Top 5 Stocks With Upgraded Broker Ratings To Buy Now

It’s not easy for an individual investor to pick stocks on his own and gain from it, given so many fundamental and technical aspects that need to be considered for spotting the potential winners. This is where expert advice comes handy.

Since brokers are in direct communication with companies, they have more insight into what’s happening in it. So, following what the majority of brokers are saying about a stock can help you understand its potential easily.

Also, they analyze fundamentals of the company and place them against the present economic backdrop to figure out how the stock will fare as an investment. Further, brokers have a deeper understanding of the overall industry and economy.

Precisely, brokers analyze a company’s publicly available financial statements, attend conference calls and communicate directly with top management. Additionally, they even talk to customers to understand what they like or dislike about the products and services offered by the company.

So, there’s comprehensive research behind the rating of a broker on a company’s stock. Naturally, when an analyst upgrades a stock, you can easily rely on it.

Nevertheless, it’s not correct to solely depend on analysts’ upgrades to build your investment portfolio. You must also take into consideration certain other factors to ensure strong returns.

Hence, here we are with a screening strategy that should result in good returns:

Broker Rating Upgrades (4 weeks): This screens those stocks that have witnessed broker upgrades over the last four weeks.

Current Price greater than or equal to 5: The stocks must be trading at $5 or above.

Average 20-day Volume greater than 100,000: A huge trading volume ensures that the stock is easily tradable.

Zacks Rank equal to #1: No matter whether market conditions are good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of success.

VGM Score less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of ‘A’ or ‘B’ when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (buy) offer the best upside potential.

Here are five of the nine stocks that made it through the screen:

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded ready-to-eat cereals in the U.S. and Canada. Over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 has surged 41.25%.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC) is leading producer of quality handguns, law enforcement products and firearm safety and security products. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 has increased 9.83% over the last 30 days.

LHC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LHCG) offers post-acute healthcare services primarily to Medicare beneficiaries in rural markets in the southern U.S. Over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has risen 3.55% for 2016.

EnerSys (NYSE:ENS) is engaged in manufacturing, marketing and distribution of various industrial batteries including motive power, reserve power, aerospace and defense applications. Over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 has risen 6.04%.

Ryerson Holding Corporation (NYSE:RYI) is a services company that processes and distributes metals. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the stock has climbed 6.42% over the past 30 days.

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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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SMITH & WESSON (SWHC): Free Stock Analysis Report

LHC GROUP LLC (LHCG): Free Stock Analysis Report

RYERSON HOLDING (RYI): Free Stock Analysis Report

ENERSYS INC (ENS): Free Stock Analysis Report

POST HOLDINGS (POST): Free Stock Analysis Report

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Zacks Investment Research