U.S. stocks were down on Wednesday following Chairman Powell's speech yesterday. He noted current monetary policy could be maintained until inflation shows more downward progress. Investors are now looking at September for the first rate cut according to CME's FedWatch tool, and are split as to whether or not there will be just one or two rate cuts this year - a significant departure from last year when markets had anticipated five rate cuts in 2024. The Dow was down 0.3%, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq lost 0.6%. Crude oil is trading near above $84 per barrel and gold fell $6 to $2401 per ounce.

'Green Shoots' from the Fed

Early last year, the consensus belief had the economy headed toward a recession and the Federal Reserve needing to be aggressive with interest-rate cuts to prevent significant weakness in GDP. As 2023 progressed, the recession callers backed off as the economy kept its footing after the huge hike in the fed funds rate as well as the entire Treasury curve. And while inflation came down a lot faster than may thought, it did so without a concurrent weakening in the economy.

Dividend income is often overlooked amid gyrations in the stock market. But dividends are an important element of return. Dividend income accounted for 42% of the total return of the S&P 500 between 1930 and 2012, according to Hartford Funds. And that's just the average. In some of those decades, dividends accounted for more than 50% of total returns and even 100% of returns. More recently, dividends have accounted for a smaller portion of returns, at around 15%-20%. Not all dividends are created equal, though, and it is important to understand the difference between the two main categories: high-yield stocks and dividend-growth stocks. High-yield stocks typically have dividends that pay out in the 5%-8% range. Though the income appears attractive, the share prices of high-yield stocks may be at risk. Dividend-growth stocks typically have lower yields, often in the 1.0%-2.5% range. But the lower-yielding dividends are not likely to be a huge component of cash flow, leaving management teams with other value-additive options for deploying cash. Further, while the yields are not as high, management teams may be more likely to boost the payouts over time, as earnings grow.

Stocks rose on Wednesday morning as investors weighed new durable goods and employment data, along with earnings reports from Nvidia, Autodesk, and Deere. The Commerce Department said that capital goods orders fell 5.4% in October, down from a revised 4.0% increase in September, reflecting a sharp decline in aircraft orders. The Reuters consensus estimate had called for a decline of 3.1%. Core capital goods orders, excluding aircraft, fell 0.1% last month after a 0.2% decline in September. On the employment front, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 209,000 for the week ended November 18, below the consensus forecast of 226,000. The Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P 0.4%, and the Nasdaq 0.5%. Crude oil fell sharply to $75 per barrel, while gold traded near $1995 per ounce.

When we take a step back and review the weekly charts, the major indices still look like they are tracing bullish flags back to important support. In addition, they all continue to look like they are in three-wave ABC pullbacks, despite price erosion late last week following some 10- and 30-year Treasury bond auctions that saw weak demand.

For at least one day, the major stock indices on Monday looked over the edge of the cliff, didn't like the view, took a few steps back, and rallied in the last hour of trading. Chalk one up for the bulls, as the major indices not only held important support areas but did it in the face of the continued selloff in bonds and corresponding higher interest rates. The bears must be gnashing their teeth after a day like Monday.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional stock ownership trends. Institutions must file a Form 13F to report their holdings, and it is due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters. So these forms have now come in from 2Q23. We like to review the 13Fs of major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners, and ValueAct Holdings, among others, in order to determine their core holdings and new purchases. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Activists have made progress in the past year with high-profile investments into companies such as Fedex and Union Pacific. According to Vickers, here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of activist investors, as well as other high-profile money managers such as Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway and Ken Griffin of Citadel Advisors LLC.

The stock market sometimes gives a warning after a large move higher, gets everyone believing that a pullback has finally arrived, and then regroups for a couple of days before the rug is pulled out yet again. On July 27, we saw a pretty ugly reversal in the major indices that looked like the start of a much-anticipated reset. That was not to be, however, with stocks broadly higher on July 28.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Mid Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. The market capitalization range for U.S. mid-caps typically falls between $1 billion and $8 billion and represents 20% of the total capitalization of the U.S. equity market.

