Mission Produce To Participate In The Stephens Annual Investment Conference

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 12, 2024 – Stocks in this week’s article are Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. SFM, Mission Produce Inc. AVO, Stride Inc. LRN and The Progressive Corp. PGR.

Buy 4 Low-Beta Stocks to Beat Market Volatility

While U.S. markets have gained from investor optimism following the election, the lack of substantial fiscal support from China has disappointed investors. This could limit global economic growth, affecting U.S. companies with international exposure. Given the backdrop, constructing a portfolio of low-beta stocks may be prudent, as the market may witness volatility.

In this regard, stocks like Sprouts Farmers Market Inc., Mission Produce Inc., Stride Inc. and The Progressive Corp. are worth betting on.

What Does Beta of a Stock Measure?

Beta measures the volatility or risk of a particular asset compared to the market. In other words, beta measures the extent of a security’s price movement relative to the market. In this article, we are considering the S&P 500 as the market.

If a stock has a beta of 1, then the price of the stock will move with the market. So, the stock is more volatile than the market if its beta is more than 1. In the same way, the stock is not as volatile as the market if its beta is less than 1.

For example, if the market offers a return of 20%, a stock with a beta of 3 will return 60%, which is overwhelming. Similarly, when the market slips 20%, the stock will sink 60%, which is devastating.

Here are four among 16 stocks that qualified the screening:

Sprouts Farmers Market

Increasing customer engagement and solid comparable store sales are benefiting Sprouts Farmers Market. SFM is positioning itself for continued growth with plans to open 33 new stores in 2024 and a projected comparable store sales growth of 8% to 10% for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Mission Produce

As a global leader in the avocado industry, Mission Produce is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing consumer demand for healthy eating. Avocados, rich in more than 20 vitamins and minerals, offer significant health benefits for the heart, skin and weight management, making them an increasingly popular choice among health-conscious consumers.

Stride

Stride maintains a stable business model by revolutionizing the educational experiences of individuals through the utilization of innovative, high-quality and technology-enabled educational solutions.

The Progressive Corporation

In the domestic market, The Progressive Corporation is among the largest auto insurers. The company continues to bank on increasing average earned premiums per policy and is expected to witness earnings growth of 115.2% this 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.

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2368428/buy-4-low-beta-stocks-sfm-avo-lrn-pgr-to-beat-market-volatility?art_rec=quote-stock_overview-zacks_news-ID02-txt-2368428

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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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Zacks Investment Research

Key Takeaways

• These four stocks with low volatility risk are worth considering as markets gyrate in recent weeks.
• SFM, AVO, LRN and PGR shares all have a "low beta," meaning they are less volatile than many other stocks.
• Register now to see our 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days report - free today!

While U.S. markets have gained from investor optimism following the election, the lack of substantial fiscal support from China has disappointed investors. This could limit global economic growth, affecting U.S. companies with international exposure. Given the backdrop, constructing a portfolio of low-beta stocks may be prudent, as the market may witness volatility.

In this regard, stocks like Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. SFM, Mission Produce Inc. AVO, Stride Inc. LRN and The Progressive Corporation PGR are worth betting on.

What Does Beta of a Stock Measure?

Beta measures the volatility or risk of a particular asset compared to the market. In other words, beta measures the extent of a security’s price movement relative to the market. In this article, we are considering the S&P 500 as the market.

If a stock has a beta of 1, then the price of the stock will move with the market. So, the stock is more volatile than the market if its beta is more than 1. In the same way, the stock is not as volatile as the market if its beta is less than 1.

For example, if the market offers a return of 20%, a stock with a beta of 3 will return 60%, which is overwhelming. Similarly, when the market slips 20%, the stock will sink 60%, which is devastating.

Screening Criteria Using Research Wizard:

We have taken a beta between 0 and 0.6 as our prime criterion for screening stocks that are less volatile than the market. However, this should not be the only factor to be considered while selecting a winning strategy. We need to take into account other parameters that can add value to the portfolio.

