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Profit from the Pros

Zacks Commentary: Screen Of The Week

  PRINTABLE VERSION  
The Market is Cheap
By Kevin Matras
Oct 21, 2008
 
Audio only options
   
Stocks featured in this week's screen: Children's Place Retail Stores (PLCE), GeoResources, Inc. (GEOI), G-III Apparel Group (GIII), Hot Topic, Inc. (HOTT) and Pegasystems, Inc. (PEGA).

That's right.

Whether we've hit the market bottom already or not, the market is downright cheap.

P/E ratios for companies in the S&P 500 are near their lowest levels in 5 years.

In fact, the median P/E ratios are currently 56.2% below their 5-Year High and 38.2% below their 5-Year Median.

This coincides with the market recently hitting its lowest price levels in a little over 5 years.

Moreover, in looking at the 10 worst market declines from the 1929 crash to present, the average bear market drop has been -42.8%.

With the current bear market having dropped -44.4% already, this puts us pretty much at the bottom of the average historical bear market low.

So what to do?

I'm running screens right now that are showing solid earnings forecasts, growth rates better than their 5-Year Average and P/Es trading more than 40% below their 5-Year Average.

  • Est. EPS Growth Rate F(1)/F(0) >= 5 Yr. Avg. Historical Growth Rate

  • PE / 5 Yr. Avg. PE <= .60 (i.e., PEs more than 40% below their 5 Yr. avg.)

  • Zacks Rank <= 2 (Only Strong Buys and Buys allowed)

Here are 5 stocks from this week’s list:

PLCE Children's Place Retail Stores
GEOI GeoResources, Inc.
GIII G-III Apparel Group
HOTT Hot Topic, Inc.
PEGA Pegasystems, Inc.

See what other stocks are coming thru this screen or put your own ideas to the test. You can do it. Sign up now for your free trial to the Research Wizard and start building your dream portfolio today.

Click Here for your free trial of the Research Wizard

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.

Discover Winning Stocks with Zacks Free Screen of the Week.
Click here to learn more.

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ZACKS COMMENTARY: SCREEN OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE

High Beta Stocks
By Kevin Matras
Dec 30, 2008
Kevin Matras identifies 5 high beta stocks that are poised to benefit from any market rebound.

ETFs and You
By Kevin Matras
Dec 23, 2008
Kevin Matras writes about ETFs, and how to use them to make 2009 a great year. Read about SH, QLD, SEF, QID, RXL, ROM and UGE.

The Difference Between Your Best and Worst Stocks
By Kevin Matras
Dec 16, 2008
Kevin Matras explains how to define winning stocks, and then shows how to find them.

Using Short Ratio at Market Bottom
By Kevin Matras
Dec 09, 2008
Kevin Matras looks at the 'short ratio' as a market sentiment indicator and shows how to use it for finding winning stocks in a market bottom. Stocks highlighted include AMRI, ATK, DGX, SUNH and SY.

It Takes Growth AND Value to Succeed
By Kevin Matras
Dec 02, 2008
Kevin Matras shows how to find great growth stocks at an excellent value. Stocks highlighted include CNH, MT, NUE, TKR and VLO.


 
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