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4 Promising Liquid Stocks to Boost Your Portfolio in 2024
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Building a portfolio comprising stocks with favorable liquidity is the way to go for investors seeking healthy returns.
Liquidity is a measure of a company’s capability to meet its short-term debt obligations. Thus, companies boasting impressive liquidity positions may be considered to have solid financial health.
However, one should be careful about investing in a stock with a high liquidity level, as it may also indicate that the company is failing to utilize assets efficiently.
In addition to the liquidity level, an investor may consider the efficiency of the company before investing in the stock. A well-organized company with a favorable liquidity level may prove to be a profitable addition to one’s portfolio.
Measures to Identify Liquid Stocks
Current Ratio: It measures current assets relative to current liabilities. The ratio gauges a company’s potential to meet short- and long-term debt obligations. A current ratio — the working capital ratio — below 1 indicates that the company has more liabilities than assets. However, a high current ratio does not always suggest that the company is in good financial shape. It may also indicate that the firm failed to utilize its assets significantly. Hence, a range of 1-3 is considered ideal.
Quick Ratio: Unlike the current ratio, the quick ratio — the ‘acid-test ratio’ or ‘quick assets ratio’ — indicates a company’s ability to pay short-term obligations. It considers inventory, excluding the current assets relative to current liabilities. A quick ratio of more than 1 is desirable, like the current ratio.
Cash Ratio: This is the most conservative ratio among the three, considering cash and cash equivalents and invested funds relative to current liabilities. It measures a company’s ability to meet existing debt obligations using the most liquid assets. Though a cash ratio of more than 1 may suggest sound financials, a higher number may indicate inefficiency in cash utilization.
A ratio greater than 1 is always desirable but may not always represent a company’s financial condition.
Screening Parameters
To pick the best of the lot, we have added asset utilization — a widely used measure of a company’s efficiency — as one of the screening criteria. Asset utilization is the ratio of total sales in the past 12 months to the last four-quarter average of total assets. Though this ratio varies across industries, companies with a ratio higher than their respective industries can be considered efficient. We added our proprietary Growth Style Score to the screen to ensure these liquid and efficient stocks have solid growth potential.
Current Ratio, Quick Ratio and Cash Ratio between 1 and 3 (While liquidity ratios greater than 1 are desirable, significantly high ratios may indicate inefficiency.)
Asset utilization is more significant than the industry average (Higher asset utilization than the industry average indicates a company’s efficiency.)
Growth Score less than or equal to B (Back-tested results show that stocks with a Growth Score of A or B handily beat other stocks when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2.)
These criteria have narrowed the universe of more than 7,700 stocks to only seven.
Here are four stocks out of the seven that qualified for the screen:
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (AMPH - Free Report) is a specialty pharmaceutical company. It focuses on developing, manufacturing, marketing and selling generic and proprietary injectable and inhalation products. Its products include Enoxaparin Sodium Injection, Amphadase, Cortrosyn for Injection and prefilled disposable emergency syringes for crash cart use. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings is pegged at $3.21 per share, up 18% in the past 60 days. AMPH has a Growth Score of B and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 52.1%, on average.
Puma Biotechnology (PBYI - Free Report) is a small cancer biotech company. Its only marketed product, Nerlynx (neratinib), was launched in the United States in late July 2017 for treating early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer in patients who have been previously treated with Roche’s Herceptin-based adjuvant therapy. The company’s sole marketed drug, Nerlynx, is generating the majority of revenues with consistent sales performance in the United States. The company also acquired a clinical-stage candidate, alisertib, from Takeda. Ongoing studies focusing on alisertib's potential to target breast and small-cell lung cancers are progressing well. The successful development of this candidate could enhance PBYI’s position in the anticancer drug market and diversify its portfolio. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2023 bottom line is pegged at 72 cents per share, suggesting an increase of 7.5% in the past 60 days. PBYI has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 76.6%, on average.
Vimeo (VMEO - Free Report) provides video software solutions. The company's platform enables any professional, team and organization to unlock the power of video to create, collaborate and communicate. It has more than 300 million-strong user base. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings is pegged at earnings of 8 cents per share, suggesting an improvement from a loss of 9 cents in the past 60 days. VMEO has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 122.7%, on average.
Fluor Corporation (FLR - Free Report) provides engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services (EPCM) through several subsidiaries. Fluor also provides operation and maintenance services to major industrial clients. The company is benefiting from the solid demand for its engineering and construction solutions, which is reflected in its new award wins. Fluor's third quarter 2023 total new awards demonstrate that clients are moving forward with capital spending plans in a challenging business environment. The company’s positive advances on large Energy Solutions projects and continued progress on projects in its legacy portfolio encouraged it to lift its 2023 expectations. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fluor’s 2023 earnings has been revised upward to $2.44 per share from $2.12 in the past 60 days. The company has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 37.47%, on average.
Get the remaining stocks on the list and start testing this and other ideas. It can all be done with the Research Wizard stock picking and back-testing software. The Research Wizard is a great place to begin and 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.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options mentioned in this material.
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4 Promising Liquid Stocks to Boost Your Portfolio in 2024
Building a portfolio comprising stocks with favorable liquidity is the way to go for investors seeking healthy returns.
Liquidity is a measure of a company’s capability to meet its short-term debt obligations. Thus, companies boasting impressive liquidity positions may be considered to have solid financial health.
However, one should be careful about investing in a stock with a high liquidity level, as it may also indicate that the company is failing to utilize assets efficiently.
In addition to the liquidity level, an investor may consider the efficiency of the company before investing in the stock. A well-organized company with a favorable liquidity level may prove to be a profitable addition to one’s portfolio.
Measures to Identify Liquid Stocks
Current Ratio: It measures current assets relative to current liabilities. The ratio gauges a company’s potential to meet short- and long-term debt obligations. A current ratio — the working capital ratio — below 1 indicates that the company has more liabilities than assets. However, a high current ratio does not always suggest that the company is in good financial shape. It may also indicate that the firm failed to utilize its assets significantly. Hence, a range of 1-3 is considered ideal.
Quick Ratio: Unlike the current ratio, the quick ratio — the ‘acid-test ratio’ or ‘quick assets ratio’ — indicates a company’s ability to pay short-term obligations. It considers inventory, excluding the current assets relative to current liabilities. A quick ratio of more than 1 is desirable, like the current ratio.
Cash Ratio: This is the most conservative ratio among the three, considering cash and cash equivalents and invested funds relative to current liabilities. It measures a company’s ability to meet existing debt obligations using the most liquid assets. Though a cash ratio of more than 1 may suggest sound financials, a higher number may indicate inefficiency in cash utilization.
A ratio greater than 1 is always desirable but may not always represent a company’s financial condition.
Screening Parameters
To pick the best of the lot, we have added asset utilization — a widely used measure of a company’s efficiency — as one of the screening criteria. Asset utilization is the ratio of total sales in the past 12 months to the last four-quarter average of total assets. Though this ratio varies across industries, companies with a ratio higher than their respective industries can be considered efficient.
We added our proprietary Growth Style Score to the screen to ensure these liquid and efficient stocks have solid growth potential.
Current Ratio, Quick Ratio and Cash Ratio between 1 and 3 (While liquidity ratios greater than 1 are desirable, significantly high ratios may indicate inefficiency.)
Asset utilization is more significant than the industry average (Higher asset utilization than the industry average indicates a company’s efficiency.)
Zacks Rank equal to #1 (Only Strong Buy-rated stocks can get through). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Growth Score less than or equal to B (Back-tested results show that stocks with a Growth Score of A or B handily beat other stocks when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2.)
These criteria have narrowed the universe of more than 7,700 stocks to only seven.
Here are four stocks out of the seven that qualified for the screen:
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (AMPH - Free Report) is a specialty pharmaceutical company. It focuses on developing, manufacturing, marketing and selling generic and proprietary injectable and inhalation products. Its products include Enoxaparin Sodium Injection, Amphadase, Cortrosyn for Injection and prefilled disposable emergency syringes for crash cart use. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings is pegged at $3.21 per share, up 18% in the past 60 days. AMPH has a Growth Score of B and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 52.1%, on average.
Puma Biotechnology (PBYI - Free Report) is a small cancer biotech company. Its only marketed product, Nerlynx (neratinib), was launched in the United States in late July 2017 for treating early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer in patients who have been previously treated with Roche’s Herceptin-based adjuvant therapy. The company’s sole marketed drug, Nerlynx, is generating the majority of revenues with consistent sales performance in the United States. The company also acquired a clinical-stage candidate, alisertib, from Takeda. Ongoing studies focusing on alisertib's potential to target breast and small-cell lung cancers are progressing well. The successful development of this candidate could enhance PBYI’s position in the anticancer drug market and diversify its portfolio. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2023 bottom line is pegged at 72 cents per share, suggesting an increase of 7.5% in the past 60 days. PBYI has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 76.6%, on average.
Vimeo (VMEO - Free Report) provides video software solutions. The company's platform enables any professional, team and organization to unlock the power of video to create, collaborate and communicate. It has more than 300 million-strong user base. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings is pegged at earnings of 8 cents per share, suggesting an improvement from a loss of 9 cents in the past 60 days. VMEO has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 122.7%, on average.
Fluor Corporation (FLR - Free Report) provides engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services (EPCM) through several subsidiaries. Fluor also provides operation and maintenance services to major industrial clients. The company is benefiting from the solid demand for its engineering and construction solutions, which is reflected in its new award wins. Fluor's third quarter 2023 total new awards demonstrate that clients are moving forward with capital spending plans in a challenging business environment. The company’s positive advances on large Energy Solutions projects and continued progress on projects in its legacy portfolio encouraged it to lift its 2023 expectations. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fluor’s 2023 earnings has been revised upward to $2.44 per share from $2.12 in the past 60 days. The company has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 37.47%, on average.
Get the remaining stocks on the list and start testing this and other ideas. It can all be done with the Research Wizard stock picking and back-testing software.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin and 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 of the Research Wizard today.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options mentioned in this material.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies is available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.