Investors generally gauge a stock’s potential return by examining earnings growth and valuation multiples. At the same time, it’s important to measure the performance of such a stock relative to its industry or peers, or the appropriate benchmark.
If you see that a stock is underperforming on fundamental factors, then it would be prudent to move on and find a better alternative. However, those outperforming their respective sectors in terms of price should be selected because they stand a better chance to provide considerable returns.
Then again, it is imperative that you determine whether or not an investment has relevant upside potential when considering stocks with significant relative price strength. Stocks delivering better than the S&P 500 over a period of 1 to 3 months at the least and having solid fundamentals indicate room for growth and are the best ways to go about this strategy.
Finally, it is important to find out whether analysts are optimistic about the upcoming earnings results of these companies. In order to do this, we have added positive estimate revisions for the current quarter’s (Q1) earnings to our screen. When a stock undergoes an upward revision, it leads to additional price gains.
Screening Parameters
Relative % Price change – 12 weeks greater than 0
Relative % Price change – 4 weeks greater than 0
Relative % Price change – 1 week greater than 0
(We have considered those stocks that have been outperforming the S&P 500 over the last 12 weeks, four weeks and one week.)
% Change (Q1) Est. over 4 Weeks greater than 0: Positive current quarter estimate revisions over the last four weeks.
Zacks Rank equal to 1: Only Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks – that have returned more than 26% annually over the last 26 years and surpassed the S&P 500 in 23 of the last 26 years – can get through. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Current Price greater than or equal to $5 and Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50,000: A minimum price of $5 is a good standard to screen low-priced stocks, while a high trading volume would imply adequate liquidity.
VGM Score less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 (Buy) offer the best upside potential.
Here are the five of the nine stocks that made it through the screen:
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD - Free Report) : Enterprise Products Partners, headquartered in Houston, TX, is among the leading energy infrastructure provider in North America. The firm has a VGM Score of B and an excellent earnings surprise history. It has a 100% track of outperforming estimates over the last four quarters at an average rate of 9.3%.
Rent-A-Center, Inc. : Rent-A-Center is the largest rent-to-own operator in the United States offering durable goods such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers, furniture and accessories. The 2018 Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Plano, TX-based company is 84 cents, representing some 255.6% earnings per share growth over 2017. Next year’s average forecast is $1.23 pointing to another 45.7% growth. Rent-A-Center has a VGM Score of A.
Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ - Free Report) : A vertically integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers, cells, solar modules (panels) and custom-designed solar power applications, Canadian Solar has a VGM Score of A. Over 30 days, the Ontario, Canada-based company has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 and 2019 increase 41.6% and 22.5%, to $2.45 and $2.23 per share, respectively.
The Mosaic Company (MOS - Free Report) : Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Plymouth, MN, The Mosaic Company is a leading producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash for the global agriculture industry. The company has a VGM Score of A and an enviable earnings surprise history having surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters.
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (ABG - Free Report) : Asbury Automotive Group is one of America’s leading auto dealers with more than 90 new vehicle franchises. Sporting a VGM Score of A, this Duluth, GA-headquartered company’s expected EPS growth rate for three to five years currently stands at 15.8%, comparing favorably with the industry's growth rate of 10%.
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today
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.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
Investors generally gauge a stock’s potential return by examining earnings growth and valuation multiples. At the same time, it’s important to measure the performance of such a stock relative to its industry or peers, or the appropriate benchmark.
If you see that a stock is underperforming on fundamental factors, then it would be prudent to move on and find a better alternative. However, those outperforming their respective sectors in terms of price should be selected because they stand a better chance to provide considerable returns.
Then again, it is imperative that you determine whether or not an investment has relevant upside potential when considering stocks with significant relative price strength. Stocks delivering better than the S&P 500 over a period of 1 to 3 months at the least and having solid fundamentals indicate room for growth and are the best ways to go about this strategy.
Finally, it is important to find out whether analysts are optimistic about the upcoming earnings results of these companies. In order to do this, we have added positive estimate revisions for the current quarter’s (Q1) earnings to our screen. When a stock undergoes an upward revision, it leads to additional price gains.
Screening Parameters
Relative % Price change – 12 weeks greater than 0
Relative % Price change – 4 weeks greater than 0
Relative % Price change – 1 week greater than 0
(We have considered those stocks that have been outperforming the S&P 500 over the last 12 weeks, four weeks and one week.)
% Change (Q1) Est. over 4 Weeks greater than 0: Positive current quarter estimate revisions over the last four weeks.
Zacks Rank equal to 1: Only Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks – that have returned more than 26% annually over the last 26 years and surpassed the S&P 500 in 23 of the last 26 years – can get through. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Current Price greater than or equal to $5 and Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50,000: A minimum price of $5 is a good standard to screen low-priced stocks, while a high trading volume would imply adequate liquidity.
VGM Score less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 (Buy) offer the best upside potential.
Here are the five of the nine stocks that made it through the screen:
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD - Free Report) : Enterprise Products Partners, headquartered in Houston, TX, is among the leading energy infrastructure provider in North America. The firm has a VGM Score of B and an excellent earnings surprise history. It has a 100% track of outperforming estimates over the last four quarters at an average rate of 9.3%.
Rent-A-Center, Inc. : Rent-A-Center is the largest rent-to-own operator in the United States offering durable goods such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers, furniture and accessories. The 2018 Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Plano, TX-based company is 84 cents, representing some 255.6% earnings per share growth over 2017. Next year’s average forecast is $1.23 pointing to another 45.7% growth. Rent-A-Center has a VGM Score of A.
Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ - Free Report) : A vertically integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers, cells, solar modules (panels) and custom-designed solar power applications, Canadian Solar has a VGM Score of A. Over 30 days, the Ontario, Canada-based company has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 and 2019 increase 41.6% and 22.5%, to $2.45 and $2.23 per share, respectively.
The Mosaic Company (MOS - Free Report) : Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Plymouth, MN, The Mosaic Company is a leading producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash for the global agriculture industry. The company has a VGM Score of A and an enviable earnings surprise history having surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters.
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (ABG - Free Report) : Asbury Automotive Group is one of America’s leading auto dealers with more than 90 new vehicle franchises. Sporting a VGM Score of A, this Duluth, GA-headquartered company’s expected EPS growth rate for three to five years currently stands at 15.8%, comparing favorably with the industry's growth rate of 10%.
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today
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.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
Get the latest research report on EPD - FREE
Get the latest research report on CSIQ - FREE
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