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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: VHT, SCHD, TDIV, PALL, QCLN, SMH, ICF and PHO
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – August 4, 2021 – 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: Healthcare ETF Vanguard (VHT - Free Report) , Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD - Free Report) , First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV - Free Report) , Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF (PALL - Free Report) , First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy ETF (QCLN - Free Report) , VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) , iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF (ICF - Free Report) and Water Resources Invesco ETF (PHO - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
8 ETFs to Buy in Historically Low August
The month of August started off on a decent note for Wall Street with the Fed reiterating its dovish stance and the spread of the Delta version of the COVID-19 coming to the forefront. On a different note, the U.S. GDP grew at a 6.5% annualized rate in the second quarter of 2021, per the Commerce Department’s first estimate (as mentioned in a CNBC article). However, the metric lagged the Dow Jones estimate of 8.4%. This was yet another concern.
Though the ongoing earnings season has been stellar, a number of companies have disappointed on current-quarter guidance, offering a more tepid outlook. In fact, a consensus carried out from 1950 to 2020 shows that August ended up offering positive stock returns in 39 years and negative returns in 32 years, per moneychimp.com, with an average return of negative 0.16%.
If history is any guide, the month can easily be touted as subdued. Against this historical market performance, let’s take a look at the ETFs that can come across as intriguing bets for the month.Having said this, we would like to note that equity investors have entered August with momentum from a sixth straight monthly gain.
Healthcare ETF Vanguard
As per Equityclock, healthcare enjoys seasonal strength in August. This sector is less ruffled by economic fluctuations due to its non-cyclical nature. The sector provides a defensive tilt to the fund’s portfolio in a volatile market. COVID-19 outbreak and the need for vaccine and treatment have helped the sector even more. Also, decent earnings, rising M&A, IPO and a positive regulatory backdrop should help the fund.
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
In a bid to safety, a look at dividend-focused quality ETFs makes sense. The fund SCHD measures the performance of high dividend-yielding U.S. stocks that have a record of consistently paying dividends. Wells Fargo, Cintas, and Hershey were among the many large U.S. companies that have raised dividends lately, per a barrons.com article. Other renowned companies that announced dividend hikes lately were Truist Financial, Mondelez International, McKesson, Marathon Oil, Principal Financial Group, Ball, Skyworks Solutions and Republic Services.
First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund
The dovish Fed statements dragged down the treasury yields recently, which should benefit tech stocks as these are high-growth in nature. Moreover, fears of the Delta variant of COVID-19 are also pushing up demand for the tech stocks as these are the winning ones during the stay-at-home trend. Plus, the sector has solid long-term potential. If this was not enough TDIV yields 1.82% currently, which is higher than the benchmark U.S. treasury yield (1.24% as of Jul 30, 2021).
Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF
Palladium has been seeing strong demand in the manufacture of industrial products. The metal is used for catalytic converters in gasoline-powered cars. Meanwhile, the markets have been long grappling with the supply crunch of palladium. A relatively subdued U.S. dollar is an added tailwind.
First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy ETF
Clean energy seems to be an emerging space. “Growing consumer electric vehicle adoption, state expansions of charging infrastructure, falling battery prices and increased solar-storage installations” have acted as a tailwind for the U.S. clean energy sector over the past few quarters. Clean energy ETFs were beaten down at the start of the year, which calls for lucrative valuation now.
VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF
Semiconductor stocks and ETFs should gain ahead from a number of areas like the soaring video gaming industry, the latest bounce-back in bitcoin and an all overall pickup in technology stocks amid the pandemic. Supply shortage of semiconductors also boosted the demand for chips.
iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF
U.S. treasury yields have slid to as low as 1.24% as of Jul 30, 2021. This has been a boon to the U.S. real estate sector. The cost of living in the United States has surged the most in 13 years. In a rising inflation environment, real estate stocks act as a good bet. The U.S. homebuilding sector is on fire. But higher demand for home buying as well as lack of labor and land boosted home prices. This is a great scenario for renters. Plus, a stupendous tech rally has been aiding the data center REITs in recent times (read: 5 Reasons Why REIT ETFs Are Surging).
Water Resources Invesco ETF
Invesco Water Resources ETF PHO is up 22.2% this year and has gained 35.1% in the past year. Still, water ETFs are often ignored by investors. Water scarcity has become a global crisis. Then there is President Biden’s infrastructure deal. According to the White House, the infrastructure deal will include $579 billion in new spending. Going by a CNBC article, the proposal will allocate $55 billion to water (read: Often-Ignored Water ETFs Are Sizzling Hot: Here's Why).
