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Zacks.com featured highlights include Abercrombie & Fitch, Willdan, Sezzle and American Superconductor
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 20, 2024 – Stocks in this week’s article are Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF - Free Report) , Willdan Group, Inc. (WLDN - Free Report) , Sezzle Inc (SEZL - Free Report) and American Superconductor Corp. (AMSC - Free Report) .
Add These 4 Top-Ranked Liquid Stocks to Strengthen Portfolio
Building a portfolio with stocks that have robust liquidity levels will likely work for investors seeking healthy returns. Liquidity measures a company’s capability to meet its short-term debt obligations. Stocks with high liquidity levels have always been in demand, owing to their potential to provide maximum returns.
Investors can consider adding stocks like Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Willdan Group, Inc., Sezzle Inc and American Superconductor Corp. to their portfolios to boost returns.
One should be cautious before investing in such stocks. While a high liquidity level may imply that a company is clearing its dues faster than its peers, it may also suggest that it cannot utilize its assets competently. Hence, investors are advised to consider a company’s efficiency level in addition to its liquidity to identify potential winners.
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. 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 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.
These criteria have narrowed the universe of more than 7,700 stocks to only 10.
Here are four stocks of the 10 that qualified for the screen:
Abercrombie & Fitch is a specialty retailer of premium, high-quality casual apparel for men, women and kids. The company has a vast network of 757 stores across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. It operates a few e-commerce sites, including www.abercrombie.com, www.abercrombiekids.com, www.hollisterco.com and www.gillyhicks.com.
ANF recently reported better-than-expected second-quarter fiscal 2024 results. Abercrombie’s earnings per share of $2.50 in the fiscal second quarter improved 131.5% year over year. Net sales of $1.13 billion advanced 21% year over year on a reported basis and 22% in constant currency. The performance was fueled by substantial growth across regions and brands, especially in the Americas and the Abercrombie brand.
Backed by the strong first-half fiscal 2024 results, Abercrombie raised its sales and operating margin views for fiscal 2024. The company anticipates fiscal 2024 net sales to increase 12-13% from the $4.3 billion reported in the prior year. It earlier expected net sales growth of 10% for fiscal 2024. However, the company's fiscal 2024 is one week shorter than fiscal 2023. Abercrombie anticipates this lost selling week to reduce fourth-quarter sales by $80 million or 5.5 percentage points. For the fiscal year, the retailer expects sales impacts of $50 million or 1.2 percentage points.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2024 earnings is pegged at $10.26 per share, up 1.5% in the past seven days. ANF has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 28%, on average.
Willdan Group provides technical, professional and consulting services to utilities, private industry and public agencies. The company has a comprehensive product portfolio encompassing energy policy planning and advisory services, energy efficiency and sustainability, engineering and planning, electric grid solutions, and municipal financial consulting services.
The strengthening electric load growth trend, driven by higher electricity demand at data centers owing to the proliferation of artificial intelligence, bodes well. In the last reported quarter, the company’s contract revenues increased 18.4% year over year to $141 million. It recently won a $102-million contract from the Clark County School District (“CCSD”) for energy-saving modification projects in 204 campuses. The projects will lower energy consumption across campuses and help CCSD save $170 million in lifetime energy savings, coupled with a $700,000 reduction in annual operations and maintenance costs.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WLDN’s 2024 bottom line is pegged at earnings of $2.10 per share, unchanged in the past seven days. The company has a Growth Score of B and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 82.2%, on average.
Sezzle is a fintech company operating a digital payment platform mainly across the United States and Canada. This platform offers customers interest-free installment plans at online stores and certain in-store locations. In the last reported quarter, revenues increased 60% year over year due to an increasing subscriber base. As of June 30, 2024, Sezzle had 462,000 active subscribers across Anywhere and Premium platforms.
Management raised the top and bottom-line outlook for 2024. It expects total revenue growth of 35-40% compared with the 25% mentioned earlier. Earnings per share are expected to be $9.25 compared with the $5.00 stated earlier. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings is pegged at $6.71 per share, unchanged in the past seven days. The company has a Growth Score of B.
American Superconductor is a provider of megawatt-scale power resiliency solutions. It develops and sells a wide range of products and solutions based on power electronic systems and high-temperature superconductor wires that improve the efficiency, reliability and quality of electricity during its generation, transmission, distribution and use. It operates under two segments, namely Grid and Wind.
In the last reported quarter, revenues were $40.3 million, up 33% year over year, driven by increased shipments of new energy power systems and electrical control system shipments. At the end of the last reported quarter, AMSC had $160 million in the 12-month backlog and $250 million in the total backlog.
Continued momentum across semiconductors, renewables, mining and metals, and military end-markets bodes well. It recently acquired NWL to expand its product offerings and market reach. Headquartered in New Jersey, NWL is a private company engaged in providing power supplies to military and industrial clients. It recently upgraded the outlook for the second quarter of 2024. The company expects revenues (including the NWL acquisition) of $50-$55 million compared with the earlier mentioned $38-$42 million (excluding the NWL acquisition).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fiscal 2024 earnings is pegged at 31 cents per share, unchanged in the past seven days. The company has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 169.8%, 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.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
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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Zacks.com featured highlights include Abercrombie & Fitch, Willdan, Sezzle and American Superconductor
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 20, 2024 – Stocks in this week’s article are Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF - Free Report) , Willdan Group, Inc. (WLDN - Free Report) , Sezzle Inc (SEZL - Free Report) and American Superconductor Corp. (AMSC - Free Report) .
