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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Rent-A-Center, Hudson, Hamilton Beach Brands Holding, Marcus and Rocky Brands
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – November 29, 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 Rent-A-Center, Inc. , Hudson Ltd. , Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co. (HBB - Free Report) , The Marcus Corporation (MCS - Free Report) and Rocky Brands, Inc. (RCKY - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
Consumer Confidence Falls but Remains Robust: 5 Top Picks
Consumer confidence slipped from an 18-year peak in November, the first such decline in five months. Fresh data from the Conference Board reveals that the outlook for business conditions has dulled. Respondents are also unsure about how fast their income will grow next year.
However, the index remains at an appreciably high level. Further, consumers are confident that economic expansion will continue in 2019. Significantly, the confidence in the job market remains undimmed, with unemployment at a near 50-year low.
Notably, consumer spending makes up nearly 70% of U.S. GDP. And despite the slight decline in confidence, American consumers remain an upbeat lot. This is why it makes sense to invest in consumer discretionary stocks heading into the New Year.
Outlook for Future Business Conditions Declines
The Consumer Confidence index declined from 137.9 in October to 135.7 in November. However, it still came in above the estimated level of 135.4. The Present Situation Index, which gauges consumers’ views about current market conditions, inched upward from 171.9 to 172.7.
This measure of the current state of the economy is only marginally lower than its highest level in 18 years. However, the Expectations Index, which is a measure of the short-term outlook, declined from 115.1 to 111.0.
Per Lynn Franco of the Conference Board, this was “primarily due to a less optimistic view of future business conditions and personal income prospects.” Analysts believe that this is a reflection of the recent stock market turbulence and concerns about trade conflicts and rising interest rates.
Robust Labor Market Fuels Consumer Resilience
The need to closely monitor consumer sentiment stems from the fact that consumer expenditure makes up nearly two-thirds of U.S. GDP. Currently, consumer spending is in ruddy health, increasing at a 4% annual pace from July to September, the fastest pace since late 2014.
Robust consumer spending is in turn fueled by a strong labor market. Currently, the unemployment rate is near a 50-year low of 3.7%. This is exactly why the number of respondents, who believe jobs are “plentiful” increased from 45.4% to 46.6%, the largest share since January 2001.
According to Franco, “consumers are still quite confident that economic growth will continue at a solid pace into early 2019.” Analysts believe that despite a small slip in confidence and a recognition that economic growth may be slowing, consumers remain upbeat. The resilience in consumer spending is the best indicator of their confidence.
Our Choices
Despite, the marginal decline in consumer confidence, American consumers remain optimistic about current prospects. They do remain concerned about income growth in the future, though. Further, there is a recognition that growth may moderate in 2019. But the pace of expansion should still remain fairly robust.
Given that consumer confidence remains largely resilient, supported by a robust labor market, consumer discretionary stocks are once again strong bets. This is because personal consumption makes up two-thirds of total GDP. However, picking winning stocks may be difficult.
This is where our VGM Score comes in. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. However, it is important to keep in mind that each Style Score will carry a different weight while arriving at a VGM Score.
Rent-A-Center, Inc.is the largest rent-to-own operator in the U.S. offering durable goods such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers, furniture and accessories.
Rent-A-Center has a VGM Score of A. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 12.5% over the last 30 days.
Hudson Ltd.is a travel retailer, operating primarily in North America.
Hudson has a VGM Score of A. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 14% over the last 30 days.
Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co., along with its subsidiaries, is a designer, marketer and distributor of branded electric household and specialty housewares appliances, as well as commercial products for restaurants, bars and hotels.
Hamilton Beach has a VGM Score of A. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is 21.2%.
The Marcus Corporationis an owner and operator of hotels, resorts and movie theaters.
The Marcus Corporation has a VGM Score of B. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 21.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 6.8% over the last 60 days.
Rocky Brands, Inc.is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of premium quality footwear and apparel.
