For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 31, 2019 – 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: Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) , General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) , Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) and Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
4 Consumer Stocks That Will Defy a Drop in Sentiment
The past few months have been nightmarish for some of the biggest consumer names on Wall Street, and that sure has affected your portfolio. For instance, food company Conagra saw its shares plummet nearly 40% in the last three months, while tech behemoth Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) plunged almost 20% in the same period.
No doubt, consumer stocks are feeling the pain owing to drop in consumer sentiment due to the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown and continuing trade conflict with China. U.S. consumer confidence fell to the weakest point since July 2017 of 120.2 in January from 126.6 last December, per the New York-based Conference Board. A gauge measuring consumers’ expectations also tanked to the lowest since October 2016, while American’s view on present conditions weren’t good either.
But, while consumer stocks certainly have been choppy of late, there are plenty of names that have given good returns. So, there is no need to panic and give up on these stocks yet. We have zeroed in on four such stocks that have yielded strong returns in the last few months and have defied the drop in sentiments.
Crocs
Crocs, Inc. has improved significantly from what it was a decade ago. The company, which sells a wide range of footwear, has especially sold products to nursing and food service sectors where most of the employees are on their feet all day. This development is surely working in favor of the company as its projected revenue growth for fiscal 2018 is 6% and 5% for 2019.
The company’s stock has outperformed the broader Textile - Apparel industry in the past six-month period (+56.5% vs -5.0%).
The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current quarter and year are a promising 46.3% and 166.7%, respectively. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
GM
In the age of Uber and Lyft, General Motors Company maybe facing a tough challenge as reflected by the secular decline in its vehicle sales. But, do not count GM out. It has a reliable business model and boasts $17 billion in net operating cash flow and has more than $25 billion in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet.
And how can we forget that GM has easily surpassed third-quarter expectations with impressive earnings results that helped its shares jump 9% in a single trading session. The company’s stock has outperformed the broader Automotive - Domestic industry in the past six months (+1.5% vs -3.1%). The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Chipotle
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. The fast-casual restaurant chain has seen several turnarounds in 2018 and has, particularly, had an impressive run last month, indicating that investors aren’t giving up on this stock.
One of the major reasons the stock is doing well is improving fundamentals. The company expects revenues to grow 8% in fiscal 2018 and earnings to jump a solid 29%. Further, kudos to CEO Brian Niccol for introducing digital sales tactics like Panera Bread (NASDAQ:PNRA) and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) that helped sales improve.
The company’s stock has outperformed the broader Retail - Restaurants industry in the past six-month period (+22.3% vs +13.8%).
The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 28.8%, more than the industry’s expected gain of 8.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Snap
Last year was pretty awful for Snap Inc. Its user growth declined, thanks to stiff competition from Facebook (NASDAQ:FB)'s property Instagram. But, this year looks promising. After all, its focus on international user growth through an improved Android app and its continuous initiative to connect with advertisers will surely boost its top line in the near term. This company currently expects its top line surge more than 30% in fiscal 2019.
The company’s stock has outperformed the broader Internet - Software industry so far this year (+16.7% vs +10.6%).
The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current quarter and year is an encouraging 38.5% and 13.1%, respectively. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019
In addition to the stocks discussed above, wouldn't you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?
From more than 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank, these 10 were picked by a process that consistently beats the market. Even during 2018 while the market dropped -5.2%, our Top 10s were up well into double-digits. And during bullish 2012 – 2017, they soared far above the market's +126.3%, reaching +181.9%.
This year, the portfolio features a player that thrives on volatility, an AI comer, and a dynamic tech company that helps doctors deliver better patient outcomes at lower costs.
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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/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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