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Pick These 4 Retail Stocks that Surged 10% or More in a Month

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A favorable event lures investors, while an unfavorable one drives them away from the market. The current investment scenario has turned topsy-turvy of late, as tensions about a possible trade war between two of the world’s biggest economies flared up.

Wall Street investors are playing safe with the hope that the United States and China amicably settle all disputes. However, the market has already paid the price for confrontation with China over trade policies. In a month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 5.5%, while the S&P 500 declined approximately 6.5%. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index shed roughly 8.5%.

Nonetheless, ignoring the market jitters, a few stocks have managed to rise 10% or more in a month. Here we have highlighted four such stocks from the Retail-Wholesale sector. Notably, per the latest Earnings Outlook, as of Apr 6, the sector is expected to record top and bottom-line growth of 7.6% and 12%, respectively, in the current reporting cycle.

With unemployment rate still at 17-year low, consumer spending being favorable and government expenditure increasing, things appear to be fairly rosy for the U.S. economy. Notably, a strengthening labor market may lead to gradual wage acceleration, and in turn boost consumer confidence. All these sound constructive for retailers.

We expect this positive sentiment to translate into higher consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. We note that consumer spending ticked up 0.2% in February, following an equal rise in January.

Meanwhile, personal income surged $67.3 billion or 0.4% in February, marking the third straight month of a similar percentage increase. All these factors paint a bright picture for retailers, who are also benefiting from the corporate tax rate cut.

4 Prominent Picks

It is quite apparent that the market has witnessed a slew of events and to fetch higher returns amid such an investment climate is a difficult task. For now, betting your bucks on safer counters seems wise. Here we have highlighted five Retail-Wholesale Stocks based on their favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and a VGM Score of A or B.

Movado Group Inc. (MOV - Free Report) , which designs, develops, sources, markets and distributes fine watches, is a solid bet. It flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. Shares of the company have surged roughly 21.8% in a month. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Investors can also count on Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL - Free Report) , an off-price retailer of high-quality, branded apparel at everyday low prices. The stock has a long-term earnings growth rate of 18.6% and a VGM score of A. Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 company have gained about 11.5% in a month.

We also suggest investing in The Buckle, Inc. (BKE - Free Report) , which has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM score of A. Shares of this retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories have increased approximately 14.8% in a month.

Another stock that investors may look forward to is Dollar General Corp. (DG - Free Report) with a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM score of A. It has a long-term earnings growth rate of 14.6%. Shares of this discount retailer have advanced 10.4% in a month.

Zacks Editor-in-Chief Goes "All In" on This Stock

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