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5 Strong Buy Stocks Gift-Wrapped for the Holidays

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It’s that time of year again. It’s time to put aside whatever has been bothering us all through the year to focus instead on family, friends, gifts, treats and what not. It’s time to reward ourselves!

So what if it has been a particularly difficult year? So what if the pandemic took us by surprise, throwing our health and finances into chaos? Our determination to deal with the unknowns has yielded a couple of effective vaccines (and one not so effective). But there are numerous others in the works and people are talking about broad availability before too long.

And when that happens, the weakest amongst us, the ones that haven’t even been able to access a stimulus check for want of connectivity, will all be able to face the day with confidence. Overall, we’ve been doing the best we can to earn our pay checks, whether that meant setting up a home office, or getting back to work with masks and other safety protocols. It’s our efforts that have pulled the economy out of the depression.

And it’s happening right now. The numbers are pouring in from all quarters, and they’re overwhelmingly positive, except in a few areas.   

So it’s a great time to buy stocks, especially if they’re ranked #1 (Strong Buy) by Zacks, have a Zacks Value-Growth-Momentum (VGM) Score of A, are plays on happening industries, have attractive long-term growth prospects, are seeing their estimates going up and are paying a regular dividend. Doubly so, if they’re also going cheap.

So let’s uncover-

Avnet, Inc. (AVT - Free Report)

One of the world’s largest distributors of electronic components and computer products, Avnet belongs to the Electronics - Parts Distribution industry, which is the top 1% of Zacks ranked industries. And as you probably know, stocks in the top 50% of Zacks-classified industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of 2 to 1. Also, about half of a stocks appreciation is tied to the group it’s in. So Avnet clearly looks good on this count.

Its fiscal 2021 (ending June) and 2022 earnings estimates are up 24 cents (15.2%) and 34 cents (12.8%), respectively in the last 30 days.

Avnet’s long-term growth rate estimate of 18.99% and dividend yield of 2.76% are other positives worth considering.

The shares are down 28.2% so far this year, not having recovered from the pandemic. Since the forward P/E of 14.09X is well below the median value of 16.06X over the past year, there’s every reason for appreciation.

Rush Enterprises, Inc. (RUSHA - Free Report)

Rush Enterprises operates the largest network of Peterbilt heavy-duty truck dealerships in North America and John Deere construction equipment dealerships in Texas and Michigan. Its being part of the very attractive Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry (top 3%) means that there is room for notable appreciation in the company’s shares.

Its fiscal 2020 and 2021 earnings estimates are up 27 cents (17.1%) and 20 cents (9.9%), respectively in the last 30 days.

Its estimated long-term growth rate of 15.00% and dividend yield of 1.42% are also encouraging.

Rusha shares are up 27.1% this year. But its forward P/E multiple of 18.00X is below the median value of 18.77X over the past year. Given all the positives, these shares should appreciate.

Magna International Inc. (MGA - Free Report)

Magna manufactures and supplies automotive components to car and light truck OEMs. This places it in the Automotive - Original Equipment industry, which is in the top 19% of Zacks-classified industries.

Fiscal 2020 and 2021 earnings estimates are up 90 cents (44.1%) and 81 cents (16.5%), respectively in the last 30 days.

Magna’s long-term growth rate is currently estimated to be a sedate 5.00% while its dividend yield of 2.55% is nothing to scoff at.

MGA shares are up 12.5% year to date. However, its forward P/E of 11.29X is still below the median value of 11.63X. So considering all the positives, the shares look cheap.

Electrolux AB (ELUXY - Free Report)

Electrolux makes household and commercial appliances, outdoor products and industrial products. It belongs in the Household Appliances industry, which is in the top 39% of Zacks-classified industries.

The estimates are yet to be revised after the company reported very strong numbers in the September quarter when it beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 249.1%. Note that the current year estimate jumped $1.60 in the last 60 days. It appears very likely that estimates will go up within the next few days, which should be followed by appreciation in share prices.

The company’s long-term growth rate is expected to be 6.85%. Its dividend yields 2.80%.

The shares are down 1.1% for the year to date, as they’re still in the process of climbing out of the March lows. The forward P/E of 15.90X is well below the median value of 18.18X over the past year, an indication that the shares are going cheap.

Ternium S.A. (TX - Free Report)

Ternium is the leading producer of flat and long steel products of Latin America and consolidates the operations of the steel companies Hylsa in Mexico, Siderar in Argentina and Sidor in Venezuela. It is part of the Steel – Producers industry (top 49%).

The 2020 and 2021 earnings estimates are up $1.01 (157.8%) and $2.21 (104.2%), respectively in the last 30 days.

The long-term growth rate (8.02%) and the dividend yield (4.43%) are both important factors to consider when investing in Ternium shares.

The shares are up 23.0% this year. But the 6.64X forward P/E multiple is still well below the median value of 10.03X over the past year. Therefore the shares are undervalued.

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