3 Highly Ranked Stocks to Buy for Momentum This Spring
Several highly ranked stocks are standing out in terms of momentum this spring and seeing a very positive trend of upward earnings estimate revisions.
Belonging to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list, here are three of these top-rated stocks to consider at the moment.
Applied Industrial Technologies AIT
Along with rising EPS estimates, Applied Industrial Technologies’ improved cash flow is very intriguing as a distributor of value-added industrial products including engineered fluid power components, bearings, specialty flow control solutions, and power transmission supplies.
Cash & equivalents soared 84% to multi-year peaks of $344 million going into 2024 compared to $184 million at the beginning of 2023. Bolstering Applied Industrial’s balance sheet is that total assets now come out to $2.74 billion which is nicely above the company’s total liabilities of $1.28 billion.
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Notably, Applied Industrial’s stock has soared +14% year to date. Plus, FY24 and FY25 EPS estimates are nicely up over the last week and have now risen 2% and 7% over the last 60 days respectively. Furthermore, Applied Industrial's annual earnings are now expected to rise 8% this year and are projected to edge up another 2% in FY25 to $9.71 per share.
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Home Builders
Entering the busy spring home-shopping season, earnings estimate revisions have continued to rise for many homebuilders with KB Home KBH and Dream Finders Homes DFH standing out in particular. Continuing their stellar price performances over the last year, KB Home's stock is up a very respectable +7% YTD with Dream Finders’ shares soaring +13%.
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Notably, KB Home's FY24 earnings estimates are up 5% in the last 60 days while FY25 EPS estimates have risen 4%. Furthermore, KB Home’s growth is very attractive with annual earnings now projected to jump 14% in FY24 and expected to rise another 9% in FY25 to $8.72 per share.
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As for Dream Finders, its increased probability has caught Wall Street’s attention as well with EPS forecasted to spike 23% this year to $3.45 compared to $2.79 a share in 2023. While Dream Finders’ EPS growth is expected to be virtually flat next year, it's most noteworthy that earnings estimate revisions have soared over the last two months for both FY24 and FY25.
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Bottom Line
Rising earnings estimates are a great sign that there could be more upside for these highly ranked stocks and bolstering their Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) is that they have an “A” Zacks Style Scores grade for Momentum.
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Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
KB Home (KBH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Dream Finders Homes, Inc. (DFH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