Stocks were mostly lower on Thursday morning following new inflation and employment data. The Labor Department reported that its producer price index for final demand rose 2.3% year-over-year in April, down from 2.7% growth in March. The core PPI, excluding volatile food, energy and trade services prices, rose 3.4%, also slowing from 3.7% a month earlier. First-time unemployment benefit claims rose by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000 for the week ended May 6. The reading was the highest since October 2021 and exceeded the Reuters consensus forecast of 245,000. The Dow fell 0.7%, the S&P fell 0.2%, and the Nasdaq was flat.

Small- and mid-cap stocks (SMID) have underperformed large-caps over the past 12 months, but may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. SMID companies tend to focus on domestic markets, so their businesses could be less disrupted by the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, high European inflation or other geopolitical developments. As well, the prices of SMID stocks generally are lower than the prices of large-caps. SMID stocks can be risky, but diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. We estimate that 12%-15% of the U.S. stock market's capitalization is comprised of SMID stocks. For our purposes, we use a threshold of $15 billion to define a SMID stock.

Each month, we take a close look at a particular angle of sector investing. This month, we are examining growth and valuation. Investors hunting for stocks that reasonably balance long-term growth prospects and current value characteristics might want to look first at companies in the Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Industrials sectors. These are among the industry groups that currently are selling for (price/earnings)/(growth+yield) ratios at or below the S&P 500's ratio of 2.4x. To generate the PEGY ratios, we use the P/E ratio for each sector based on forward earnings for the numerator. For the denominator, we average the growth rates for the past five years along with two years of forward estimates, this in order to achieve a smoother and less-volatile trend for the grow rate of earnings. We then add the current yield, to approximate total return. Premium-valued sectors with low growth rates include Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary. Our over-weight sectors include Healthcare, Industrials, and Basic Materials. Our under-weight sectors include Communication Services, Consumer Staples, and Consumer Discretionary. Our market-weight sectors include Technology, Financial, Utilities, Real Estate, and Energy.

We are raising our intermediate-term technical outlook back to bullish from neutral. After breaking out of a bullish cup formation on February 1, and above chart resistance from the prior highs at 4,100, the S&P 500 (SPX) pulled right back to that level on Monday and again on an intraday basis on Tuesday. The index also fell right to short-term trendline support off the lows since January 20. The result was a picture-perfect bullish backtest of support and a very strong bounce.

Dividend growth is among our most-important investment themes in 2023, and stretches across industries. At this stage of the economic and market cycles, Argus recommends that investors pay close attention to dividend growth. We think consistent -- and accelerated -- dividend growth at a company gives three important signals to investors: 1) the company's balance sheet is strong enough to pay a dividend; 2) management is mindful of shareholder returns, which include dividends; and 3) a significant dividend increase can be a message from management that the near-term outlook for the company is promising, even during a pandemic. In particular, we like companies that have grown their dividends at an average double-digit pace over the past five years. Stocks on our BUY list that meet this test include the following.

Dividend income, an important element of total return, is often overlooked amid gyrations in the stock market. Between 1930 and 2012, dividend income accounted for 42% of the total return of the S&P 500, according to Hartford Funds. And that's just the average. In some decades, dividends accounted for more than 50% of total returns and even 100% of returns. More recently, dividends have accounted for 15%-20% of returns. Still, in 2018, dividend payments softened the blow when most market indices declined as the Federal Reserve hiked rates. The pattern was repeated in 2022 as well. Not all dividends are created equal, though, and it is important to understand the difference between the two main categories: high-yield stocks and dividend-growth stocks.

Stocks fell on Monday morning at the start of the holiday-shortened week, led by sharp losses in Energy and Consumer Discretionary stocks. Disney shares rose 7% after the company announced that former CEO Bob Iger would return to the top job, replacing Bob Chapek, who had served as CEO for less than three years. The Dow fell 0.3%, the S&P 0.6%, and the Nasdaq 1.0%. Crude oil fell $5 to $75 per barrel, while gold fell $18 to $1736 per ounce.