Percentage Change in Price in the Last 4 Weeks Greater Than Zero: This ensures that the stocks saw positive price movement over the last month.

Average 20-Day Volume Greater Than 50,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stocks are easily tradable.

Price Greater Than or Equal to $5: They must all be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher.

Zacks Rank Equal to 1: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks indicate that they will significantly outperform the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Here are four among 16 stocks that qualified the screening:

Sprouts Farmers Market

Increasing customer engagement and solid comparable store sales are benefiting Sprouts Farmers Market. SFM is positioning itself for continued growth with plans to open 33 new stores in 2024 and a projected comparable store sales growth of 8% to 10% for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Mission Produce

As a global leader in the avocado industry, Mission Produce is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing consumer demand for healthy eating. Avocados, rich in more than 20 vitamins and minerals, offer significant health benefits for the heart, skin and weight management, making them an increasingly popular choice among health-conscious consumers.

Stride

Stride maintains a stable business model by revolutionizing the educational experiences of individuals through the utilization of innovative, high-quality and technology-enabled educational solutions.

The Progressive Corporation

In the domestic market, The Progressive Corporation is among the largest auto insurers. The company continues to bank on increasing average earned premiums per policy and is expected to witness earnings growth of 115.2% this 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.

Zacks Investment Research

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL –November 11, 2024 – Zacks Equity Research shares Target’s TGT, as the Bull of the Day and Hershey’s HSY, as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Mission Produce, Inc. AVO, BGC Group, Inc. BGC and Nu Holdings Ltd. NU.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Making significant progress in addressing inventory concerns, Target’s stock appears to be at a positive inflection point ahead of its Q3 results on Wednesday, November 20.

Sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and landing the Bull of the Day, let’s take a look at why investing in Target looks favorable again.

Targets Q3 Expectations

Based on Zacks estimates, Target’s Q3 sales are projected to increase 2% to $25.97 billion. On the bottom line, Q3 EPS is expected to rise 8% to $2.28 versus $2.10 per share in the comparative quarter.

Target most recently surpassed Q2 earnings expectations by nearly 19% in August with EPS at $2.57 compared to estimates of $2.16 a share. Notably, Target has surpassed the Zacks EPS Consensus in three of its last four quarterly reports posting an average earnings surprise of 20.26%.

Addressing Shrink Concerns

Target has been at the forefront of addressing shrink concerns as theft and damaged goods have affected many retailers in recent years. To that point, Walmart WMT, TJX Companies TJX , and Dollar General DG are some of the other notable names that have dealt with the dismal effects of shrink.

As reported by Yahoo Finance, Target has been a leader in increasing security measures by installing locking cases for items prone to theft while investing in additional security members and third-party training services.

Target also plans to partner with the US Department of Homeland Security to develop cyber defense technology in a bid to curb organized retail crime. These efforts have largely attributed to Target's increased probability considering shrink reduced its profit by an astonishing $1.2 billion in the last two years.

Tracking Targets Rebound & Valuation

Boosting investor sentiment by addressing its shrink issues, Target’s stock is up a modest +6% year to date but has now soared +37% over the last year. Edging the benchmark S&P 500’s one-year performance, Target has trailed Walmart’s +53% but has topped TJX’s +28% and Dollar General’s plummet of -34%.

Most intriguing, is that TGT trades at 15.4X forward earnings which is a pleasant discount to the S&P 500’s 25.1X and Walmart’s 34.2X.

Magnifying this perceived discount is that Target’s annual earnings are forecasted to increase 7% in its current fiscal 2025 and are projected to climb another 11% in FY26 to $10.56 per share.

It’s also noteworthy that TGT trades at just 0.6X sales with its top line expected to be virtually flat in FY25 but slated to increase 3% in FY26 to $110.27 billion.

Bottom Line

Correlating with Target’s strong buy rating is that earnings estimate revisions have remained higher for FY25 and FY26. The Average Zacks Price target of $177.28 a share suggests 20% upside in TGT with Target checking an overall “A” VGM Zacks Style Scores grade for the combination of Value, Growth, and Momentum.

