5 Broker-Loved Stocks to Keep An Eye On in the New Year

Year 2024 turned out to be good for U.S. equity markets. The three major stock indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — gained significantly on a year-over-year basis in 2024. Multiple rate cuts by the Fed and a slowing inflation rate provided the stimulus.Investors would like to take advantage of these tailwinds and design a winning portfolio in the new year for healthy returns. Given the difficulty of this task, investors are advised to take help from brokers, deemed to be experts in the field of investing. Broker-favorite stocks such as American Airlines AAL, ABM Industries ABM, A.P. Moller-Maersk AMKBY, Delek US Holdings DK and Asbury Automotive ABG should be monitored for this purpose.We have designed a screen to shortlist stocks based on improving broker recommendations and upward revisions in earnings estimates over the past four weeks. Also, since the price/sales ratio is a strong complementary valuation metric in the presence of broker information, it has been included. The price/sales ratio takes care of the company’s top line, making the strategy a well-rounded one.Screening Criteria# (Up- Down Rating)/ Total (4 weeks) =Top #75 (This gives the list of top 75 companies that have witnessed net upgrades over the last 4 weeks).% change in Q (1) est. (4 weeks) = Top #10 (This gives the top 10 stocks that have witnessed earnings estimate revisions over the past 4 weeks for the upcoming quarter).Price-to-Sales = Bot%10 (The lower the ratio, the better. Companies meeting this criterion are in the bottom 10% of our universe of over 7,700 stocks with respect to this ratio).Price greater than 5 (as a stock trading below $5 will not likely create significant interest for most of the investors).Average Daily Volume greater than 100,000 shares over the last 20 trading days (Volume has to be significant to ensure that these are easily traded).Market value ($ mil) = Top #3000 (This gives us stocks that are the top 3000 in terms of market capitalization).Com/ADR/Canadian= Com (This takes out the ADR and Canadian stocks).Here are five of the 10 stocks that made it through the screen:American Airlines is based in Fort Worth, TX. The gradual increase in air travel demand (particularly leisure) aids AAL. Low fuel costs are aiding the bottom line.Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has increased 16.2%. AAL currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks hereNew York-based ABM Industries is a provider of integrated facility solutions in the United States and other countries. ABM currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company has an impressive surprise history, with its earnings surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average beat being 11.6%.The company's comprehensive transformational initiative called 2020 Vision has helped it attain long-term profitable growth through an industry-based go-to-market approach. The multi-year comprehensive strategic plan, ELEVATE, is expected to accelerate ABM’s organic growth, improve its strategic and comprehensive positioning, and reinforce profitability.A.P. Moller-Maersk is based in Denmark. Maersk currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has been revised upward by 35.7% over the past 90 days.The shipping company has an encouraging track record with respect to earnings per share. The company has outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters (reporting in-line earnings in the other quarter). The average beat is 24.5%.Brentwood, TN-based Delek US Holdings is an independent refiner, transporter and marketer of petroleum products. DK’s extensive downstream operations within the Permian Basin grant it a fairly significant competitive edge over its peers in the long term.Delek US Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. DK surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the past four quarters (missing the mark in the other one), with the average beat being 15.8%.Asbury Automotive, which operates as an automotive retailer in the United States, carries a Zacks Rank #3, presently. Asbury’s diversified product mix and multiple streams of income bode well. The company’s digitization efforts augur well.Investor-friendly moves also instill optimism. In the third quarter of 2024, Asbury returned $89 million to shareholders via share repurchase. From the beginning of 2024 through Oct. 28, the company bought back $183 million in shares. As of Oct. 28, the company had approximately $276 million remaining on its share repurchase authorization.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 ABM Industries Incorporated (ABM): Free Stock Analysis Report Delek US Holdings, Inc. (DK): Free Stock Analysis Report American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL): Free Stock Analysis Report Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (ABG): Free Stock Analysis Report A.P. Moller-Maersk (AMKBY): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks