The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights The Progressive, Pinterest, Lamb Weston, Palantir and Vertiv
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 4, 2023 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: The Progressive Corp. PGR, Pinterest Inc. PINS, Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. LW, Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR and Vertiv Holdings Co. VRT.
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Recession Fears Fade on Dwindling Inflation: 5 Top Picks
The Fed’s much-hyped soft landing of the U.S. economy seems to be a reality now. Steadily declining inflation, together with astonishing growth of U.S. GDP, has bolstered investors’ confidence in a soft landing.
On Nov 30, the Department of Commerce reported that the headline personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index — remained flat month over month in October. The metric for September was revised downward to 0.3% from 0.4% reported earlier. Year over year, PCE inflation increased 3% in October compared with 3.4% in September.
Core (excluding volatile food and energy items) PCE inflation — the Fed’s most favorite inflation gauge — rose 0.2% month over month in October compared with 0.3% in the prior month. Year over year, core PCE inflation increased 3.5% in October compared with 3.7% in September.
A majority of market participants are confident that the Fed has already completed its interest rate hike regime. The CME FedWatch is currently showing a 95% probability that the central bank will keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.25-5.5%.
The resilient labor market has shown signs of cracks. The nonfarm payrolls in October were lower than expected. Moreover, weekly jobless claims have started increasing in the last few reported weeks. Continuing claims for the week ended Nov 23 jumped to its highest level since the week ended Nov 21, 2021.
On the other hand, the U.S. economy grew at an impressive 5.2% in third-quarter 2023. Personal spending increased 0.2% month over month in October. This clearly shows that a recession is out of sight at present.
Our Top Picks
We have narrowed our search to five growth stocks that have solid upside left for 2024. These stocks have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions in the last 60 days. Each of our picks carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a Growth Score A or B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Progressive Corp. continues to gain on higher premiums, given its compelling product portfolio, leadership position and strength in both Vehicle and Property businesses. Focus on becoming a one-stop insurance destination, catering to customers opting for a combination of home and auto insurance, augurs well for PGR’s growth.
Policies in force and retention ratio should remain healthy for PGR. Competitive pricing to retain current customers and address customer needs with new offerings should continue to drive policy life expectancy.
The Progressive has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 13.2% and 49.1%, respectively, for next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next-year earnings has improved 0.1% over the last seven days.
Pinterest Inc. is making solid progress in deepening user engagement on the platform. Focus on improving operational rigor and integration of cutting-edge AI models will likely boost relevancy and personalization. The corporate strategy to introduce more actionable content on the platform from a wide range of sources has resulted in healthy growth in engagement metrics across all regions.
PINS’ mobile deep linking product is helping retailers make more purchases through their mobile apps. PINS has significantly propelled shopping ads revenue growth. Advanced tools such as Travel Catalog and Premier Spotlight empower advertisers to reach target audiences with greater precision.
Pinterest has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 16.8% and 18.6%, respectively, for next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next-year earnings has improved 4.1% over the last 30 days.
Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. benefits from solid pricing actions to counter input and manufacturing cost inflation. Strategic pricing efforts drove LW’s first-quarter fiscal 2024 net sales, which increased year over year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Management is on track with solid offerings and capacity expansion, enabling the company to meet rising demand conditions for snacks and fries effectively.
LW continues investing in supply-chain, commercial and information technology operations. A solid start to the year and the ongoing demand and pricing scenario prompted LW to raise its fiscal 2024 outlook.
Lamb Weston has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 28.3% and 24.8%, respectively, for the current year (ending May 2024). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 10.8% over the last 60 days.
Palantir Technologies Inc. builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community in the United States to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations. PLTR provides Palantir Gotham, a software platform that enables users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets, ranging from signals intelligence sources to reports from confidential informants.
Palantir Technologies has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 20.4% and 18.5%, respectively, for next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next-year earnings has improved 7.4% over the last 30 days.
Vertiv Holdings Co. designs, manufactures, and services critical digital infrastructure technologies and life cycle services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. VRT offers hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services.
Vertiv Holdings has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 9% and 27.9%, respectively, for next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 11.7% over the last 60 days.
Why Haven’t You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +6.2 average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +46.4%, +49.5% and +55.2% per year. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
See Stocks Free >>
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
https://www.zacks.com
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.
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
The Progressive Corporation (PGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Lamb Weston (LW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Pinterest, Inc. (PINS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
