Barron’s recently offered what it called a Valentine’s Day gift for investors: “a big bunch of stocks that Wall Street analysts love, with room to rise at least 10%.”
Barron’s “looked for investing roses and found eight stocks in the S&P 500 that analysts just can’t get enough of. The group passed two tests. First, more than 90% of analysts covering each company rate shares the equivalent of Buy. The average buy-rating ratio for stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average is about 55%. Second, all eight stocks have the potential to rise at least 10% from recent levels, based on the average of analysts’ price targets,” the financial site reported.
Leading Barron’s picks is Diamondback Energy (FANG), recommended by all 36 analysts covering the company, according to Bloomberg.
The other seven stocks:
- Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH),
- health-insurance provider Centene (CNC),
- engineering firm Quanta Services (PWR),
- medical-device maker Boston Scientific (BSX),
- defense contractor L3Harris Technologies (LHX),
- health giant Cigna (CI),
- and Amazon.com (AMZN).
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Valentine’s Day isn’t what it used to be.
Just over half of Americans say they celebrate the day, down 13% since 2009, according to the National Retail Federation. But all is not lost.
Counter celebrations like Galentine’s Day, which touts female friendships, are on the rise, and consumers in general are increasingly marking Feb. 14 by spending money on their friends -- in addition to their sweethearts. Spending on friends will increase to almost $15 this year, more than double the level in 2017, an NRF survey found.
People “want to celebrate everyone they care about and not just their significant other,” said Katherine Cullen, senior director of industry and consumer insights at the NRF.
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