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.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: VHT, SCHD, TDIV, PALL, QCLN, SMH, ICF and PHO
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – August 4, 2021 – 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: Healthcare ETF Vanguard (VHT - Free Report) , Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD - Free Report) , First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV - Free Report) , Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF (PALL - Free Report) , First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy ETF (QCLN - Free Report) , VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) , iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF (ICF - Free Report) and Water Resources Invesco ETF (PHO - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
8 ETFs to Buy in Historically Low August
The month of August started off on a decent note for Wall Street with the Fed reiterating its dovish stance and the spread of the Delta version of the COVID-19 coming to the forefront. On a different note, the U.S. GDP grew at a 6.5% annualized rate in the second quarter of 2021, per the Commerce Department’s first estimate (as mentioned in a CNBC article). However, the metric lagged the Dow Jones estimate of 8.4%. This was yet another concern.
Though the ongoing earnings season has been stellar, a number of companies have disappointed on current-quarter guidance, offering a more tepid outlook. In fact, a consensus carried out from 1950 to 2020 shows that August ended up offering positive stock returns in 39 years and negative returns in 32 years, per moneychimp.com, with an average return of negative 0.16%.
If history is any guide, the month can easily be touted as subdued. Against this historical market performance, let’s take a look at the ETFs that can come across as intriguing bets for the month.Having said this, we would like to note that equity investors have entered August with momentum from a sixth straight monthly gain.
Healthcare ETF Vanguard
As per Equityclock, healthcare enjoys seasonal strength in August. This sector is less ruffled by economic fluctuations due to its non-cyclical nature. The sector provides a defensive tilt to the fund’s portfolio in a volatile market. COVID-19 outbreak and the need for vaccine and treatment have helped the sector even more. Also, decent earnings, rising M&A, IPO and a positive regulatory backdrop should help the fund.
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
In a bid to safety, a look at dividend-focused quality ETFs makes sense. The fund SCHD measures the performance of high dividend-yielding U.S. stocks that have a record of consistently paying dividends. Wells Fargo, Cintas, and Hershey were among the many large U.S. companies that have raised dividends lately, per a barrons.com article. Other renowned companies that announced dividend hikes lately were Truist Financial, Mondelez International, McKesson, Marathon Oil, Principal Financial Group, Ball, Skyworks Solutions and Republic Services.
First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund
The dovish Fed statements dragged down the treasury yields recently, which should benefit tech stocks as these are high-growth in nature. Moreover, fears of the Delta variant of COVID-19 are also pushing up demand for the tech stocks as these are the winning ones during the stay-at-home trend. Plus, the sector has solid long-term potential. If this was not enough TDIV yields 1.82% currently, which is higher than the benchmark U.S. treasury yield (1.24% as of Jul 30, 2021).
Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF
Palladium has been seeing strong demand in the manufacture of industrial products. The metal is used for catalytic converters in gasoline-powered cars. Meanwhile, the markets have been long grappling with the supply crunch of palladium. A relatively subdued U.S. dollar is an added tailwind.
First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy ETF
Clean energy seems to be an emerging space. “Growing consumer electric vehicle adoption, state expansions of charging infrastructure, falling battery prices and increased solar-storage installations” have acted as a tailwind for the U.S. clean energy sector over the past few quarters. Clean energy ETFs were beaten down at the start of the year, which calls for lucrative valuation now.
VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF
Semiconductor stocks and ETFs should gain ahead from a number of areas like the soaring video gaming industry, the latest bounce-back in bitcoin and an all overall pickup in technology stocks amid the pandemic. Supply shortage of semiconductors also boosted the demand for chips.
iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF
U.S. treasury yields have slid to as low as 1.24% as of Jul 30, 2021. This has been a boon to the U.S. real estate sector. The cost of living in the United States has surged the most in 13 years. In a rising inflation environment, real estate stocks act as a good bet. The U.S. homebuilding sector is on fire. But higher demand for home buying as well as lack of labor and land boosted home prices. This is a great scenario for renters. Plus, a stupendous tech rally has been aiding the data center REITs in recent times (read: 5 Reasons Why REIT ETFs Are Surging).
Water Resources Invesco ETF
Invesco Water Resources ETF PHO is up 22.2% this year and has gained 35.1% in the past year. Still, water ETFs are often ignored by investors. Water scarcity has become a global crisis. Then there is President Biden’s infrastructure deal. According to the White House, the infrastructure deal will include $579 billion in new spending. Going by a CNBC article, the proposal will allocate $55 billion to water (read: Often-Ignored Water ETFs Are Sizzling Hot: Here's Why).
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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.