure Midstream Partners, LP : Azure Midstream Partners, LP operates as a midstream natural gas gathering and processing partnership in the United States. The partnership offers gas gathering, transportation, compression, dehydration, treating, processing, natural gas liquids (NGL) transportation, and crude oil transloading services.  It has gained 29% over the past one month.

Momentum Style Score: B

Zacks Rank: #1

Braskem S.A. (BAK - Free Report) : It is the largest petrochemical operation in Latin America and is among the five largest private companies in Brazil. The company has gained 20.3% over the past one month.

Momentum Style Score: A

Zacks Rank: #1

Bob Evans Farms, Inc. :Bob Evans Farms, Inc. owns and operates full-service restaurants under the Bob Evans Restaurants brand in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Bob Evans Restaurants and BEF Foods. The company has gained 24.04% over the past one month.

Momentum Style Score: B

Zacks Rank: #1

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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