Small- and mid-cap stocks (SMID stocks) have underperformed large-caps over the past 12 months, but still may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. For one thing, SMID companies tend to focus on domestic markets, so their businesses could be less disrupted by the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As well, the prices of SMID stocks generally are lower than the prices of large-caps. SMID stocks can be risky -- and large-caps outperformed SMID stocks in 11 of the 19 years in our test period. Still, despite the risks, diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. We estimate that 12%-15% of the U.S. stock market's capitalization is comprised of SMID stocks. For our purposes, we use a threshold of $20 billion to define a SMID stock.

Jacobs Engineering is a global provider of engineering, design, procurement, construction, and maintenance services as well as cyber engineering and security solutions. The firm serves industrial, commercial, and government clients in a wide variety of sectors, including water, transportation, healthcare, technology, and chemicals. Jacobs Engineering employs approximately 55,000 workers. The company generated $14.1 billion in revenue and $1.2 billion in adjusted operating income in fiscal 2021.

Recent one-week insider-sentiment readings from Vickers Stock Research have been toggling between very positive and neutral. As a result, Vickers' eight-week sell/buy ratios have started to retreat a bit from the exceedingly bullish levels of a few weeks ago. Still, current readings remain well below the 2.00 line that starts the bullish territory for these sentiment gauges. Vickers' current NYSE Eight-Week Sell/Buy Ratio is 1.60, the Nasdaq is 1.87, and the Total, which accounts for activity across all of the exchanges, is 1.74. Those are good sentiment readings under any conditions.

Dividend income, an important element of total return, is often overlooked amid gyrations in the stock market. Between 1930 and 2012, dividend income accounted for 42% of the total return of the S&P 500, according to Hartford Funds. And that's just the average. In some decades, dividends accounted for more than 50% of total returns and even 100% of returns. More recently, dividends have accounted for 15%-20% of returns. Still, in 2018, dividend payments softened the blow when most market indices declined as the Federal Reserve hiked rates. The pattern is being repeated in 2022 as well. Not all dividends are created equal, though, and it is important to understand the difference between the two main categories: high-yield stocks and dividend-growth stocks.

This is among our most important themes for 2022, and stretches across industries. We think companies that consistently raise their dividends at a double-digit rate are sending off three important signals amid the recent market volatility: 1) the company's balance sheet is strong enough to pay a dividend; 2) management is focused on providing shareholder returns; and 3) management is confident enough in the near-term outlook to raise the payout aggressively. The third factor is especially important as the pandemic upended the nation's recent record of long-term economic growth. Here are 19 stocks that meet our double-digit dividend test and are on the Argus BUY List. They are also holdings in our Dividend Growth Separately Managed Account and in the Dividend Growers Total Return Trust, sponsored by SmartTrust.

Stocks fell on Wednesday morning ahead of the Federal Reserve's afternoon policy statement and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. On the employment front, payroll provider ADP said that U.S. companies added 247,000 payroll jobs in April, down from 479,000 in March and below the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 383,000. The Dow fell 0.3%, the S&P 0.6%, and the Nasdaq 1.5%. Crude oil rose more than 3% to $106 per barrel, while gold dropped $3 to $1868 per ounce.

Stocks fell sharply on Monday morning amid continued concerns about inflation and the pace of interest rate hikes. The decline was led by the Technology and Communication Services sectors, which both fell more than 2%, and came ahead of the release of new consumer price data on Tuesday. The consensus estimate currently calls for an increase of 8.5% in consumer prices in March, a four-decade high and up from 7.9% in February. The Dow fell 0.6%, the S&P 1.2%, and the Nasdaq 1.9%. Crude oil fell below $96 per barrel, while gold traded near $1956 per ounce.

Small- and mid-cap stocks (SMID stocks) have underperformed large-caps over the past 12 months, but still may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. SMID companies tend to focus on domestic markets, so their businesses could be less disrupted by the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As well, the prices of SMID stocks generally are lower than the prices of large-caps. That said, SMID stocks can be risky and large-caps outperformed SMID stocks in 11 of the 19 years in our test period. Still, despite the risks, diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. We estimate that 12%-15% of the U.S. stock market's capitalization is comprised of SMID stocks. For our purposes, we use a threshold of $20 billion to define a SMID stock.

