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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Toll Brothers, Burlington Stores, Acco Brands and Huntington Ingalls Industries
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – Feb 27, 2018 – 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 Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL - Free Report) , Burlington Stores Inc. (BURL - Free Report) , Acco Brands Corporation (ACCO - Free Report) and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (HII - Free Report) .
Although inflation fears and the resultant faster-than-expected rates hike have been playing foul in the stock market, the long-term fundamentals remain intact given solid corporate earnings and accelerating global economic growth.
The euphoria surrounding the tax reform has been the biggest catalyst this year, as it will perk up the economy and save billions for corporations, leading to reflation trade and an earnings boost. Further, increased consumer spending, rising consumer confidence, 17-year low unemployment, and a pickup in average hourly earnings are bolstering confidence in the economy and the nine-year bull market (read: 4 ETFs at the Heart of the Market Rebound).
However, volatility will continue to block the bulls going ahead this year given stretched valuations, geopolitical tension, and Washington turmoil. Additionally, higher rates will lead to a rise in borrowing costs, thereby hurting economic growth.
Against such a backdrop, investors could be well served by looking at the ETFs and stocks of the top-ranked sectors.
How to Find the Top-Performing Sectors
While identifying the top-performing sector is a daunting task, the Zacks Industry Rank makes this process simpler. The Zacks Industry Rank is determined by calculating the average Zacks Rank for each stock in the industry and then assigning a rank to it. First, we selected the best industries that have a top Zacks Rank.
A top Zacks Industry Rank means that more stocks within that group are seeing upward earnings estimate revisions. Since an industry is a group of stocks in a similar business, this is the perfect way to size it up (read: all the Top Ranked ETFs).
The Zacks Industry classification divides the business world into 16 sectors comprising 60 medium or M-level industries and 260 plus or X-level industries. We rank all 260 plus X-level industries based on the earnings outlook of the constituent companies into two groups: the top half (i.e., industries with the best average Zacks Rank) and the bottom half (the industries with the worst average Zacks Rank).
The top 132 Zacks Ranked industries would be in the top 50% of all X-level industries, whereas the bottom 133 Zacks Ranked industries would be in the bottom 50%.
Construction
About 80% of the industries under this sector are top-ranked with homebuilders (top 5%) and wood (top 9%) leading the way higher, followed by miscellaneous (top 12%), paints and related products (top 14%), and concrete and aggregates (top 20%). While tight supply, rising prices, and higher mortgage rates might lose appeal for the homebuilding segment, solid labor market fundamentals along with rising wages will continue to fuel growth. Builders are also optimistic about the outlook, suggesting that strong demand for homes in the months ahead (read: Solid Data Drives Housing Stocks and ETFs Higher).
Toll Brothers Inc.:This Zacks Rank #1 company builds an array of luxury residential single-family detached, attached home, master planned resort-style golf, and urban low-, mid-, and high-rise communities. It saw positive earnings estimate revisions by 24 cents for this fiscal year in the past 30 days, and has an expected growth rate of 28.71%. The stock has a VGM Score of A.
Retail
The retail sector is flourishing this year thanks to a massive $1.5-trillion tax cut, which will provide consumers with extra cash that will lead to higher discretionary spending. Additionally, retailers, especially departmental stores are the biggest beneficiaries of the tax cut plan as they pay maximum taxes among S&P 500 companies given their large domestic networks. As such, automotive retailer and regional departmental stores boast a top industry rank and are expected to outperform, followed by consumer electronic (top 2%), miscellaneous (top 5%) and discount stores (top 9%).
Burlington Stores Inc.: This Zacks Rank #2 company operates as a retailer of branded apparel products in the United States, offering fashion-focused merchandise, including ladies sportswear, menswear, youth apparel, baby furniture, footwear, accessories, home décor and gifts, and coats. It saw positive earnings estimate revision of four cents for this fiscal year in the past one month, with an expected growth rate of 19.83%. The stock has a VGM Score of B.
Industrials
The industrial product sector is expected to see a bump with Trump’s infrastructure plan that will lead to higher demand for wide range of manufacturing products. Additionally, 65% of the industries fall under the top-ranked category. Office supplies, manufacturing -- electrical utilities, and manufacturing -- construction and mining are placed in the top 2%.
Acco Brands Corporation: This Zacks Rank #2 company is a world leader in branded office products with industry-leading brands including Swingline, Kensington, Wilson Jones, Quartet, GBC, and Day-Timer. It saw solid earnings estimate revision of 11 cents for this year in the past one month and is expected to see growth of 13.45%. The stock has a VGM Score of A.
Aerospace
The aerospace sector is the best performing sector so far this year. The outperformance is likely to continue with top-ranked defense (top 25%) and defense equipment (top 36%) industries. A boost in military spending in Trump budget proposal and rising geopolitical risks bodes well for the sector (read: Can Aerospace & Defense ETFs Keep Soaring?).
Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.:This Zacks Rank #1 company is engaged in designing, building, overhauling, and repairing ships primarily for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. The stock saw whopping earnings estimate revision of $4.94 for this year in the past 30 days and is expected to see earnings growth of 43.16%. The stock has a VGM Score of B (read: Trump's 2019 Budget Blueprint: ETF Winners & Losers).
Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?
Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >>
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential stocks free >>.