Rocky Brands has a VGM Score of B. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 57.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 7.6% over the last 60 days.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
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: Rent-A-Center, Hudson, Hamilton Beach Brands Holding, Marcus and Rocky Brands
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – November 29, 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 Rent-A-Center, Inc. , Hudson Ltd. , Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co. (HBB - Free Report) , The Marcus Corporation (MCS - Free Report) and Rocky Brands, Inc. (RCKY - Free Report) .
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
Consumer Confidence Falls but Remains Robust: 5 Top Picks
Consumer confidence slipped from an 18-year peak in November, the first such decline in five months. Fresh data from the Conference Board reveals that the outlook for business conditions has dulled. Respondents are also unsure about how fast their income will grow next year.
However, the index remains at an appreciably high level. Further, consumers are confident that economic expansion will continue in 2019. Significantly, the confidence in the job market remains undimmed, with unemployment at a near 50-year low.
Notably, consumer spending makes up nearly 70% of U.S. GDP. And despite the slight decline in confidence, American consumers remain an upbeat lot. This is why it makes sense to invest in consumer discretionary stocks heading into the New Year.
Outlook for Future Business Conditions Declines
The Consumer Confidence index declined from 137.9 in October to 135.7 in November. However, it still came in above the estimated level of 135.4. The Present Situation Index, which gauges consumers’ views about current market conditions, inched upward from 171.9 to 172.7.
This measure of the current state of the economy is only marginally lower than its highest level in 18 years. However, the Expectations Index, which is a measure of the short-term outlook, declined from 115.1 to 111.0.
Per Lynn Franco of the Conference Board, this was “primarily due to a less optimistic view of future business conditions and personal income prospects.” Analysts believe that this is a reflection of the recent stock market turbulence and concerns about trade conflicts and rising interest rates.
Robust Labor Market Fuels Consumer Resilience
The need to closely monitor consumer sentiment stems from the fact that consumer expenditure makes up nearly two-thirds of U.S. GDP. Currently, consumer spending is in ruddy health, increasing at a 4% annual pace from July to September, the fastest pace since late 2014.
Robust consumer spending is in turn fueled by a strong labor market. Currently, the unemployment rate is near a 50-year low of 3.7%. This is exactly why the number of respondents, who believe jobs are “plentiful” increased from 45.4% to 46.6%, the largest share since January 2001.
According to Franco, “consumers are still quite confident that economic growth will continue at a solid pace into early 2019.” Analysts believe that despite a small slip in confidence and a recognition that economic growth may be slowing, consumers remain upbeat. The resilience in consumer spending is the best indicator of their confidence.
Our Choices
Despite, the marginal decline in consumer confidence, American consumers remain optimistic about current prospects. They do remain concerned about income growth in the future, though. Further, there is a recognition that growth may moderate in 2019. But the pace of expansion should still remain fairly robust.
Given that consumer confidence remains largely resilient, supported by a robust labor market, consumer discretionary stocks are once again strong bets. This is because personal consumption makes up two-thirds of total GDP. However, picking winning stocks may be difficult.
This is where our VGM Score comes in. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. However, it is important to keep in mind that each Style Score will carry a different weight while arriving at a VGM Score.
We have narrowed down our search to the following stocks, each of which has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a good VGM Score. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Rent-A-Center, Inc.is the largest rent-to-own operator in the U.S. offering durable goods such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers, furniture and accessories.
Rent-A-Center has a VGM Score of A. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 12.5% over the last 30 days.
Hudson Ltd.is a travel retailer, operating primarily in North America.
Hudson has a VGM Score of A. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 14% over the last 30 days.
Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co., along with its subsidiaries, is a designer, marketer and distributor of branded electric household and specialty housewares appliances, as well as commercial products for restaurants, bars and hotels.
Hamilton Beach has a VGM Score of A. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is 21.2%.
The Marcus Corporationis an owner and operator of hotels, resorts and movie theaters.
The Marcus Corporation has a VGM Score of B. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 21.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 6.8% over the last 60 days.
Rocky Brands, Inc.is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of premium quality footwear and apparel.
Rocky Brands has a VGM Score of B. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 57.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 7.6% over the last 60 days.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>
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.