Stocks rose strongly on Tuesday morning on signs that at least some Russian troops were pulling back from positions near the Ukrainian border. However, on the economic front, inflation data was again higher than expected. The Labor Department said that its producer price index rose 1.0% in January, above the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 0.5% and up from a 0.4% increase in December. The Dow rose 1.2%, the S&P 1.5%, and the Nasdaq 2.1%. Crude oil fell nearly 4% to $92 per barrel, while gold fell $17 to $1852 per ounce.

Our rating on the Industrial sector is Over-Weight. After enduring the challenges of the pandemic, the cyclical stocks in the Industrial sector appear well-positioned within the changing political environment. Specifically, we believe that Industrial stocks will benefit from enhanced infrastructure investment and more-lenient trade policies during the Biden administration. The Industrial sector accounts for 8% of S&P 500 market capitalization. Over the past five years, the weighting has ranged from 7% to 12%. We think that investors should allocate 9%-10% of their diversified portfolios to the group. The sector includes industries such as transportation, aerospace & defense, heavy machinery, and electrical equipment. The sector is underperforming the market thus far in 2021, with a gain of 13.5%. It also underperformed in 2020, with a gain of 9.0%, and slightly underperformed in 2019, with a gain of 26.8%. Here are some of our top picks, all of which are rated BUY at Argus.

As the market headed into the Thanksgiving-shortened trading week, the volume of insider transactions had risen to the highest level since November 2006, with almost 2,800 insider trades last week that met the criteria for inclusion in the Weekly Insider report from Vickers' Stock Research.

Small- and mid-cap stocks (SMID stocks) soared in 2019. They have underperformed large-caps over the past 12 months, but still may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. For one thing, SMID companies tend to focus on domestic markets, so their businesses could be poised to rebound more quickly once COVID-19 vaccines are more widely distributed and the domestic service economy recovers. As well, the prices of SMID stocks generally are lower than the prices of large-caps. That said, SMID stocks can be risky. Still, despite the risks, diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. Investors used to use a $2 billion market-cap threshold to define a small-cap stock and a $10 billion threshold for a mid-cap. The Russell 2000 index now includes numerous companies with market capitalizations above $15 billion. For our purposes, we use a threshold of $20 billion to define a SMID stock.

The stock market was up slightly last week, owing its success to a positive jobs Friday report and solid earnings throughout. Tech stocks modestly outperformed blue chips. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 144 points, or 0.41%. The S&P 500 was up 0.17%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.40%. For the week, the DJIA was up 273 points, or 0.78%, the S&P 500 was up 0.94%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.11%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 15.04%, the S&P 500 is up 18.12%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 15.11%.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Stocks were mixed on Monday morning, with strong gains in the Consumer Staples, Industrial, and Utility sectors and losses in Technology and Communication Services. Marriott shares fell 3% after the company posted lower-than-expected 1Q earnings, reflecting weak bookings in its core U.S. market. Tyson shares also fell, despite better-than-expected fiscal 2Q results, after management warned that rising costs would weigh on margins in the second half of the year. The Dow rose 0.8%, the S&P was flat, and the Nasdaq fell 1.4%. Crude oil traded near $64.50 per barrel, while gold rose $9 to $1839 per ounce.

This edition features where to look for infrastructure opportunities; the upcoming Berkshire meeting; an earnings roundup; and notes from Sage Group, Caterpillar, and General Dynamics.

Our rating on the Industrial sector is Over-Weight. After enduring the challenges of the pandemic, the cyclical stocks in the sector appear well positioned within the changing political environment. Specifically, we believe that Industrial stocks will benefit from enhanced infrastructure investment and more-lenient trade policies during the Biden administration. The Industrial sector accounts for 8.9% of S&P 500 market capitalization. Over the past five years, the weighting has ranged from 7% to 12%. We think that investors should allocate 9%-10% of their diversified portfolios to the group. The sector includes industries such as transportation, aerospace & defense, heavy machinery and electrical equipment. The sector is outperforming the market thus far in 2021. It underperformed in 2020, with a gain of 9.0%, and slightly underperformed in 2019, with a gain of 26.8%. Here are some of our top Industrial picks, all of which are rated BUY at Argus.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Mid Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. The market capitalization range for U.S. mid-caps typically falls between $1 billion and $8 billion and represents 20% of the total capitalization of the U.S. equity market.

