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Take the Zacks Approach to Beat the Market: BMI, UI, ADP, CHRW in Focus

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The three most widely followed indexes witnessed a strong rebound last week, providing some relief from the market's brutal sell-off this year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq notched a 4.7% gain last week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rallied 3% and 4.3%, respectively.

Strong labor market data showing wage growth in a tight jobs market and strong earnings figures from tech behemoths like Apple and Amazon helped the rally in the stocks.

A government report on Thursday showed that the U.S. economy contracted for a second straight quarter, suggesting that it was on the cusp of a recession. Although this outlook appears grim, it led to investor anticipation that the Fed would ease off on its monetary policy tightening.

Regardless of market conditions, we, here at Zacks, provide investors with unbiased guidance on how to beat the market.  

Zacks Research guided investors last week with its time-tested methodologies as usual. Given the prevailing market uncertainty, you may want to look at our feats to prepare better for your next action.

Here are some of our key achievements from last week:

Badger Meter, Inc. Stock Rose Following Zacks Rank Upgrade

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI - Free Report) gained 8% since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on July 23. The rating upgrade was primarily driven by a strong second-quarter 2022 earnings report, one of the most powerful forces impacting stock prices. A company's changing earnings picture is at the core of the Zacks rating.  

For BMI, the consensus EPS estimate of $2.30 for the current year has been revised up 6% over the past month.

Rising earnings estimates and the consequent Zacks Rank upgrade for BMI imply an improvement in the company's underlying business. And investors have started showing their appreciation for this improving business trend by pushing the stock higher.

The Zacks Rank stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record, with Zacks Rank #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +24.8% since 1988. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>

Check Badger Meter, Inc.’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>  

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Zacks Focus List Model Portfolio Stock Ubiquiti Inc. Jumped  

Shares of Ubiquiti Inc. (UI - Free Report) , which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have shot up 11% over the past week. The Zacks Focus List is a model portfolio of 50 hand-picked stocks that possess the right fundamental ingredients to outperform the market over the next 12 months. These 50 stocks are picked from a long list of stocks with the highest Zacks Rank.

Ubiquiti Inc. was added to the Focus List on January 7, 2019, at $99.94 per share. The stock has gained 201.8% since then to close the last trading session at $301.63.

Since its inception on February 1, 1996, the Focus List portfolio has delivered an annualized return of +12.9%.

Unlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Focus List, Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium. Gain full access now >>

Zacks ECAP Stock Automatic Data Processing Delivered Solid Gains

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP - Free Report) , a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), surged 9.4% last week. ECAP is a model portfolio of 30 concentrated, ultra-defensive, long-term Buy and Hold stocks.  

With little to no turnover and annual rebalance periodicity, the ECAP seeks to minimize capital loss by holding shares of companies whose earnings streams exhibit a proven 20+ year track record of surviving recessionary periods with minimal impact on aggregate earnings growth relative to the overall S&P 500.

In terms of last week’s returns, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO - Free Report) and Accenture plc (ACN - Free Report) followed Automatic Data Processing with 6.6% and 6.3% gains, respectively.

The ECAP and many other model portfolios are available as part of Zacks Advisor Tools, a cloud-based solution to access Zacks award-winning stock, mutual fund and ETF research. Click here to schedule a demo.

Zacks ECDP Stock C.H. Robinson Witnesses Impressive Growth

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW - Free Report) , a part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), jumped 8.5% last week. Of course, the inclination of investors toward quality dividend stocks to secure an income stream amid the heightened market volatility contributed to this performance. Check C.H. Robinson’s dividend history here>>>

With an extremely low Beta and a history of minimum earnings variability over the last 20+ years, this 25-stock portfolio helps significantly mitigate risk. The ECDP has consistently outperformed the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL - Free Report) .

Click here to access this portfolio on Zacks Advisor Tools.  

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