Advertisement
UK markets closed
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    83.11
    -0.06 (-0.07%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,254.80
    +16.40 (+0.73%)
     
  • DOW

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    56,173.53
    +1,372.03 (+2.50%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • NASDAQ Composite

    16,379.46
    -20.06 (-0.12%)
     
  • UK FTSE All Share

    4,338.05
    +12.12 (+0.28%)
     

Bet on Rising P/E Investing With These Top 5 Stocks

Stocks with a low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio are generally favored by investors. The perception is that the lower the P/E, the higher will be the value of the stock. This implies that a stock’s current market price does not justify its high earnings and therefore suggests room to run.

But stocks with a rising P/E can also be worth buying. We’ll tell you why.

Why Rising P/E a Valuable Tool?

Investors should note that stock price moves in tandem with earnings performance. If earnings come in stronger, the price of a stock shoots up. Solid quarterly earnings and forward guidance boost earnings forecasts, leading to stronger demand for the stock and an uptrend in its price.

ADVERTISEMENT

So, if the price is rising steadily, it means that investors are assured of the stock’s fundamental strength and expect some strong positives out of it. The investor expects earnings of the company to rise at a faster pace in the future on the back of strong fundamentals.

Also, studies have revealed that stocks have seen their P/E ratios jump over 100% from their breakout point in the cycle. So, if you can pick stocks early in their breakout cycle, you can end up seeing considerable gains.

The Winning Strategy

In order to shortlist stocks that are exhibiting an increasing P/E, we chose the following as our primary screening parameters.

EPS growth estimate for the current year is greater than or equal to last year’s actual growth

Percentage change in last year EPS should be greater than or equal to zero

(These two criteria point to flat earnings or a growth trend over the years.)

Percentage change in price over four weeks greater than the percentage change in price over 12 weeks

Percentage change in price over 12 weeks greater than percentage change in price over 24 weeks

(These two criteria show that price of the stock is increasing consistently over the said time frames.)

Percentage price change for four weeks relative to the S&P 500 greater than the percentage price change for 12 weeks relative to the S&P 500

Percentage price change for 12 weeks relative to the S&P 500 greater than the percentage price change for 24 weeks relative to the S&P 500

(Here, the case for consistent price gains gets even stronger as it displays percentage price changes relative to the S&P 500.)

Percentage price change for 12 weeks is 20% higher than or equal to the percentage price change for 24 weeks, but it should not exceed 100%

(A 20% increase in the price of a stock from the breakout point gives cues of an impending uptrend. But a jump of over 100% indicates that there is limited scope for further upside and that the stock might be due for a reversal.)

In addition, we place a few other criteria that lead us to some likely outperformers.

Zacks Rank Less than equals to 2: Only companies with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) can get through.

Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50,000: High trading volume implies that the stocks have adequate liquidity.

Just these few criteria narrowed down the universe from over 7,700 stocks to just 42.

Here are five out of the 42:

Vector Group Ltd. (VGR): The Zacks Rank #1 company is principally engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and the sale of information processing systems. The stock belongs to a favorable Zacks industry (placed at the top 31% of total 250+ industries in the Zacks universe).

Container Store (The) (TCS): The company operates as a specialty retailer of storage and organization products in the United States. The stock hails from a favorable Zacks industry (top 21%) and carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Auryn Resources Inc. (AUG): This Zacks Rank #2 mining exploration, acquisition and development company comes from a favorable Zacks industry (top 8%).

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK): The Zacks Rank #2 provider of paperboard packaging solutions hails from a favorable Zacks industry (top 31%).

Career Education Corporation (PRDO): This educational service provided belongs to a favorable Zacks industry (top 11%)and carries a Zacks Rank #1.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

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.


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Container Store The (TCS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Vector Group Ltd. (VGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Auryn Resources Inc. (AUG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Career Education Corporation (PRDO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research