With inflation remaining high, the Federal Reserve unanimously increased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points earlier this month. This marks its first rate hike in three years. In a bid to contain persistent inflation amid rising oil prices and unending tensions in the Middle East, the target range was raised to 3.75-4% from 3.5-3.75%.

With the economy operating near full employment, Fed chair Kevin Warsh said that the Fed could address inflation without dampening economic growth or the labor market, projecting another hike in the current year. Moreover, the inflation outlook has deteriorated and is not likely to return to the Fed’s 2% target until after 2028.

Given the uncertain backdrop, investors should pay heed to broker advice to design a portfolio likely to give them handsome returns. The wrong choice of stocks may result in one’s hard-earned money going down the drain. To avoid such an unfortunate scenario, investors should keep an eye on broker-favorite stocks like Beazer Homes USA (BZH Quick QuoteBZH - Free Report) , Best Buy (BBY Quick QuoteBBY - Free Report) , Alaska Air Group (ALK Quick QuoteALK - Free Report) , RXO, Inc. (RXO Quick QuoteRXO - Free Report) and AMN Healthcare (AMN Quick QuoteAMN - Free Report) .

Since brokers closely track the stocks they cover, they revise their earnings estimates after thoroughly assessing the positive and negative implications of an event for the company concerned. Consequently, these estimate revisions serve as an important indicator of a stock’s price prospects. Given their extensive expertise, brokers are regarded as investment professionals with in-depth knowledge and a clear understanding of the intricacies of the investment landscape. Therefore, investors would be well advised to pay attention to such carefully researched information to reduce the risk of seeing their hard-earned money invested in the stock market go down the drain.

Screening Parameters    

# (Up- Down Rating)/ Total (4 weeks) =Top #75 (This gives the list of top 75 companies that have witnessed net upgrades over the last 4 weeks).

% change in Q (1) est. (4 weeks) = Top #10 (This gives the top 10 stocks that have witnessed earnings estimate revisions over the past 4 weeks for the upcoming quarter).

Price-to-Sales = Bottom 10% (The lower the ratio, the better. Companies meeting this criterion are in the bottom 10% of our universe of over 7,700 stocks concerning this ratio).

Current Price greater than 5 (as a stock trading below $5 will not likely create significant interest for most of the investors).

Average Daily Volume greater than 100,000 shares over the last 20 trading days (Volume has to be significant to ensure that these are easily traded).

Market value ($ mil) = Top #3000 (This gives us stocks that are the top 3000 in terms of market capitalization).

Com/ADR/Canadian= Com (This eliminates the ADR and Canadian stocks).

Here are five of the 10 stocks that made it through the screen:

Beazer Homes, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. It is a leading national homebuilder in energy-efficient construction. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Beazer Homes surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters and missed the mark once, with the average beat being 29.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-quarter revenues of this construction company has increased 5.2% year over year.

Best Buy, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), is benefiting from innovation-led demand across computing, mobile, home theater and emerging technology categories, while Marketplace and Best Buy Ads are expanding higher-margin profit streams.

Investments in smaller stores, digital commerce, AI shopping tools and membership should broaden customer reach and deepen engagement. Cash generation supports ongoing capital returns and strategic spending. Best Buy surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters, with the average beat being 5.1%.

Alaska Air Group’s demand backdrop remains supportive and integration work with Hawaiian is broadening the network and loyalty platform. Fleet renewal and product upgrades should help unit revenue resilience over time.

The company’s loyalty platform is becoming more centralized with the rollout of Atmos Rewards, which management expects to improve program utility across a broader network and partner set. Loyalty program revenue remains a meaningful contributor to the overall mix, supported by co-branded card activity. Alaska Air Group currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. ALK surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in two of the last four quarters and missed the mark twice. The average beat is 71.6%.

RXO offers improving cyclical and company-specific tailwinds, but near-term execution risk tempers upside. Tightening capacity and rising contract rates are lifting unit economics, while AI-driven automation, faster digital bidding and leaner headcount support structural cost leverage.

Expanding pipelines in Managed Transportation, Middle Mile and Last Mile add diversification and cross-sell potential, with implementations slated for the back half. RXO currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. The company has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in one of the last four, matched estimates once and missed the mark twice. The average miss is 22.9%.

AMN Healthcare benefits from a broad workforce platform, MSP relationships and technology investments that support clinician fulfillment and client efficiency. Demand in travel nursing and allied staffing has improved, while search and international staffing add diversification.

AI-enabled recruiting, WorkWise enhancements and growing Passport adoption should support execution as clients seek flexible workforce models. AMN Healthcarecurrently carries a Zacks Rank #3. AMN surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters and missed the mark once. The average beat is 96.6%.