The S&P 500 carried its 2021 momentum into the new year, with the benchmark closing at new highs on Monday. The Dow also climbed to fresh records and the Nasdaq jumped 1.2%. The tech-heavy index did give up most of those gains on Tuesday, as Wall Street took some profits and perhaps started to focus on recently-rising interest rates.
– Zacks Meanwhile, the Dow posted another strong day, driven by Caterpillar, JPMorgan, and other non-tech stocks. The divergence could signal investors are starting to worry about higher interest rates again and their impact on growth-focused stocks, with technology being the standout sector.
Still, it’s hard to imagine investors will move out of equities, and therefore technology stocks given their massive sway over indexes and passive investment vehicles.
Plenty of obstacles await in 2022. Luckily, many market-moving forces remain rather bullish for stocks, and history suggests Wall Street could be headed for another strong year following its stellar run.
With this in mind, let’s use our Filtered Zacks Rank 5 Stock Screen to find potential winners to start the year…
Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks outperform the market in both good and bad times. However, there are over 200 stocks that earn a Zacks Rank #1 at any given time. Therefore, it’s helpful to understand how to apply filters to the Zacks Rank in order to narrow the list down to a more manageable and tradable set of stocks.
Parameters
Clearly, there are only three items on this screen. But together, these three filters can result in some impressive returns.
• Zacks Rank equal to 1
Starting with a Zacks Rank #1 is often a strong jumping off point because it boasts an average annual return of roughly 24.4% per year since 1988.
• % Change (Q1) Est. over 4 Weeks greater than 0
Positive current quarter estimate revisions over the last four weeks.
• % Broker Rating Change over 4 Week equal to Top # 5
Top 5 stocks with the best average broker rating changes over the last four weeks.
This strategy comes loaded with the Research Wizard and is called bt_sow_filtered zacks rank5. It can be found in the SoW (Screen of the Week) folder.
Here are two of the five stocks that qualified for the Filtered Zacks Rank 5 strategy today…
Commercial Metals Company CMC
Commercial Metals Company manufactures, recycles, and fabricates steel and metal products. CMC also provides related materials and services through an expansive network including electric arc furnace mini mills, steel fabrication and processing plants, and beyond.
Commercial Metals’ 2022 outlook is strong and its adjusted earnings estimates for FY22 and FY23 have surged since its fourth quarter report back in October. CMC stock is up 85% in the last year and Commercial Metals lands an overall “A” VGM score at the moment.
Oxford Industries, Inc. OXM
Oxford Industries is an apparel giant that owns Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer, Southern Tide, and other brands. Oxford Industries has expanded its portfolio over the years and it posted huge growth in 2021.
Oxford Industries has crushed our bottom-line estimates in the trailing three quarters. OXM stock lands a “B” grade for Growth and an “A” for Momentum in our Style Scores system right now. Plus, Oxford Industries is part of a highly-ranked Zacks industry and its stock price has surged 60% in the last year.
See the rest of the stocks on this list and start trading the Filtered Zacks Rank 5 (or any of our other strategies) in your own account. Remember, the key to successful screening is finding screens that have produced profitable results in the past. And that’s exactly what you get with the Research Wizard stock picking and backtesting program.
Get the rest of the stocks on this list and start looking for the newest companies that fit these criteria. It’s easy to do. And it could help you find your next big winner. Start screening for these companies today with a free trial to the Research Wizard. You can do it.
Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.
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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/
Today’s Stocks from Zacks’ Best Screens
Now would you like to screen for the latest stocks from Zacks’ most successful strategies? From 2016 through 2020, while the market gained 103.9%, we saw results like these: Filtered Zacks Rank5 +424.1%, New Highs +429.0%, Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis +477.8%, and Value Method 1 +580.0%.
You’re invited to screen the latest stocks in seconds by trying Zacks’ Research Wizard stock-picking program. Or use the Wizard to create your own market-beating strategies. No credit card needed, no cost or obligation.
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Commercial Metals Company (CMC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Oxford Industries, Inc. (OXM): Free Stock Analysis Report
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