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Invest in These 5 Stocks With Upgraded Broker Ratings

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In extremely volatile markets like now, it becomes increasingly difficult for individual investors to select stocks on their own and generate solid returns. Currently, markets are facing concerns regarding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and unprecedented inflation numbers. Thus, picking stocks at present is a daunting task.

So, how does an investor select the right stocks? One way is to follow rating upgrades by brokers. Thus, in this regard, stocks like Carter's, Inc. (CRI - Free Report) , Fluor Corporation (FLR - Free Report) , Micron Technology (MU - Free Report) , Callon Petroleum Company and Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM - Free Report) are worth a look.

Brokers as they have a deeper understanding of stocks, the industries and the overall economy. Also, they communicate with the company executives and even attend conference calls.

Further, as brokers directly communicate with the top management, they have in-depth knowledge about what’s happening in a particular company. Also, they diligently go through the company’s publicly available documents and place the company fundamentals against the current economic backdrop to determine how the stock will fare as an investment. Hence, by following broker rating upgrades, one can easily find attractive stocks.

However, solely depending on broker upgrades is not the right way to build one’s investment portfolio. One must also take into consideration certain other factors before selecting any stock. This way, one can ensure robust returns.

Selecting the Winning Strategy

We have a screening strategy that will help you in your search for potential winners:

Broker Rating Upgrades (four weeks) of 1% or more: The screen selects stocks that have witnessed broker rating upgrades of 1% or more over the last four weeks.

Current Price greater than $5: The stocks must be trading above $5.

Average 20-day Volume greater than 100,000: A large trading volume guarantees that the stock is easily tradable.

Zacks Rank equal to #1 or 2: No matter whether market conditions are good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) have a proven record of success. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

VGM Score of A or B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 offer the best upside potential.

Here are the five of the 17 stocks that qualified the screening:

Atlanta, GA-based Carter's is the largest marketer of branded apparel and related products for babies and young children in North America. CRI has a portfolio of popular brands, including Carter’s, OshKoshB'gosh, Just One You, Child of Mine, Simple Joys, Skip Hop and Precious Firsts.

The company’s earnings for 2022 are expected to grow 13.5%. Carter's, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has witnessed a 20% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Headquartered in Irving, TX, Fluor provides engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services through a number of subsidiaries. FLR also provides operation and maintenance services to major industrial clients.

Fluor’s 2022 earnings are projected to jump 42.6%. The stock, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 at present, has witnessed a 20% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Idaho-based Micron has established itself as one of the leading worldwide providers of semiconductor memory solutions. Through global brands, namely Micron, Crucial and Ballistix, MU manufactures and markets high-performance memory and storage technologies

The company’s earnings for fiscal 2022 are expected to surge 47.7%. Micron, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #2, has witnessed a 5.9% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Callon Petroleum, headquartered in Houston, TX, is solely focused on exploring and producing oil and gas resources in the Permian Basin. Among the three major sub-basins of Permian — Midland Basin, Delaware Basin and Central Basin Platform — CPE has a strong footprint in the Midland and Delaware Basins.

Callon Petroleum’s 2022 earnings are projected to increase 65.9%. The stock, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has witnessed a 10% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Boston, MA-based Iron Mountain provides records & information management services and data center space & solutions in more than 50 countries. IRM serves around 225,000 customers from various industries through its 1,450 facilities.

The company’s earnings for 2022 are expected to grow 13.8%. Iron Mountain, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has witnessed a 33.3% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Get the rest of the stocks on the list and start putting this and other ideas to the test. It can all be done with the Research Wizard stock picking and backtesting software.

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.

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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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