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5 Stocks With Recent Price Strength Despite September Mayhem

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U.S. stock markets witnessed a broad-based decline in September. Although September is historically the worst-performing month on Wall Street, it was the most disastrous in a decade this year.

Last month, the three major stock indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — plummeted 4.3%, 4.8% and 5.3%, respectively. The Dow registered its worst-monthly performance since October 2020.

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite recorded the worst monthly decline since March 2020. The Dow witnessed the worst monthly decline since October 2020. All three indexes posted their worst September since 2011. Notably, 10 out of 11 broad sectors of the S&P 500 Index ended in the red except energy. The CBOE VIX — popularly known as the market’s fear gauge — soared 40.4% last month.

Nevertheless, market participants have entered October — known for its fluctuating trading pattern — with several volatile factors that caused a meltdown on Wall Street last month. Some of these market-disturbing factors like higher inflationary pressure, Fed’s possible tapering of the quantitative easing program this year and concerns about global economic growth, especially China’s booming property development market, are already visible.

At this stage, wouldn’t it be a safer strategy to look for stocks that are winners and have the potential to gain further?

Sounds Good? Here’s How to Execute It:

One should primarily target stocks that have freshly been on a bull run. Stocks seeing price strength recently have a high chance of carrying the momentum forward.

If a stock is continuously witnessing an uptrend, there must be a solid reason or it would have probably crashed. So, looking at stocks capable of beating the benchmark that they have set for themselves seems rational.

However, recent price strength alone cannot create magic. Therefore, you need to set other relevant parameters to create a successful investment strategy.

Here’s how you should create the screen to shortlist the current as well as the potential winners.

Screening Parameters:

Percentage Change in Price (4 Weeks) greater than zero: This criterion shows that the stock has moved higher in the last four weeks.

Percentage Change Price (12 Weeks) greater than 10: This indicates that the stock has seen momentum over the last three months. This lowers the risk of choosing stocks that may have drawn attention due to the overwhelming performance of the overall market in a very short period.

Zacks Rank 1: No matter whether market conditions are good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of outperformance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Average Broker Rating 1: This indicates that brokers are also highly hopeful about the stock’s future performance.

Current Price greater than 5: The stocks must all be trading at a minimum of $5.

Current Price/ 52-Week High-Low Range more than 85%: This criterion filters stocks that are trading near their respective 52-week highs. It indicates that these are strong enough in terms of price.

Just these few criteria have narrowed down the search from over 7,700 stocks to just 10.

Here we present five out of those 10 stocks:

Euroseas Ltd. (ESEA - Free Report) provides ocean-going transportation services worldwide. It owns and operates containerships that transport dry and refrigerated containerized cargoes, including manufactured products and perishables.

The company’s stock price has soared 48.9% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 17.5% over the last 30 days.

Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corp. operates as a vacation ownership company. It markets and sells vacation ownership interests and manages resorts in leisure and urban destinations, including Orlando, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Charleston and New Orleans, and others.

The stock price has surged 17.6% in the past four weeks. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 7.4% over the last 7 days.

Global Ship Lease Inc. (GSL - Free Report) is a rapidly growing containership charter owner with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under long-term, fixed rate charters to world class container liner companies.

The stock price has gained 5.1% in the past four weeks. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 80.2% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 5.3% over the last 60 days.

Lifetime Brands Inc. (LCUT - Free Report) is a leading designer, marketer and distributor of kitchenware, cutlery & cutting boards, bakeware & cookware, pantryware & spices, tabletop and bath accessories for use at home in the United States and internationally.

The stock price has advanced 4.9% in the past four weeks. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 46.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 6.1% over the last 60 days.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (EGLE - Free Report) is engaged in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes worldwide. It owns, charters, and operates dry bulk vessels that transport a range of bulk cargoes, including iron ore, coal, grains, fertilizers, steel products, petcoke, cement and forest products.

The stock price has risen 4.5% in the past four weeks. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 27.8% over the last 60 days.

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 to day. 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.

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