5 Broker-Loved Stocks to Monitor Amid Signs of Slowing Inflation

Core Insights - The favorable December inflation reading has alleviated investor concerns regarding potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, coinciding with a strong start to the fourth-quarter 2024 earnings season [1] Group 1: Investment Opportunities - Investors are encouraged to leverage the current market conditions to build a winning portfolio, with broker-favorite stocks such as National Vision Holdings (EYE), Cencora (COR), ABM Industries (ABM), Arrow Electronics (ARW), and Bunge Global (BG) highlighted as key focuses [2] - A screening process has been established to identify stocks based on improving broker recommendations and upward revisions in earnings estimates over the past four weeks, incorporating the price/sales ratio as a complementary valuation metric [3] Group 2: Screening Criteria - The screening criteria include identifying the top 75 companies with net upgrades in broker ratings over the last four weeks, the top 10 stocks with earnings estimate revisions, and the bottom 10% of stocks based on the price-to-sales ratio [4] - Additional criteria include stocks priced above $5, an average daily trading volume greater than 100,000 shares over the last 20 trading days, and a market value ranking in the top 3000 [5] Group 3: Company Highlights - National Vision is recognized as a leading optical retailer, utilizing remote medicine technology to enhance operational efficiency and patient experience, with an average earnings surprise of 93.7% over the last four quarters [6][7] - Cencora has shown solid organic revenue growth, particularly through its World Courier unit, with an average earnings surprise of 7% over the last four quarters [7][8] - ABM Industries, a provider of integrated facility solutions, has consistently surpassed earnings estimates with an average beat of 11.6% and has launched initiatives to drive organic growth [8][9] - Arrow Electronics has a strong acquisition history, enhancing its service offerings, and has achieved an average earnings surprise of 11.8% over the last four quarters [9][10] - Bunge Global, focused on connecting farmers to consumers, has an average earnings surprise of 13.4% over the last four quarters, demonstrating a solid performance despite one miss [10][11]