Earnings Help Support a Stretched Market

Investors hunting for stocks that reasonably balance long-term growth and current value characteristics might want to look at companies in the Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrial, and Technology sectors. These are among the industry groups that are currently selling for PEGY ratios (price/earnings)/(growth+yield) at or below the S&P 500's ratio of 2.7x. To generate PEGY ratios, we use the P/E ratio for each sector based on forward earnings for the numerator. For the denominator, we average the growth rates for the past three years along with two years of forward estimates, this in order to achieve a smoother, less-volatile, earnings trend. We then add the current yield, to approximate total return. Premium-valued sectors with low growth rates include Energy and Real Estate. Our over-weight sectors include Healthcare, Financial Services, Industrial, Utilities and Technology. Our under-weight sectors include Real Estate and Energy.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Mid Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. The market capitalization range for U.S. mid-caps typically falls between $1 billion and $8 billion and represents 20% of the total capitalization of the U.S. equity market.

Small- and mid-cap stocks (SMID stocks) surged in the past quarter. They also have outperformed large-caps over the past 12 months and may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. For one thing, SMID companies tend to focus on domestic markets, so their businesses could be poised to rebound more quickly once COVID-19 vaccines are widely distributed and the economy recovers. As well, the prices of SMID stocks are generally lower than the prices of large-caps. While SMID stocks can be risky, diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. We estimate that 20%-25% of the U.S. stock market's capitalization is comprised of SMID stocks. Investors used to use a $2 billion market-cap threshold to define a small-cap stock and a $10 billion threshold for a mid-cap. We note that the Russell 2000 index now includes numerous companies with market capitalizations above $15 billion. For our purposes, we use a threshold of $20 billion to define a SMID stock.

Small- and mid-cap stocks (SMID stocks) surged in the past quarter. They also have outperformed large-caps over the past 12 months and may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. For one thing, SMID companies tend to focus on domestic markets, so their businesses could be poised to rebound more quickly once COVID-19 vaccines are widely distributed and the economy recovers. As well, the prices of SMID stocks are generally lower than the prices of large-caps. While SMID stocks can be risky, diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. We estimate that 20%-25% of the U.S. stock market's capitalization is comprised of SMID stocks. Investors used to use a $2 billion market-cap threshold to define a small-cap stock and a $10 billion threshold for a mid-cap. We note that the Russell 2000 index now includes numerous companies with market capitalizations above $15 billion. For our purposes, we use a threshold of $20 billion to define a SMID stock.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Mid Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. The market capitalization range for U.S. mid-caps typically falls between $1 billion and $8 billion and represents 20% of the total capitalization of the U.S. equity market.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Mid Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. The market capitalization range for U.S. mid-caps typically falls between $1 billion and $8 billion and represents 20% of the total capitalization of the U.S. equity market.

Our recent commentaries about insider sentiment, which have been based on proprietary sentiment measurements from Vickers Stock Research, have noted growing caution among corporate executives, directors and beneficial owners. We've discussed pent-up selling demand after earnings season, when insiders are broadly prohibited from trading; hedging in an environment that features a pandemic and extreme political developments in the U.S.; and insiders taking profits off the table (as they almost always do) when stock prices flirt with all-time highs.

Investors hunting for stocks that reasonably balance long-term growth and value characteristics might want to look at companies in the Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrial and Technology sectors. These are a few of the industry groups that are currently selling for (price/earnings)/(growth+yield) ratios at or below the S&P 500's ratio of 2.0x. To generate these PEGY ratios, we use the P/E ratio for each sector based on forward 2021 earnings for the numerator. For the denominator, we average the growth rates for the past three years along with two years of forward estimates, in order to achieve a smoother, less-volatile earnings trend. We then add the current yield, to approximate total return. Premium-valued sectors with low growth rates include the Energy, Materials and Consumer Staples sectors. Our over-weight sectors include Healthcare, Consumer Discretionary Communication Services, Utilities and Information Technology. Our under-weight sectors include Real Estate and Energy.

