Yahoo Finance 5 Stocks With Recent Price Strength Defying Ongoing Volatility
U.S. stock markets are in the grip of volatility once again. Wall Street has suffered a bloody blow this year. The impressive rally that started in mid-October has also evaporated owing to hotter-than-expected job additions and a higher wage rate in November.
Market participants are now unsure whether the Fed will reduce the magnitude of the interest rate hike in the December FOMC meeting, as indicated by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, or will hike the rate by 75 basis points for the fifth time in a row.
A tight labor market is being perceived as a pushback from the Fed’s recent stance of trying to reassure the markets that it would slacken its stringent policy measures to avoid a hard-landing of the economy.
Market participants are not sure whether the terminal interest for this round of monetary tightening will stay within the 5% threshold or go beyond that. A section of economists and financial experts are concerned that a higher interest rate will lead to a recession in 2023.
However, defying recent volatility, a handful of stocks have shown price strength. These stocks are likely to gain in the near term and are backed by a favorable Zacks Rank.
Five of them are — Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. BBW, Hillenbrand Inc. HI, H&E Equipment Services Inc. HEES, Hudson Technologies Inc. HDSN and Thermon Group Holdings Inc. THR.
Here’s How We Arrived at the Picks
We have primarily targeted stocks that have freshly been on a bull run. Stocks seeing price strength recently have a high chance of carrying the momentum forward.
If a stock is continuously witnessing an uptrend, there must be a solid reason or it would have probably crashed. So, looking at stocks capable of beating the benchmark that they have set for themselves seems rational.
However, recent price strength alone cannot create magic. Therefore, other relevant parameters are needed to create a successful investment strategy.
Here’s how you should create the screen to shortlist the current as well as the potential winners.
Screening Parameters:
Percentage Change in Price (4 Weeks) greater than zero: This criterion shows that the stock has moved higher in the last four weeks.
Percentage Change Price (12 Weeks) greater than 10: This indicates that the stock has seen momentum over the last three months. This lowers the risk of choosing stocks that may have drawn attention due to the overwhelming performance of the overall market in a very short period.
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 stock’s future performance.
Current Price greater than 5: The stocks must all be trading at a minimum of $5.
Current Price/ 52-Week High-Low Range more than 85%: This criterion filters stocks that are trading near their respective 52-week highs. It indicates that these are strong enough in terms of price.
Just these few criteria narrowed down the search from over 7,700 stocks to seven.
Let’s discuss five out of these seven stocks:
Build-A-Bear Workshop operates as a multi-channel retailer of plush animals and related products. Build-A-Bear Workshop operates through three segments: Direct-to-Consumer, International Franchising, and Commercial. BBW operates its stores under the Build-A-Bear Workshop brand name and sells products through its e-commerce sites.
The stock price of Build-A-Bear Workshop has jumped 39.7% in the past four weeks. BBW has an expected earnings growth rate of 62.7% for the current year (ending March 2023). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 19.5% over the past 30 days.
Hillenbrand is a global diversified industrial company with multiple market-leading brands that serve a wide variety of industries across the globe. HI’s portfolio comprises two business segments: Process Equipment Group and Batesville.
The stock price of Hillenbrand has surged 11.7% in the past four weeks. HI has an expected earnings growth rate of 8.1% for the current year (ending September 2023). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 4.9% over the past 30 days.
H&E Equipment Services is one of the largest integrated equipment services companies in the United States. HEES is focused on heavy construction & industrial equipment and rents, sells and provides parts and service support to four core categories of specialized equipment namely, hi-lift or aerial platform equipment, cranes, earthmoving equipment and industrial lift trucks.
The stock price H&E Equipment Services has advanced 6.7% in the past four weeks. HEES has an expected earnings growth rate of 67.2% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 17.3% over the past 60 days.
Hudson Technologies is a leading provider of innovative solutions to recurring problems within the refrigeration industry. HDSN’s proprietary RefrigerantSide Services increase operating efficiency and energy savings, and remove moisture, oils and other contaminants frequently found in the refrigeration circuits of large comfort cooling and process refrigeration systems.
The stock price of Hudson Technologies has gained 5.9% in the past four weeks. HDSN has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 26.3% over the past 60 days.
Thermon Group is engaged in providing engineered thermal solutions, known as heat tracing, for process industries, including energy, chemical processing and power generation. Products offered by THR include heating cables, tubing bundles and control systems while services offered by THR include design optimization, engineering, installation and maintenance services.
The stock price of Thermon Group has risen 3.8% in the past four weeks. THR has an expected earnings growth rate of 62.7% for the current year (ending March 2023). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 19.5% over the past 30 days.
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
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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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BuildABear Workshop, Inc. (BBW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Hudson Technologies, Inc. (HDSN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (HEES) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Thermon Group Holdings, Inc. (THR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Hillenbrand Inc (HI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