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/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Toll Brothers, Burlington Stores, Acco Brands and Huntington Ingalls Industries
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – Feb 27, 2018 – 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 Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL - Free Report) , Burlington Stores Inc. (BURL - Free Report) , Acco Brands Corporation (ACCO - Free Report) and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (HII - Free Report) .
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
Top-Ranked Sector Stocks from Top Industries
Although inflation fears and the resultant faster-than-expected rates hike have been playing foul in the stock market, the long-term fundamentals remain intact given solid corporate earnings and accelerating global economic growth.
The euphoria surrounding the tax reform has been the biggest catalyst this year, as it will perk up the economy and save billions for corporations, leading to reflation trade and an earnings boost. Further, increased consumer spending, rising consumer confidence, 17-year low unemployment, and a pickup in average hourly earnings are bolstering confidence in the economy and the nine-year bull market (read: 4 ETFs at the Heart of the Market Rebound).
However, volatility will continue to block the bulls going ahead this year given stretched valuations, geopolitical tension, and Washington turmoil. Additionally, higher rates will lead to a rise in borrowing costs, thereby hurting economic growth.
Against such a backdrop, investors could be well served by looking at the ETFs and stocks of the top-ranked sectors.
How to Find the Top-Performing Sectors
While identifying the top-performing sector is a daunting task, the Zacks Industry Rank makes this process simpler. The Zacks Industry Rank is determined by calculating the average Zacks Rank for each stock in the industry and then assigning a rank to it. First, we selected the best industries that have a top Zacks Rank.
A top Zacks Industry Rank means that more stocks within that group are seeing upward earnings estimate revisions. Since an industry is a group of stocks in a similar business, this is the perfect way to size it up (read: all the Top Ranked ETFs).
The Zacks Industry classification divides the business world into 16 sectors comprising 60 medium or M-level industries and 260 plus or X-level industries. We rank all 260 plus X-level industries based on the earnings outlook of the constituent companies into two groups: the top half (i.e., industries with the best average Zacks Rank) and the bottom half (the industries with the worst average Zacks Rank).
The top 132 Zacks Ranked industries would be in the top 50% of all X-level industries, whereas the bottom 133 Zacks Ranked industries would be in the bottom 50%.
Construction
About 80% of the industries under this sector are top-ranked with homebuilders (top 5%) and wood (top 9%) leading the way higher, followed by miscellaneous (top 12%), paints and related products (top 14%), and concrete and aggregates (top 20%). While tight supply, rising prices, and higher mortgage rates might lose appeal for the homebuilding segment, solid labor market fundamentals along with rising wages will continue to fuel growth. Builders are also optimistic about the outlook, suggesting that strong demand for homes in the months ahead (read: Solid Data Drives Housing Stocks and ETFs Higher).
Toll Brothers Inc.:This Zacks Rank #1 company builds an array of luxury residential single-family detached, attached home, master planned resort-style golf, and urban low-, mid-, and high-rise communities. It saw positive earnings estimate revisions by 24 cents for this fiscal year in the past 30 days, and has an expected growth rate of 28.71%. The stock has a VGM Score of A.
Retail
The retail sector is flourishing this year thanks to a massive $1.5-trillion tax cut, which will provide consumers with extra cash that will lead to higher discretionary spending. Additionally, retailers, especially departmental stores are the biggest beneficiaries of the tax cut plan as they pay maximum taxes among S&P 500 companies given their large domestic networks. As such, automotive retailer and regional departmental stores boast a top industry rank and are expected to outperform, followed by consumer electronic (top 2%), miscellaneous (top 5%) and discount stores (top 9%).
Burlington Stores Inc.: This Zacks Rank #2 company operates as a retailer of branded apparel products in the United States, offering fashion-focused merchandise, including ladies sportswear, menswear, youth apparel, baby furniture, footwear, accessories, home décor and gifts, and coats. It saw positive earnings estimate revision of four cents for this fiscal year in the past one month, with an expected growth rate of 19.83%. The stock has a VGM Score of B.
Industrials
The industrial product sector is expected to see a bump with Trump’s infrastructure plan that will lead to higher demand for wide range of manufacturing products. Additionally, 65% of the industries fall under the top-ranked category. Office supplies, manufacturing -- electrical utilities, and manufacturing -- construction and mining are placed in the top 2%.
Acco Brands Corporation: This Zacks Rank #2 company is a world leader in branded office products with industry-leading brands including Swingline, Kensington, Wilson Jones, Quartet, GBC, and Day-Timer. It saw solid earnings estimate revision of 11 cents for this year in the past one month and is expected to see growth of 13.45%. The stock has a VGM Score of A.
Aerospace
The aerospace sector is the best performing sector so far this year. The outperformance is likely to continue with top-ranked defense (top 25%) and defense equipment (top 36%) industries. A boost in military spending in Trump budget proposal and rising geopolitical risks bodes well for the sector (read: Can Aerospace & Defense ETFs Keep Soaring?).
Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.:This Zacks Rank #1 company is engaged in designing, building, overhauling, and repairing ships primarily for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. The stock saw whopping earnings estimate revision of $4.94 for this year in the past 30 days and is expected to see earnings growth of 43.16%. The stock has a VGM Score of B (read: Trump's 2019 Budget Blueprint: ETF Winners & Losers).
Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?
Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >>
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1 Stock of the Day pick for free.
About Zacks Equity Research
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential 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.