Analysts Most Bullish on Technology, Energy, Health Care Sectors

At the end of the third quarter, where are analysts most optimistic and pessimistic in terms of their ratings on stocks in the S&P 500? Overall, there are 11,028 ratings on stocks in the S&P 500. Of these 11,028 ratings, 49.5% are Buy ratings, 45.4% are Hold, and 5.1% are Sell.

At the sector level, analysts are most optimistic on the Information Technology (58%), Energy (57%), and Health Care (56%) sectors, as these three sectors have highest percentages of Buy ratings. On the other hand, analysts are most pessimistic about the Telecom Services (7%), as this sector has the highest percentage of Sell ratings.

At the company level, these stocks in the S&P 500 secured the highest percentages of Buy ratings and the highest percentages of Sell ratings.

Highest % of Buy Ratings in S&P 500: Top 10 (Source: FactSet)

Highest % of Sell Ratings in S&P 500: Top 10 (Source: FactSet)

Sector-Level Growth Expected

At the sector level, the Health Care (55%) and Information Technology (54%) sectors had the highest percentages of Buy ratings back on September 30, 2016. Over the past 12 months (since September 30, 2016), the Health Care sector has recorded the fifth highest price return of all 11 sectors at 12.8%, while the Information Technology sector has recorded the second highest price return of all 11 sectors at 26.1%. The S&P 500 recorded a price return of 15.8% during this same period.

At the company level, S&P 500 companies with the smallest percentage of Buy ratings underperformed the rest of the index in terms of price returns over the past year. The S&P 500 can be divided into five quintiles based on the percentage of Buy ratings on September 30, 2016 to analyze price performance. The quintile with the highest percentage of Buy ratings on September 30, 2016 (Quintile 1) saw the second highest average price increase (+16.9%) and the highest median price increase (+20.1%) of the five quintiles during this period. The quintile with the lowest percentage of Buy ratings on September 30, 2016 (Quintile 5) saw the lowest average price increase (+5.3%) and the lowest median price increase (+5.7%) of the five quintiles during this period. Price returns for companies that were acquired after September 30, 2016 (i.e. do not have a current trading price) were excluded from the price analysis.