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Zacks.com featured highlights include Sanderson Farms, Malibu Boats, China Lodging Group and Universal Display

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 7, 2017 - Stocks in this week’s article include Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Nasdaq:  – Free Report), Malibu Boats, Inc. (Nasdaq: (MBUU - Free Report)  – Free Report), China Lodging Group, Limited (Nasdaq: (HTHT - Free Report)  – Free Report), Kraton Corporation (NYSE:  – Free Report) and Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: (OLED - Free Report)  – Free Report).

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:

Trust Driehaus Strategy and Buy These 5 Momentum Stocks

Driehaus strategy is preferred by investors with a relatively higher risk appetite. They pick momentum stocks in the hope of attractive returns. Richard Driehaus formulated a "buy high and sell higher" strategy, which is better known as Driehaus strategy. This strategy helped the pioneer of momentum investing to earn a place in Barron’s All-Century Team.

The American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) proved that the strategy has the potential to offer high returns. AAII’s portfolio, which was developed following the strategy, returned 13.5% and 18.1% in the five- and 10- year timeframe, respectively, compared with -1.1% and 4.2% returns registered by the S&P 500. Thus, investors with a high risk appetite might give = the Driehaus strategy a thought to boost returns.

A Brief Note on Driehaus’ Strategy

Regarding the strategy, Driehaus once said: “I would much rather invest in a stock that’s increasing in price and take the risk that it may begin to decline than invest in a stock that’s already in a decline and try to guess when it will turn around.” In line with his insight, AAII took into account the percentage 50-day moving average as one of the key criteria before designing a portfolio.

It is calculated by dividing the numerator (month-end price minus 50-day moving average of month-end price) by the 50-day moving average of the month-end price. Another momentum indicator – positive relative strength – has also been included. A positive percentage 50-day moving average indicates that the stock is trading at a price higher than its 50-day moving average level, indicating an uptrend.

Moreover, AAII found that Driehaus primarily focused on strong earnings growth rates and impressive earnings projections to pick potential outperformers. Companies with a strong history of beating estimates are also given importance in this strategy, which was made to provide better returns over the long term.

Screening Parameters

Our research shows that stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy) and a Momentum Score of A or B offer the best upside potential.

• Zacks Rank equal to #1

(Only Strong Buy-rated stocks can get through. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.)

Last 5-year average EPS growth rates above 2%

(Strong EPS growth history ensures improving business.)

Trailing 12 month EPS growth higher than 0 and industry median

(Higher EPS growth compared to the industry average indicates superior stocks.)

Last four-quarter average EPS surprise greater than 5%

(Positive EPS surprise indicates potential.)

Positive % 50-day moving average and relative strength over 4 weeks

(High % 50-day moving average and relative strength signal uptrend.)

Momentum Score equal to or less than B

(Ideal for taking advantage of momentum with the highest probability of success.)

These few parameters narrowed down the universe of over 7,850 stocks to only 12.

Here are five of the 12 stocks that passed the screen:

Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Nasdaq: SAFMFree Report) is an integrated poultry processing company. It has a Momentum Score of A and an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 14%.

Malibu Boats, Inc. (Nasdaq: MBUUFree Report) is a designer, manufacturer, marketer, distributor and seller of sport boats. The company has a Momentum Score of B and an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 7.6%.

China Lodging Group, Limited (Nasdaq: HTHTFree Report) is a developer of leased and owned, and franchised hotels. The company has a Momentum Score of A and an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 33.7%.

Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRAFree Report) is a producer and seller of styrenic block copolymers and other engineered polymers. The company has a Momentum Score of A and an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 16.5%.

Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: OLEDFree Report) is a major technology company. The company has a Momentum Score of A and an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of more than 100%.

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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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Sign up now for your free trial today and start picking better stocks immediately. And with the backtesting feature, you can test your ideas to see how you can improve your trading in both up markets and down markets. Don’t wait for the market to get better before you decide to do better. Start learning how to be a better trader today: https://at.zacks.com/?id=111

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.

About Screen of the Week

Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine.  But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use. Each week, Zacks Profit from the Pros free email newsletter shares a new screening strategy. Learn more about it here https://at.zacks.com/?id=112

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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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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