Add These 4 Top-Ranked Liquid Stocks to Strengthen Portfolio
Building a portfolio with stocks that have robust liquidity levels will likely work for investors seeking healthy returns. Liquidity measures a company’s capability to meet its short-term debt obligations. Stocks with high liquidity levels have always been in demand, owing to their potential to provide maximum returns.
Investors can consider adding stocks like Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Willdan Group, Inc., Sezzle Inc and American Superconductor Corp. to their portfolios to boost returns.
One should be cautious before investing in such stocks. While a high liquidity level may imply that a company is clearing its dues faster than its peers, it may also suggest that it cannot utilize its assets competently. Hence, investors are advised to consider a company’s efficiency level in addition to its liquidity to identify potential winners.
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. 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 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.
These criteria have narrowed the universe of more than 7,700 stocks to only 10.
Here are four stocks of the 10 that qualified for the screen:
Abercrombie & Fitch is a specialty retailer of premium, high-quality casual apparel for men, women and kids. The company has a vast network of 757 stores across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. It operates a few e-commerce sites, including www.abercrombie.com, www.abercrombiekids.com, www.hollisterco.com and www.gillyhicks.com.
ANF recently reported better-than-expected second-quarter fiscal 2024 results. Abercrombie’s earnings per share of $2.50 in the fiscal second quarter improved 131.5% year over year. Net sales of $1.13 billion advanced 21% year over year on a reported basis and 22% in constant currency. The performance was fueled by substantial growth across regions and brands, especially in the Americas and the Abercrombie brand.
Backed by the strong first-half fiscal 2024 results, Abercrombie raised its sales and operating margin views for fiscal 2024. The company anticipates fiscal 2024 net sales to increase 12-13% from the $4.3 billion reported in the prior year. It earlier expected net sales growth of 10% for fiscal 2024. However, the company's fiscal 2024 is one week shorter than fiscal 2023. Abercrombie anticipates this lost selling week to reduce fourth-quarter sales by $80 million or 5.5 percentage points. For the fiscal year, the retailer expects sales impacts of $50 million or 1.2 percentage points.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2024 earnings is pegged at $10.26 per share, up 1.5% in the past seven days. ANF has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 28%, on average.
Willdan Group provides technical, professional and consulting services to utilities, private industry and public agencies. The company has a comprehensive product portfolio encompassing energy policy planning and advisory services, energy efficiency and sustainability, engineering and planning, electric grid solutions, and municipal financial consulting services.
The strengthening electric load growth trend, driven by higher electricity demand at data centers owing to the proliferation of artificial intelligence, bodes well. In the last reported quarter, the company’s contract revenues increased 18.4% year over year to $141 million. It recently won a $102-million contract from the Clark County School District (“CCSD”) for energy-saving modification projects in 204 campuses. The projects will lower energy consumption across campuses and help CCSD save $170 million in lifetime energy savings, coupled with a $700,000 reduction in annual operations and maintenance costs.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WLDN’s 2024 bottom line is pegged at earnings of $2.10 per share, unchanged in the past seven days. The company has a Growth Score of B and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 82.2%, on average.
Sezzle is a fintech company operating a digital payment platform mainly across the United States and Canada. This platform offers customers interest-free installment plans at online stores and certain in-store locations. In the last reported quarter, revenues increased 60% year over year due to an increasing subscriber base. As of June 30, 2024, Sezzle had 462,000 active subscribers across Anywhere and Premium platforms.
Management raised the top and bottom-line outlook for 2024. It expects total revenue growth of 35-40% compared with the 25% mentioned earlier. Earnings per share are expected to be $9.25 compared with the $5.00 stated earlier. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings is pegged at $6.71 per share, unchanged in the past seven days. The company has a Growth Score of B.
American Superconductor is a provider of megawatt-scale power resiliency solutions. It develops and sells a wide range of products and solutions based on power electronic systems and high-temperature superconductor wires that improve the efficiency, reliability and quality of electricity during its generation, transmission, distribution and use. It operates under two segments, namely Grid and Wind.
In the last reported quarter, revenues were $40.3 million, up 33% year over year, driven by increased shipments of new energy power systems and electrical control system shipments. At the end of the last reported quarter, AMSC had $160 million in the 12-month backlog and $250 million in the total backlog.
Continued momentum across semiconductors, renewables, mining and metals, and military end-markets bodes well. It recently acquired NWL to expand its product offerings and market reach. Headquartered in New Jersey, NWL is a private company engaged in providing power supplies to military and industrial clients. It recently upgraded the outlook for the second quarter of 2024. The company expects revenues (including the NWL acquisition) of $50-$55 million compared with the earlier mentioned $38-$42 million (excluding the NWL acquisition).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fiscal 2024 earnings is pegged at 31 cents per share, unchanged in the past seven days. The company has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 169.8%, 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.
For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2338504/add-these-4-top-ranked-liquid-stocks-to-strengthen-portfolio
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Contact: Jim Giaquinto
Company: Zacks.com
Phone: 312-265-9268
Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: https://www.zacks.com/
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
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.