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Zacks.com featured expert Kevin Matras highlights: Visa, Graco, Centene and Arch Coal

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 11, 2018 - Stocks in this week’s article include: Visa (V - Free Report) , Graco (GGG - Free Report) , Centene (CNC - Free Report) and Arch Coal (ARCH - Free Report) . Kevin Matras screens for companies showing their 'first' profit, and explains why they are ones to watch.

Screen of the Week written by Kevin Matras of Zacks Investment Research:

Winning Stock Picks from the Top Industries for Job Growth

 Every week the government and other entities release economic reports that cover all areas of the economy - from retail sales to housing, to international trade to consumer sentiment.

In fact, on virtually any given day there could be anywhere from one to a handful of reports.

And while the financial media does cover them, they usually focus on headline numbers without doing a deeper dive.

This is unfortunate because within these reports often exists money-making details that can quickly be uncovered with just an extra few minutes of reading.

For example, in the Employment Situation report, it details what sectors saw the most new jobs or labor force expansion, and which ones contracted.

I can remember countless times where that report got me into the right sectors and industries at the right time before anybody else was talking about them.

In fact, I still remember getting into housing in early 2012 while everybody else was staying as far away from it as possible. But, after seeing construction jobs continue to rise in report after report after report, I knew the housing market had turned. And that was one of the first alerts to the housing recovery - for those who knew where to look.

But the headline number and the obligatory one-or-two-sentence write ups on many news sites missed the best part of the story by not going the extra mile (or paragraph).

Well here we are again, with more stock-picking insight, straight from last week's Employment Situation report. Last week it showed that some of the biggest job creation came from these four industries:

1) Professional & Business Services: +33,000
(up 502,000 over the last 12 months)

2) Manufacturing: +22,000
(up 232,000 over the last 12 months)

3) Health Care: +22,000
(up 264,000 over the last 12 months)

4) Mining: +9,000

Once these reports point you in the right direction, you can then plug in the appropriate sectors and industries to capitalize on this information and find the best stocks within those groups.

This is just one very specific way to do top down analysis. But you can go to any screener (like the one on Zacks.com or the Research Wizard) and locate the sector, then industry of interest.

Then you should add in your favorite and most successful stock-picking criteria to drill down to the best ones, such as Zacks Rank 1s or 2s (Strong Buys or Buys); market-beating growth rates; below industry valuations; upward earnings estimate revisions, etc.

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/commentary/157433/winning-stock-picks-from-the-top-4-industries-with-the-biggest-job-growth

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

About Screen of the Week

Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine.  But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.

Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

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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 http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Visa Inc. (V) - free report >>

Graco Inc. (GGG) - free report >>

Centene Corporation (CNC) - free report >>

Arch Resources Inc. (ARCH) - free report >>