Zacks.com featured highlights include Bilibili, Willdan, Sterling, ASML and Leonardo

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – April 15, 2025 – Stocks in this week’s article are — like Bilibili BILI , Willdan Group WLDN, Sterling Infrastructure STRL, ASML Holding ASML and Leonardo DRS DRS.The majority of U.S. stock indices ended last week on a strong note, witnessing a sharp rise on April 11, 2025, as investors’ concerns surrounding the freshly erupted U.S.-China trade war eased somewhat. Producer price data released last Friday, which showed that wholesale inflation fell in March, must have also added to investors’ optimism and was reflected in the form of share price hikes.This might attract investors to the stock market. However, considering the fact that the global stock market has seen major ups and downs in recent times, a prudent investor knows that to avoid big losses during a crisis, one should choose safe bet stocks like Bilibili, Willdan Group, Sterling Infrastructure, ASML Holding and Leonardo DRS. These stocks bear low leverage and, therefore, should be a safer option for investors if they don’t want to lose big in times of market turmoil.  Now, before selecting low-leverage stocks, let’s explore what leverage is and how choosing a low-leverage stock helps investors.What’s the Significance of Low-Leverage Stocks?In finance, leverage is a term used to denote the practice of borrowing capital by companies to run their operations smoothly and expand the same. Such borrowings are done through debt financing. But there remains an option for equity finance. This is probably due to the cheap and easy availability of debt over equity financing.However, debt financing has its share of drawbacks. Particularly, it is desirable only as long as it successfully generates a higher rate of return compared to the interest rate. So, to avoid considerable losses in your portfolio, one should always avoid companies that resort to excessive debt financing.The crux of safe investment lies in choosing a company that is not burdened with debt, as a debt-free stock is almost impossible to find.The equity market can be volatile at times, and, as an investor, if you don’t want to lose big time, we suggest you invest in stocks that bear low leverage and are, hence, less risky.To identify such stocks, historically, several leverage ratios have been developed to measure the amount of debt a company bears. The debt-to-equity ratio is one of the most common ratios.Analyzing Debt/EquityDebt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Liabilities/Shareholders’ EquityThis metric is a liquidity ratio that indicates the amount of financial risk a company bears. A lower debt-to-equity ratio reflects improved solvency for a company.With the first-quarter 2025 earnings season knocking on the doors, investors must be eyeing stocks that have exhibited solid earnings growth in the recent past. But if a stock bears a high debt-to-equity ratio in times of economic downturn, its so-called booming earnings picture might turn into a nightmare.The Winning StrategyConsidering the factors above, it is prudent to choose stocks with a low debt-to-equity ratio to ensure steady returns.Yet, an investment strategy based solely on the debt-to-equity ratio might not fetch the desired outcome. To choose stocks that have the potential to give you steady returns, we have expanded our screening criteria to include some other factors.Excluding stocks that have a negative or a zero debt-to-equity ratio, here we present our five picks out of the 12 stocks that made it through the screen.Bilibili: It provides an online entertainment platform primarily in China. On April 9, 2025, Bilibili published its 2024 Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") Report. Per the report, daily active users approached 104 million, each averaging 102 minutes of daily time spent on the platform, in 2024.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BILI’s 2025 sales suggests an improvement of 11% from 2024 reported figure. The company boasts a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 2.23%. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2.Willdan Group: It is a provider of professional technical and consulting services to utilities, private industry and public agencies at all levels of government. On April 3, 2025, Wildan announced that it had been awarded a $30 million energy savings performance contract to expand energy and infrastructure modernization services for the City of Fairfield’s critical facilities. These projects will enhance efficiency, sustainability and operational performance through upgrades, including on-site solar photovoltaic energy generation, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and central plant renovations. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings suggests a year-over-year improvement of 13.2%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 66.13%. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.Sterling Infrastructure:It operates through subsidiaries within segments specializing in E-Infrastructure, Building and Transportation Solutions, principally in the United States, primarily across the Southern, Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and the Rocky Mountain States, California and Hawaii. On March 20, 2025, Sterling Infrastructure published its 2025 Sustainability Report titled, Building Tomorrow Today. The report highlights Sterling’s ongoing sustainability efforts and Environmental, Social and Governance-related activities and business practices.The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 15%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings indicates an improvement of 34.6% from 2024 actuals. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.ASML Holdings: It is a leading manufacturer of advanced technology systems for the semiconductor industry. On March 11, 2025, ASML Holding announced that it has signed a new strategic partnership agreement with imec. The agreement has a duration of five years and aims to develop solutions that advance the semiconductor industry and initiatives focused on sustainable innovation.ASML boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 18%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 sales suggests a year-over-year improvement of 14.1%. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Leonardo DRS: It develops and manufactures advanced defense products for the U.S. military, intelligence agencies and allies. On March 26, 2025, the company revealed that it had received a prototype project award worth $16.9 million from the U.S. Army to modernize the Paladin Electric Servo Amplifier electric weapon control system for the M109A7 Paladin self-propelled howitzer. DRS boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 14.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 sales suggests a year-over-year improvement of 8.4%. It currently sports 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 trading. Further, you can also create your strategies and backtest 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.For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2448675/5-low-leverage-stocks-to-add-to-your-portfolio-as-us-inflation-eases?art_rec=home-home-investment_ideas_stocks-ID06-txt-2448675Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.Contact: Jim GiaquintoCompany: Zacks.comPhone: 312-265-9268Email: pr@zacks.comVisit: https://www.zacks.com/Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>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 ASML Holding N.V. (ASML): Free Stock Analysis Report Willdan Group, Inc. (WLDN): Free Stock Analysis Report Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL): Free Stock Analysis Report Bilibili Inc. Sponsored ADR (BILI): Free Stock Analysis Report Leonardo DRS, Inc. (DRS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks