Back to top

Image: Bigstock

5 Well-Positioned Relative Price Strength Stocks to Buy Now

Read MoreHide Full Article

For the past 18 months, U.S. stock markets have experienced an exceptional performance. The S&P 500, a broad-market index, has surged by around 17% year to date, following a 24% increase in 2023. This year, the benchmark has achieved 36 all-time highs in both intraday and closing figures.

Recently, several key economic data releases have fallen short of estimates, prompting some economists and financial experts to suggest that the Federal Reserve should begin lowering the benchmark lending rate starting in September.

This optimistic outlook makes relative price strength a compelling tool for investment, leveraging market momentum and economic resilience to drive potential gains.

Relative Price Strength Strategy

Investors generally gauge a stock’s potential returns by examining earnings growth and valuation multiples. At the same time, it’s essential to measure the performance of such a stock relative to its industry or peers, or an appropriate benchmark.

If you see that a stock is underperforming on fundamental factors, it would be prudent to move on and find a better alternative. However, those outperforming their respective sectors in terms of price should be selected because they stand a better chance of providing considerable returns.

Then again, it is imperative that you determine whether or not an investment has relevant upside potential when considering stocks with significant relative price strength. Stocks delivering better than the S&P 500 for 1 to 3 months at least and having solid fundamentals indicate room for growth and are the best ways to go about this strategy.

Finally, it is crucial to find out whether analysts are optimistic about the upcoming earnings of these companies. In order to do this, we have added positive estimate revisions for the current quarter’s (Q1) earnings to our screen. When a stock undergoes an upward revision, it leads to additional price gains.

Screening Parameters

Relative % Price change – 12 weeks greater than 0

Relative % Price change – 4 weeks greater than 0

Relative % Price change – 1 week greater than 0


(We have considered those stocks that have been outperforming the S&P 500 over the last 12 weeks, four weeks and one week.)

% Change (Q1) Est. over 4 Weeks greater than 0: Positive current-quarter estimate revisions over the last four weeks.

Zacks Rank equal to 1: Only Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks — that have returned more than 26% annually over the last 26 years and surpassed the S&P 500 in 23 of the last 26 years — can get through. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Current Price greater than or equal to $5 and Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50,000: A minimum price of $5 is a good standard to screen low-priced stocks, while a high trading volume would imply adequate liquidity.

VGM Score less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy), offer the best upside potential.

Here are five of the 33 stocks that made it through the screen:

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NEP - Free Report) : Based in Juno Beach, FL, the partnership is engaged in the acquisition, management and ownership of contracted clean energy projects with stable long-term cash flows. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings has moved up 22.7%. NEP has a VGM Score of B.

Notably, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NextEra Energy Partners’ 2024 earnings per share indicates 455.9% year-over-year growth. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.5 billion. NEP shares have gone down 54% in a year.

LendingTree, Inc. (TREE - Free Report) : The company is an online platform that connects borrowers and lenders. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings of LendingTree indicates 18% growth. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, TREE has a VGM Score of B.

The firm has a market capitalization of $550.3 million. LendingTree, having beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters, has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 119.1%, on average. TREE shares have increased 75.3% in a year.

Haemonetics Corporation (HAE - Free Report) : Haemonetics provides blood management solutions to customers encompassing blood and plasma collectors, hospitals and health care providers globally. The fiscal 2025 Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Boston, MA-based firm indicates 15.4% year-over-year earnings per share growth. HAE has a VGM Score of A.

Haemonetics beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 13.2%, on average. HAE shares have lost 1.4% in a year.

Coterra Energy (CTRA - Free Report) : Based in Houston, TX, the company is an independent upstream operator primarily engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas. CTRA’s expected EPS growth rate for three to five years is currently 10.8%, which compares favorably with the industry's growth rate of 10.5%. The company has a VGM Score of B.

Notably, over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Coterra Energy’s 2024 earnings has moved up 4.7%. It beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters and missed in the other, the average being 9.8%. CTRA shares have gone up 4.9% in a year.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM - Free Report) : Based in San Francisco, CA, the company is a multi-channel specialty retailer of premium quality home products. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 earnings has moved up 5.3%. WSM has a VGM Score of A.

Notably, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Williams-Sonoma’s fiscal 2025 earnings per share indicates 8.3% year-over-year growth. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.3 billion. WSM shares have surged 135.2% in a year.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's 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 to the Research Wizard today

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or 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 that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.

Published in