Bear of the Day:

Reporting lackluster third quarter results on Thursday, there could be more downside risk ahead for Hershey’s stock.

To that point, the iconic chocolate manufacturer had already seen a decline in its earnings estimate revisions with HSY landing a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and the Bear of the Day.

Hershey’s Dismal Q3 Results

Attributed to what it called a challenging consumer environment, Hershey’s Q3 sales of $2.98 billion dipped 1% from the comparative period and missed estimates of $3.07 billion by 3%.

Lower sales volumes curtailed Hershey’s profit with Q3 EPS of $2.34 dipping 10% from a year ago and missing expectations of $2.50 per share by 6%.

Furthermore, Hershey previously missed Q2 earnings and sales estimates in August with surprises of -12% and -10% respectively.

High Cocoa Prices

Causing more concern was Hershey’s acknowledgment that historically high cocoa prices are weighing on its operating efficiency as well. As the prime ingredient in producing chocolate, cocoa prices are still toward the high end of its 50-year range at over $7,000 per ton.

Declining EPS Estimates

Leading to the strong sell rating for Hershey’s stock, EPS estimates for fiscal 2024 and FY25 have continued to decline over the last 90 days. Unfortunately, the trend of declining earnings estimate revisions will likely continue as Hershey’s full-year FY24 EPS guidance of $9.00-$9.10 came in below the current Zacks Consensus of $9.39 per share.

Bottom Line

For now, it could be best to avoid Hershey’s stock as weaker snacking demand and high cocoa prices are starting to weigh on North America’s largest chocolate producer.

Hershey’s stock is now down -7% year to date and has dropped -25% in the last three years. Correlating with such, it’s noteworthy that Hershey’s Zacks Food-Confectionary Industry is currently in the bottom 5% of over 250 Zacks industries.

Additional content:

3 Strong Breakout Stocks to Add to Your Portfolio

Searching for stocks whose prices are fluctuating within a specific band, or in other words, picking breakout stocks, is an active investing approach. When selecting breakout stocks, it’s advised to sell if the price dips below the lower band and consider holding for potential gains if the price surpasses the upper band.

To that end, Mission Produce, Inc., BGC Group, Inc. and Nu Holdings Ltd. have been selected as the breakout stocks for today.

Zeroing in on Breakout Stocks

To select the right breakout stock, one has first to calculate its support and resistance level. A support level is the lower bound for stock movements, while a resistance level refers to the maximum price it trades within a considerable period.

In other words, the demand for a stock is at its lowest at its support level, which means that most traders are willing to sell it. Most traders are willing to go long on the stock at the resistance level, meaning they would like to add them to their portfolio. The key to identifying breakout stocks is to zero in on those on the verge of a breakout or those that have just broken above the resistance level.

Has a Genuine Breakout Occurred?

The primary risk associated with such a strategy is that the decision to buy an apparent breakout candidate has been incorrectly timed. When a stock moves above the resistance level, it should be a highly prized commodity for traders. However, whether such a breakout is genuine is another matter altogether.

For a bona fide breakout, the stock’s earlier resistance barrier should become its new support level. This only happens if the trading channel that has been established is tested by observing long-term price trends. The strength of the support and resistance levels can be ascertained only through such a study. Despite the risk of misidentification, correctly identifying such stocks can yield considerable returns, even at a price that may not seem attractive at first glance.

Screening Criteria Using Research Wizard:

• Percentage price change over four weeks between 10% and 20% (Stocks showing considerable price increases but whose gains are not excessive.)

• Current Price /52-Week High greater than or equal to 0.9 (Stocks trading 90% close to their 52-week highs.)

• Zacks Rank equal to #1 (Only Strong Buy rated stocks can get through.)

Whether the market is good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of outperformance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

• Beta for 60 months less than or equal to 2

(Stocks that move more than the broader market but within a reasonable limit.)