The S&P 500 closed on August 7 in the 3,350s, within 1% of its all-time closing high of 3,386.15. That high was set on 2/19/20, when COVID-19 was still largely a vague concern and not the overwhelming global catastrophe it is now. The market has continued rallying in August, rising by 2.6% in the month-to-date in what is normally a poor month for the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 closed on August 7 in the 3,350s, within 1% of its all-time closing high of 3,386.15. That high was set on 2/19/20, when COVID-19 was still largely a vague concern and not the overwhelming global catastrophe it is now. The market has continued rallying in August, rising by 2.6% in the month-to-date in what is normally a poor month for the S&P 500.

Large-caps have outperformed over the past 12 months, but small- and mid-caps may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. For one thing, many smaller companies often are more focused on domestic operations and may not be exposed to the global economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus. For another, prior to COVID-19, the long-term record favored small-caps over large-caps. From 2003-2019, the Russell 2000 Index had climbed 282%, compared to an advance of 233% for the Russell 1000 Index. In 2020, a relatively weak performance by the Russell 2000 Index has brought the measures more in line for the year-to-date. SP despite risks associated with smaller-cap stocks, diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. We estimate that 15%-20% of the U.S. stock market's capitalization is comprised of small- and mid-cap stocks.

Large-caps have outperformed over the past 12 months, but small- and mid-caps may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. For one thing, many smaller companies often are more focused on domestic operations and may not be exposed to the global economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus. For another, prior to COVID-19, the long-term record favored small-caps over large-caps. From 2003-2019, the Russell 2000 Index had climbed 282%, compared to an advance of 233% for the Russell 1000 Index. In 2020, a relatively weak performance by the Russell 2000 Index has brought the measures more in line for the year-to-date. SP despite risks associated with smaller-cap stocks, diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. We estimate that 15%-20% of the U.S. stock market's capitalization is comprised of small- and mid-cap stocks.

With earnings season going full steam, gleaning meaningful trends from the weekly insider-transaction data supplied by Vickers Stock Research is arguably a difficult task. After all, corporate executives, directors, and beneficial owners are broadly prohibited from trading at this time and transaction volume is low; so there is not much meat on the bone, as it were. But that's not to say there is nothing of note in the batch of insider transactions that took place over the past week. Here are a few of the relative highlights.

With earnings season going full steam, gleaning meaningful trends from the weekly insider-transaction data supplied by Vickers Stock Research is arguably a difficult task. After all, corporate executives, directors, and beneficial owners are broadly prohibited from trading at this time and transaction volume is low; so there is not much meat on the bone, as it were. But that's not to say there is nothing of note in the batch of insider transactions that took place over the past week. Here are a few of the relative highlights.

Investors hunting for stocks that reasonably balance long-term growth and value characteristics might want to look at companies in the Financial Services, Healthcare and Technology sectors. These are a few of the industry groups that are currently selling for PEGY (price/earnings)/(growth+yield) ratios at or below the S&P 500's ratio of 1.9x. To generate PEGY ratios, we use the P/E ratio for each sector based on forward 2020 earnings for the numerator. For the denominator, we average the growth rates for the past three years along with two years of forward estimates, in order to achieve a smoother, less-volatile, earnings trend; then we add the current yield, to approximate total return. Premium-valued sectors with low growth rates include the Energy, Materials and Consumer Discretionary sectors. Our Over-Weight sectors include Industrial, Healthcare, Communication Services and Information Technology. Our Under-Weight sectors include Consumer Staples, Materials and Energy.

Investors hunting for stocks that reasonably balance long-term growth and value characteristics might want to look at companies in the Financial Services, Healthcare and Technology sectors. These are a few of the industry groups that are currently selling for PEGY (price/earnings)/(growth+yield) ratios at or below the S&P 500's ratio of 1.9x. To generate PEGY ratios, we use the P/E ratio for each sector based on forward 2020 earnings for the numerator. For the denominator, we average the growth rates for the past three years along with two years of forward estimates, in order to achieve a smoother, less-volatile, earnings trend; then we add the current yield, to approximate total return. Premium-valued sectors with low growth rates include the Energy, Materials and Consumer Discretionary sectors. Our Over-Weight sectors include Industrial, Healthcare, Communication Services and Information Technology. Our Under-Weight sectors include Consumer Staples, Materials and Energy.