Bet on 5 Top-Ranked Stocks With Upgraded Broker Ratings

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Selecting stocks from the vast investment universe is not an easy task. For this, you will have to understand the fundamentals of every company and try to place them against the present economic background to figure out how it may fare as an investment.

One way to cut short this task is to follow broker recommendation. In this regard, stocks like e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. ELF, Parker-Hannifin Corporation PH, Frontdoor, Inc. FTDR, Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. PTEN and CenterPoint Energy, Inc. CNP are worth considering.

Brokers have a deeper insight into what’s happening in a particular company as they directly communicate with management. Also, they have a profound understanding of the overall industry.

Specifically, brokers scrutinize a company’s publicly available financial statements, listen to conference calls and engage in talks directly with the top management. At times, they even talk with customers to gauge what they like or dislike about the products and services offered by the company.

Hence, after thorough research, brokers decide to rate that particular company’s stock. However, solely depending on analysts’ upgrades is not the right way to build your investment portfolio. You should also take into consideration other factors to ensure solid returns.

Selecting the Winning Strategy

We have a screening strategy that will help you in your search for potential winners:

Broker Rating Upgrades (Four Weeks) of 1% or More: The screen selects stocks that have witnessed broker rating upgrades of 1% or more over the last four weeks.

Current Price Greater Than $5: The stocks must trade above $5.

Average 20-Day Volume Greater Than 100,000: A large trading volume guarantees that the stock is easily tradable.

Zacks Rank Equal to #1 or 2: Despite good or bad market conditions, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) have a proven record of success. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

VGM Score of A or B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2, offer the best upside potential.

Here are five of the nine stocks that qualified for the screening:

Oakland, CA-based e.l.f. Beauty offers eye, lip, face, face, paw and skin care products. ELF sells its products through national and international retailers and direct-to-consumer channels.

ELF’s earnings for fiscal 2024 are expected to jump 47%. e.l.f. Beauty, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has witnessed a 7.1% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Headquartered in Cleveland, OH, Parker-Hannifin is a global diversified manufacturer of motion & control technologies and systems. PH provides precision engineered solutions for a wide variety of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets.

Parker-Hannifin’s fiscal 2024 earnings are projected to increase 5.3%. PH, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has witnessed a 6.3% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Frontdoor, based in Memphis, TN, provides home service plans in the United States. FTDR's home service plans cover the repair or replacement of principal components of approximately 20 home systems and appliances.

Frontdoor’s 2023 earnings are projected to rise 29.9%. FTDR, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 at present, has witnessed a 14.3% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Houston, TX-headquartered Patterson-UTI Energy is an oilfield services company. PTEN is one of the largest onshore contract drillers in the United States and has a large fleet of pressure pumping equipment.

PTEN’s earnings for 2023 are expected to surge 140%. Patterson-UTI Energy, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has witnessed a 7.9% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Headquartered in Houston, TX, CenterPoint Energy is a domestic energy delivery company that provides electric transmission & distribution, natural gas distribution and competitive natural gas sales and services operations. CNP maintains the wires, poles and electric infrastructure serving more than 2.5 million metered customers in the greater Houston area and southwestern Indiana.

CenterPoint Energy’s 2023 earnings are projected to grow 8%. CNP, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has witnessed a 9.1% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Get the rest of the stocks on the list and start putting this and other ideas to the test. It can all be done with the Research Wizard stock picking and backtesting software.

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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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Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (PTEN) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Parker-Hannifin Corporation (PH) : Free Stock Analysis Report

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) : Free Stock Analysis Report

e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Frontdoor Inc. (FTDR) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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