Top Ranked Stocks by Return Forecast AND Quality

The Long & Short. (March 29, 2016) Projected Annual Return (PAR): Long term return forecast based on fundamental analysis and five year time horizon. Quality Ranking: Percentile ranking of composite that includes financial strength, earnings stability and relative growth & profitability. VL Low Total Return (VLLTR): Low total return forecast based on 3-5 year price targets via Value Line Investment Survey. Morningstar P/FV: Ratio of current price to fundamentally-based fair value via www.morningstar.com S&P P/FV: Current price-to-fair value ratio via Standard & Poor’s. 1-Year ACE Outlook: Total return forecast based on analyst consensus estimates for 1-year target price combined with current yield. The data is ranked (descending order) based on this criterion. 1-Year S&P Outlook: 1-year total return forecast based on S&P 1-year price target. 1-Yr Rhino Outlook: 1-year total return forecast based on most recent price target issued by Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase or Morgan Stanley.

Channeling Hugh: Companies Near 52-Week Lows

The following screening results intrigued us. We were simply seeking higher quality companies with decent return forecasts that are hovering near their 52-week lows, very much in the spirit of Hugh McManus and his bargain hunting mode.

When the results were displayed, I had to go back and make sure I hadn’t accidentally limited the sector to “healthcare” — because this is one of the features.  But I didn’t.

I guess this confirms that healthcare stocks have had a rough first quarter.