Thanksgiving is upon us and the market tends to slow down a little as the Bond market closes early today and the equity markets close early on Friday. Trading volumes will likely shrink as investors and traders alike kick back to eat some turkey and just as importantly, watch some football.
This year more than most, the pro game has been widely panned. The ratings are down and the excitement just isn't there. I am a bit biased because my hometown team picked up and left while I was in high school and went on to win the Super Bowl. That left a bad taste in my mouth and I have never returned. Instead, I opted for the much more exciting world of College Football.
This weekend we are blessed with several great games, but how can I turn this into a viable investment idea? When you are an Ohio State fan, you have all sorts of ammo to fight that battle, so let's get to the numbers.
Ohio Vs. Michigan
Notice that headline did not say Ohio State, it just referenced the state of Ohio. So the first thing we need to do when comparing the stocks of each state is finding out who has more. So who wins?
According to my rigorous research, Ohio has more publically traded companies than Michigan. The numbers don't lie, with 77 for the Buckeye state and only 18 for the Spartan state.
I don't think the Buckeyes will win 77-18, but I would sure love to see that score this weekend!
Pizza During The Game
A few days after the feast, most of the turkey should be gone. Having suffered from a small overdose of tryptophan a loyal fan of that team up north should be ordering pizza to choke on.
A true fan would only order from one spot, Dominos Pizza (DPZ) as it is based in Michigan.
Investors would also be wise to order up some research on this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock that is within striking distance of 52-week highs.
DPZ is coming off of two consecutive beats of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The June 2016 quarter was a $0.05 beat for a 5.4% positive earnings surprise and the September 2016 quarter was a beat of $0.06 for a 6.6% positive earnings surprise. The stock traded higher by more than 8% in the session following each release of earnings.
Buckeye fans don't have to like the pizza, but when they see a Price and Consensus chart like this, you have to take notice.
DOMINOS PIZZA Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
DOMINOS PIZZA Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | DOMINOS PIZZA Quote
The Baconator
I am not sure if DPZ offers a pizza with bacon on it, but I know that Wendys (WEN) has it on the menu. I mean who doesn't love the baconator?
WEN happens to be based in Columbus Ohio, home of THE Ohio State University. It is also a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and also sports a delicious Price and Consensus chart.
Keeping Food In Focus
As I look over the stocks from each state I see an opportunity to compare grocery stores. I know this is a reach, but hey, so is the whole premise of this article!
Ohio is the home of Kroger (NYSE:KR) while Spartan Nash (SPTN) calls Michigan its birthplace. Both stocks are Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) but KR has "A" for both Value and Growth Style Scores. SPTN has a Value stlye score of "B" and a Growth Style Score of "D."
Bank On It
When it comes to financial stocks, Ohio lights up the scoreboard with a handful of banks.
Huntington Banc (HBAN) is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) and Fifth Third (FITB) are both Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stocks.
Michigan has Comerica (NYSE:CMA) and Flagstar Bancorp (FBC), both of which are Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stocks.
Regional bank stocks have become much more attractive to investors as the markets look poised for several interest rate hikes in the near future.
THE GAME
Investors don't let state rivalries get in the way of making money. They look for solid growth and excellent earnings potential. You may not like a certain brand of pizza or burgers in general, but earnings growth and price and consensus charts like the ones showed above should get you salivating.
As for THE GAME, well we all know that #2 (Buy) is better than #3 (Hold) when it comes to the Zacks Rank. Let's just hope it works out that way for my Buckeyes as well!
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Brian Bolan is a Stock Strategist for Zacks.com.
He runs Stocks Under $10 Investor service where he looks for low priced stocks that are seeing positive earnings estimate revisions. This popular service has seen some strong early returns and offers a free trial via the Zacks Ultimate service.
Brian also runs the brand new Zacks Game Changers where he looks for stocks that are disrupting their industries and reaping big gains.
WENDYS CO/THE (WEN): Free Stock Analysis Report
KEYCORP NEW (KEY): Free Stock Analysis Report
HUNTINGTON BANC (HBAN): Free Stock Analysis Report
DOMINOS PIZZA (DPZ): Free Stock Analysis Report
COMERICA INC (CMA): Free Stock Analysis Report
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