5 Stocks For A Nutritious Portfolio On World Health Day

The year 2017 has been great for the U.S. stock market so far with the major benchmarks logging in the best quarterly performance in many years. The trend is likely to continue in the months ahead though bouts of volatility will keep coming in the way.

This is especially true as the top priority of President Donald Trump – Health Care reform – collapsed after creating a lot of hype in the U.S. stock market. Additionally, the difference in opinion of Trump and the Congress could lead to a government shutdown on April 29 if the spending bill does not pass through. Further, fears of political instability, the French election and expensive valuation are making investors’ jittery.

Given the volatility, we have diagnosed the stocks that are fit enough to fight market vagaries and could emerge successful in the coming months.

How to Find Nutritious Stocks?

The healthy stocks are not just surging or gaining popularity. Instead, they are well poised on solid fundamentals. This can be confusing at times, especially when markets do not co-operate and cause utter chaos in the investment world. As a result, we have screened for stocks considering several parameters through the Zacks stock screener that could provide investors a balanced and nutritious portfolio.

These parameters are Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), a VGM score (V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum) of A, industry Rank in the top 20%, double-digit current-year estimated earnings per share growth, positive current-year earnings estimate revision over the past 90 days, one-year return greater than the S&P 500 index, and market cap of above $2,000.

Below are the five cherry picked stocks that have greater potential to outperform in the coming months. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Based in Boise, Idaho, Micron Technology has established itself as one of the leading worldwide providers of semiconductor memory solutions. The company saw whopping earnings estimate revision of $1.87 for the current fiscal year over the past 90 days with an expected growth rate of more than 6,000%. Micron with a market cap of $31.26 billion falls in the top Zacks Industry Rank and surged 172.3% over the past one year.

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX)

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Louisiana-Pacific is a manufacturer of building materials and engineered wood products in the United States, Canada, Chile and Brazil. The stock saw solid earnings estimate revision of 20 cents for the current year over the past 90 days and has an expected growth rate of 74.16%. With a market cap of $3.65 billion, LPX gained nearly 45% over the past one-year and has an Industry Rank in the top 7%.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT)

Based in Luxembourg, ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company. The stock saw impressive estimate revision of 23 cents for this year over the past 90 days and has an expected growth rate of 74.3%. The stock rose 83.5% in the same timeframe and is likely to continue its solid performance given its Industry rank in the top 8%. It has a market cap of $25.05 billion.

BGC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP)

Based in New York, BGC Partners is a leading global full-service inter-dealer broker, specializing in the trading of financial instruments and related derivatives products. The company saw positive earnings estimate revision of five cents for the current year over the past 90 days with an expected growth rate of more than 19.05%. BGC Partners with a market cap of $3.10 billion sports a top Zacks Industry Rank and has climbed 24.4% over the past-one year.

AU Optronics Corp (NYSE:AUO)

Based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Au Optronics is a world-leading manufacturer of large-size thin film transistor liquid crystal display panels. The stock saw solid earnings estimate revision of 70 cents for the current year over the past 90 days with an explosive expected growth rate of 368%. AU Optronics has a market cap of $3.64 billion and gained nearly 37.6% over the past one year. It has an Industry Rank in the top 16%.

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