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Zacks.com highlights: Big Lots, Express, Comstock Resources, Bunge and EnLink Midstream

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 30, 2018 - Stocks in this week’s article include: Big Lots (BIG - Free Report) , Express, Inc. (EXPR - Free Report) , Comstock Resources, Inc. (CRK - Free Report) , Bunge Ltd. (BG - Free Report) and EnLink Midstream LLC (ENLC - Free Report) .

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:

5 Stocks in Focus Following Recent Broker Rating Upgrades

The Q3 earnings season is in full swing. The picture to have emanated so far is an extremely healthy one and the current reporting cycle remains on track to end on a strong note, displaying substantial growth. A high proportion of companies have reported better-than-expected earnings per share in Q3 so far.

Generally, an earnings beat by a company generally leads to an appreciation in its stock price. Given this highly bullish backdrop, investors would like to add outperformers to their respective portfolios for healthy returns.

However, the task is far from easy with a plethora of companies present in the market. Moreover, the complexities associated with the stock market makes it even more difficult for individual investors to select outperformers in their portfolios in the absence of proper guidance.

Be Guided by Broker Advice

The requisite guidance to design a winning portfolio comes from brokers. The opinion of brokers is highly valued by investors as they have a clear insight into the nitty gritty of the investment world. Consequently, it makes sense for individual investors to be guided by broker advice in order to design a winning portfolio, as investors generally do not have access to such detailed and well-researched information.

Brokers revise their earnings estimates after carefully examining the pros and cons of an event for the concerned stock. Naturally, their stock related actions (upgrade or downgrade) serve as an invaluable guide as far as fixing target price of stock (s) is concerned.

Estimates can move north for a number of reasons – favorable earnings performance, a bullish guidance, product launch or any favorable macro scenario.  Similarly, lackluster earnings often lead to stock price depreciation. Investors tend to be guided by the direction of estimate revisions and stock price while formulating their investment strategy.

To take care of the earnings performance, we have designed a screen based on improving analyst recommendation and upward estimate revisions over the last four weeks.

What About Revenues?

While we have talked about the bottom line in detail, the top line (revenue portion) cannot be ignored. Actually, according to many market watchers a revenue beat is more creditable for a company than a mere earnings outperformance. Therefore, we have included in our screen the price/sales ratio that serves as a strong complementary valuation metric.

And that's what we're screening for today…

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/332251/5-stocks-in-focus-following-recent-broker-rating-upgrades

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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.

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.

Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.

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Contact: Jim Giaquinto

Company: Zacks.com

Phone: 312-265-9268

Email: pr@zacks.com

Visit: https://www.zacks.com/

Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.

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

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