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Focus Past the Fed: Bet on 4 Stocks With Rising Cash Flows

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Key Takeaways

  • Estimates for Huron Consulting's 2026 earnings rose 5.4% to $9.18 per share over the past 60 days.
  • Estimates for Interface's 2026 earnings climbed 11.8% to $2.36 per share over the past 60 days.
  • Estimates for RCMT's 2026 earnings advanced 13.3% to $3.07 per share over the past 60 days.

The Fed’s recent rate hike initially sparked some market unease, although investor sentiment subsequently stabilized as participants assessed the implications of interest rates remaining elevated for longer. However, instead of brooding too much on this, investors can benefit from stocks that are cash cows and offer higher returns.  

Cash is the lifeblood of any business. It offers strength, vitality and flexibility to make investment decisions and the fuel to run its growth engine. Cash shields a company from market turmoil and indicates that profits are being channeled in the right direction.

In this regard, stocks like Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN - Free Report) , Interface, Inc. (TILE - Free Report) , QuinStreet, Inc. (QNST - Free Report) and RCM Technologies, Inc. (RCMT - Free Report) are worth buying.

One must go beyond profit numbers and look into a company’s efficiency in generating cash flows to invest in the right stocks. This is because even a profit-making company can have a dearth of cash flow and fail to meet its obligations. However, a company’s resiliency can be fairly judged when its efficacy in generating cash flows is assessed. This holds more relevance in the current context amid uncertainties in the global economy, market disruptions and dislocations.

To figure out this efficiency, one needs to consider a company’s net cash flow. While in any business, cash moves in and out, it is net cash flow that explains how much money a company is actually generating.

If a company is experiencing a positive cash flow, it denotes an increase in its liquid assets, which gives it the means to meet debt obligations, shell out for expenses, reinvest in the business, endure downturns and finally return wealth to shareholders. On the other hand, a negative cash flow indicates a decline in the company’s liquidity, which, in turn, lowers its flexibility to support these moves.

However, having a positive cash flow merely does not secure a company’s future growth. To ride on the growth curve, a company must have its cash flow increasing because that indicates management’s efficiency in regulating its cash movements and less dependency on outside financing for running its business.

Keep yourself abreast with the following screen to bet on stocks with rising cash flows.

Screening Parameters:

To find stocks that have seen increasing cash flow over time, we ran the screen for those whose cash flow in the latest reported quarter was at least equal to or greater than the five-year average cash flow per common share. This implies a positive trend and increasing cash over a period of time.

In addition to this, we chose:

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 company’s future performance.

Current Price greater than or equal to $5: This sieves out low-priced stocks.

VGM Score of B or better: This score is also of great assistance in selecting stocks. Importantly, this scoring system helps in picking winning stocks in their industry categories.

Here are four out of the six stocks that qualified the screening:

Huron is a global consulting firm that helps organizations improve business performance through strategic advisory, technology-driven transformation and operational improvement solutions.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Huron Consulting’s 2026 earnings has moved upward by 5.4% to $9.18 per share over the past 60 days. HURN has a VGM Score of B.

Interface is a global flooring solution provider, delivering a range of carpet tile and resilient flooring, which it markets under the Interface, nora and FLOR brands, for both commercial and residential environments.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Interface’s 2026 earnings has been revised upward 11.8% to $2.36 per share in the past 60 days. TILE has a VGM Score of B.

QuinStreet operates digital performance marketing platforms and marketplaces that connect consumers with businesses, with a primary focus on the financial services and home services verticals.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for QuinStreet’s fiscal 2027 earnings has moved upward by 7.4% to $1.60 per share over the past 60 days. QNST currently has a VGM Score of A.

RCM Technologies is a premier provider of business, technology and resource solutions in information technology, professional engineering and healthcare for customers in corporate and government sectors. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RCM Technologies’ 2026 earnings has moved northward by 13.3% to $3.07 per share over the past 60 days. RCMT has a VGM Score of A.

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