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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Sprouts Farmers Market, SpartanNash Company, Dollar General and Kroger

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 28, 2020 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM - Free Report) , SpartanNash Company (SPTN - Free Report) , Dollar General Corp. (DG - Free Report) and The Kroger Co. (KR - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Coronavirus Hits Retailers: 4 Stocks Still Worth a Shot

A dramatic change in the economy has been noticed over the past three months, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that also put an abrupt end to the longest bullish run in the America’s stock market history. In fact, the COVID-19 outbreak has claimed innumerable lives and brought economic activities to a standstill worldwide. There is hardly any industry that has been spared from the deadly impact of this virus. While the policy makers are walking the tight rope and undertaking every measure to support households, firms and financial markets, uncertainty looms large.

Economists have cautioned about sinking consumer confidence level, as this rare catastrophe has already started taking a toll on employment and household income. It goes without saying; these are likely to show on consumer spending with retailers at the receiving end. In the face of the pandemic, the retail sector is witnessing significantly lower revenues on prolonged store closures, supply-chain disruptions, lower traffic trends and limited store operating hours. The rising macroeconomic uncertainties and bare minimum revenue prospects have led companies to withdraw their guidance.

What is seen as a temporary blow to revenues and productivity due to the outbreak may have long-term implications. The latest Zacks Earnings Outlook shows that the sector’s bottom line is expected to decline 15.3% year over year during the ongoing earnings season and 8.9% in the current financial year. Companies are taking every step from pay cut to furloughing, from inventory reductions to curb capital expenditures in order improve financial flexibility and preserve cash flow.

No wonder, U.S. retail and food services sales in March fell 8.7% to $483.1 billion. Sales collapsed across a range of categories from Motor vehicles and parts dealers to Furniture & home furnishing stores and from Gasoline stations to Clothing & clothing accessories stores. However, there were still certain groups that recorded decent numbers. These include Health & personal care stores, Food & beverage stores and General merchandise stores. Clearly, people are shopping more of essential items rather making any discretionary purchases.

Moreover, as people are working from home and maintaining social distancing, players in the industry have been focusing on bolstering omni-channel operations and ramping up delivery services to meet customers’ needs. Recently, Tractor Supply equipped itself to offer same-day delivery of its merchandise by expanding partnership with Roadie. Likewise, a leading food and grocery retailer Casey's recently expanded partnership with DoorDash to boost delivery capabilities.

Experts believe that once the coronavirus spread is contained and vaccine discovered, the retail sector, which touches every sphere of our life, is likely to witness a sharp rebound. Even now there are stocks that could be a great addition to your portfolio.

4 Prominent Picks

We have shortlisted stocks on the basis of a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and a VGM Score of A or B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Investors can count on Sprouts Farmers Market, which provides fresh, natural, and organic food products. This Zacks Rank #1 company has a long-term earnings growth rate of 3.7% and a VGM Score of B. It has a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 28.7%, on average. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current financial-year earnings suggests an improvement of 8.8%.

Another stock worth considering is SpartanNash Company, which distributes and retails grocery products. The company’s bottom line has outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last reported quarter. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current financial-year earnings indicates a jump of 26.4%.

Dollar General Corp., a discount retailer, is a solid bet with a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of A. The company has a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 5.9%, on average. It has a long-term earnings growth rate of 12.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current financial-year earnings suggests growth of 10.9%.

We also suggest investing in The Kroger Co. with a long-term earnings growth rate of 4.9%. This grocery retailer has a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 2.1%, on average. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of A. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current financial-year earnings indicates an increase of 12.3%.

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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 http://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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