• Current price less than or equal to $20 (Stocks reasonably priced.)

These criteria narrow the universe of more than 6,853 stocks to only nine. Here are the top three stocks:

Mission Produce

Mission Produce sources, produces, packs, distributes, and markets avocados in the United States and worldwide. AVO has an expected earnings growth rate of 136.8% for the current year.

BGC Group

BGC Group is a brokerage and financial technology company. BGC has an expected earnings growth rate of 20.7% for the current year.

Nu Holdings

Nu Holdings provides a digital banking and technology platform. NU has an expected earnings growth rate of 70.8% for the current 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.

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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.

Zacks Investment Research

Searching for stocks whose prices are fluctuating within a specific band, or in other words, picking breakout stocks, is an active investing approach. When selecting breakout stocks, it’s advised to sell if the price dips below the lower band and consider holding for potential gains if the price surpasses the upper band.

To that end, Mission Produce, Inc. AVO, BGC Group, Inc. BGC and Nu Holdings Ltd. NU have been selected as the breakout stocks for today.

Zeroing in on Breakout Stocks

To select the right breakout stock, one has first to calculate its support and resistance level. A support level is the lower bound for stock movements, while a resistance level refers to the maximum price it trades within a considerable period.

In other words, the demand for a stock is at its lowest at its support level, which means that most traders are willing to sell it. Most traders are willing to go long on the stock at the resistance level, meaning they would like to add them to their portfolio. The key to identifying breakout stocks is to zero in on those on the verge of a breakout or those that have just broken above the resistance level.

Has a Genuine Breakout Occurred?

The primary risk associated with such a strategy is that the decision to buy an apparent breakout candidate has been incorrectly timed. When a stock moves above the resistance level, it should be a highly prized commodity for traders. However, whether such a breakout is genuine is another matter altogether.

For a bona fide breakout, the stock’s earlier resistance barrier should become its new support level. This only happens if the trading channel that has been established is tested by observing long-term price trends. The strength of the support and resistance levels can be ascertained only through such a study. Despite the risk of misidentification, correctly identifying such stocks can yield considerable returns, even at a price that may not seem attractive at first glance.

Screening Criteria Using Research Wizard:

• Percentage price change over four weeks between 10% and 20% (Stocks showing considerable price increases but whose gains are not excessive.)

• Current Price /52-Week High greater than or equal to 0.9 (Stocks trading 90% close to their 52-week highs.)

• Zacks Rank equal to #1 (Only Strong Buy rated stocks can get through.)

Whether the market is good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of outperformance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

• Beta for 60 months less than or equal to 2

(Stocks that move more than the broader market but within a reasonable limit.)

• Current price less than or equal to $20 (Stocks reasonably priced.)

These criteria narrow the universe of more than 6,853 stocks to only nine. Here are the top three stocks:

Mission Produce

Mission Produce sources, produces, packs, distributes, and markets avocados in the United States and worldwide. AVO has an expected earnings growth rate of 136.8% for the current year.

BGC Group

BGC Group is a brokerage and financial technology company. BGC has an expected earnings growth rate of 20.7% for the current year.

Nu Holdings

Nu Holdings provides a digital banking and technology platform. NU has an expected earnings growth rate of 70.8% for the current 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.

Zacks Investment Research

Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Mission Produce, Inc. (AVO) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Mission Produce, Inc. is a member of our Consumer Staples group, which includes 184 different companies and currently sits at #13 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Mission Produce, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVO's full-year earnings has moved 4.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, AVO has returned 35% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 3.4%. This means that Mission Produce, Inc. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Clorox (CLX). The stock is up 14.2% year-to-date.

For Clorox, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Mission Produce, Inc. belongs to the Agriculture - Operations industry, which includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #93 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 8.4% so far this year, meaning that AVO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Clorox falls under the Soap and Cleaning Materials industry. Currently, this industry has 7 stocks and is ranked #42. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +14.4%.

Mission Produce, Inc. and Clorox could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

Zacks Investment Research