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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Meritor, Actuant, Cleveland-Cliffs and Caterpillar

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 20, 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 Meritor, Inc. , Actuant Corporation , Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF - Free Report) and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT - Free Report) .

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Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

4 Stocks to Buy as Industrial Production Edges Up in July

Per the latest report from the Federal Reserve on Aug 15, U.S. industrial production for the month of July increased 0.1%. The rise in the metric, which measures output at factories, mines and utilities across the country, was buoyed by a steady rise in manufacturing output.

An increase in manufacturing activity points toward steady economic growth. Under circumstances where manufacturing and factory output remains robust, investing in stocks of companies from the space seems prudent.

U.S. Manufacturing Remains Upbeat

Experts had largely expected that U.S. factories would suffer due to an increase in tariffs on China by the Trump administration. Such anticipations stemmed from the fact that China too had imposed increased retaliatory tariffs on the United States. However, manufacturing output, which constitutes about 12% of the economy, increased steadily on the back of strong domestic and global demand. The metric gained 0.3% last month, in line with the consensus estimate.

Such growth was pivotal in boosting overall industrial production last month. On the other hand, capacity utilization, which measures the overall production efficiency of firms within the country, remained unchanged from June at 78.1% in July.

What Led to the Growth?

Apart from improving manufacturing activity, a steady increase in motor vehicle production, machinery output, and production of computers and electronics in the country contributed significantly to last month’s rise in industrial production. While motor vehicle production rose 0.9% last month, machinery output and production of computers and electronics logged 0.6% and 1.9% growth, respectively, in the same period.

Notably, manufacturing output increased 2.8% from the same period in 2017. Meanwhile, mining production declined 0.3% in July and oil and gas well drilling declined 4.3% in July. Despite falling, mining output remained well above the 2017 level, increasing 13% last year. Also, utilities have increased 2.3% from 2017.

4 Hot Choices

Manufacturing activity in the United States has been going from strength to strength. Such a claim stems from the fact that industrial production remained largely resilient to shocks from global trade war. Such developments are also a positive sign for U.S. economic growth because manufacturing constitutes a major chunk of the GDP.

In this context, we have selected four stocks that are expected to gain from these factors. These four stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Meritor, Inc. is a global automotive parts manufacturer and supplier.

The company is based out of Troy, MI. The expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 57.45%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 5.3% over the past 60 days.

Actuant Corporation is involved in the designing, manufacture and distribution of various industrial products and systems for its clients in more than 30 countries.

The company is based out of Menomonee Falls, WI. The expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 28.23%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 2.9% over the past 60 days.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America.

The company is based out of Menomonee Falls, WI. The expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 60.5% over the past 60 days.

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells mining and construction equipment, natural gas engines, diesel-electric locomotives and other related products in the market.

The company is based out of Deerfield, IL. The expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 67.72%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 7.5% over the past 60 days.

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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.

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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.


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