The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Haverty Furniture Companies, L Brands, TeleTech, Ultra Clean Holdings and Rocky Brands

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 13, 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: Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. HVT, L Brands, Inc. LB, TeleTech Holdings, Inc. TTEC, Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. UCTT and Rocky Brands, Inc. RCKY.

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

April Has Been the Best Month for Stocks in Past 30 Years: 5 Picks

The month of April has consistently been a positive one for stocks for quite some time now. In fact, April has seen the best returns in the entire year over the last 30 years, as mentioned in a financialexpress article. Further, the article stated that in the words of Chief Cross-Asset strategist for Morgan Stanley, Andrew Sheets, more money flows into the hands of investors mostly in the form of dividends, tax rebates and coupons, especially in April, which in turn helps the broader market scale northward.

Interestingly, last year, the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the economy and led to a particularly sharp selloff in March. However, the stock market did recoup much of the losses in April, with all major benchmarks soaring more than 10% in the same period. Thus, even in dire situations, April has the tendency to outdo other months. But, will this year be the same?

The stock market is no doubt living up to its expectations for the month of April. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are already up 4.3% and nearly 1.5%, respectively, so far this month. What’s more, the stock market is expected to scale upward further. This is because the March-quarter results will be announced in the month of April. And this time, the results are projected to be way more promising than last year that saw profits plummet due to the pandemic.

Upbeat results, in turn, should boost the stock market. By the way, a slew of strong economic data should help the stock market maintain its overall bullish trend and touch new highs in the near term.

Both the manufacturing as well as the service side of the U.S. economy has bounced back this year, particularly, after the beating it took last year due to the pandemic. The government’s massive stimulus measures and relaxations of business restrictions buoyed business houses and drove demand for factory products. Meanwhile, services like travel and leisure picked up on the improved pace of vaccination and relaxation of travel bans.

The Institute of Supply Management’s manufacturing index came in at 64.7% last month versus 60.8% in February, the highest reading since December 1983, as quoted in a CNBC article. ISM further added that its non-manufacturing activity index jumped to a reading of 63.7% in March, its highest ever (read more: 5 Stocks to Gain From Sharp Pick-Up in Service Sector Activity).

The labor market, in the meantime, is up and running with the unemployment rate dropping to 6% in March, as cited in a Bloomberg article. At the same time, U.S. employers added a better-than-expected 916,000 jobs last month, as mentioned in a MarketWatch article. In fact, consumers’ confidence last month touched a one-year high, a sign that household spending will increase in the near future, propel economic growth and help the stock market to move north.

Thus, with the stock market poised to move higher this month, investing in sound growth stocks won’t be a bad proposition. We have, thus, selected five stocks that currently possess a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Growth Score of A.

Haverty Furniture Companies is a full-service home furnishings retailer in the Southern and Midwestern regions, providing customers with a wide selection of quality merchandise in middle to upper-middle price ranges. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 24.7% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 12.8%.

L Brands evolved from an apparel-based specialty retailer to a segment leader focused on women’s intimate and other apparel, personal care, beauty and home fragrance products. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has risen 41.2% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 39.6%.

TeleTech Holdings is a customer experience technology and services company. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved 36.4% up over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 8.9%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ultra Clean Holdings is a developer and supplier of critical subsystems for the semiconductor capital equipment, flat panel, solar and medical device industries. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has advanced 11.9% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 21.1%.

Rocky Brands is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of premium quality footwear and apparel. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved 49.6% north over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 36%.

These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.

Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.

See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>

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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.

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Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (UCTT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
TeleTech Holdings, Inc. (TTEC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (HVT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Rocky Brands, Inc. (RCKY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
L Brands, Inc. (LB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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