The Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite index are near record highs and are set to finish 2019 on a merry note with geopolitical risks gradually dissipating. Wall Street sentiment are high on progress on the international trade policy front, after the U.S. House passed the USMCA bill and the United States and China agreed on a partial deal. President Donald Trump recently tweeted that a “breakthrough” has been achieved in trade talks with China and he expects a deal to be signed shortly.
The U.S. GDP grew 2.1% in the third quarter, compared with the 2% growth in the second quarter. Consumer spending grew faster than anticipated and the drag from business investment was lesser than previously reported. Further, the Federal Reserve’s three interest rate cuts this year and upbeat data particularly from job and housing, have helped lift investor confidence. Recession fears, which had been haunting financial markets, are slowly fading away.
So far this year, the Dow, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have gained 21.98%, 28.55% and 34.51%, respectively. The momentum is likely to continue in 2020 supported by the Federal Reserve’s accommodative interest-rate policy and a resilient domestic economy. However, the U.S presidential election and the uncertainty related to Phase 2 of trade talks still remain. Therefore, now seems like a good time to think about adding a few less expensive stocks to your portfolio.
How to Pick Potential Winners
Our system emphasizes on earnings estimate revisions to find stocks that will hopefully be winners for investors. Stocks that trade for $20 or less can still be highly attractive to investors for many reasons. These are a good option for smaller investors who can’t necessarily afford large stakes in companies with higher priced stocks.
With the help of our Zacks Stock Screener, we have picked 20 stocks that are currently trading for less than $20 a share that investors might want to buy heading into 2020. These stocks have seen positive earnings estimate revisions and have healthy growth projections for the year. Moreover, these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
To further narrow down the list, we have selected stocks that have a Value Score of A or B. Our research shows that stocks with a Value Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 makes good investment opportunities.
The 20 stocks that fit the bill are Navios Maritime Partners LP (NMM), TEGNA Inc. TGNA, MGIC Investment Corporation MTG, Photronics, Inc. PLAB, Vipshop Holdings Limited VIPS, Seaspan Corporation SSW, CNX Midstream Partners LP CNXM, Everi Holdings Inc. EVRI, Tilly's, Inc. TLYS, J. Alexander's Holdings, Inc. JAX, Barclays Plc BCS, The AES Corporation AES, BRF S.A. BRFS, Centrica PLC CPYYY, Balfour Beatty PLC BAFYY, Elevate Credit, Inc. ELVT, Unique Fabricating, Inc. UFAB, China Merchants Holdings International Co. CMHHY, Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY) and Deutsche Lufthansa AG DLAKY.
The key metrics of these stocks are provided in the table below:
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Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 top tickers for the entirety of 2020?
These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Start Your Access to the New Zacks Top 10 Stocks >>
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