With the end of the first quarter approaching, where are analysts most optimistic and pessimistic in terms of their ratings on stocks in the S&P 500? How have their views changed during the quarter?
Overall, there are 11,094 ratings on stocks in the S&P 500. Of these 11,094 ratings, 52.2% are Buy ratings, 42.9% are Hold ratings, and 4.9% are Sell ratings.
At the sector level, analysts are most optimistic on the Information Technology (60%), Health Care (59%), and Energy (59%) sectors, as these three sectors have highest percentages of Buy ratings.
Insight/2018/03.2018/03.23.2018_EI/percentage%20of%20buy%20hold%20and%20sell%20ratings.png?width=910&height=661&name=percentage%20of%20buy%20hold%20and%20sell%20ratings.png)
On the other hand, analysts are most pessimistic on the Telecom Services (33%) and Utilities (39%) sectors, as these two sectors have the lowest percentages of Buy ratings. The Telecom Services sector also has the highest percentage of Hold ratings (66%), while the Utilities sector also has the highest percentage of Sell ratings (9%).
At the company level, the 10 stocks in the S&P 500 with the highest percentages of Buy ratings and the highest percentages of Sell ratings are listed below.
Highest % of Buy Ratings in S&P 500: Top 10 (Source: FactSet)
|
COMPANY |
BUY |
HOLD |
SELL |
TOTAL |
|
Delta Air Lines, Inc. |
100% |
0% |
0% |
100% |
|
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated |
96% |
0% |
4% |
100% |
|
Amazon.com, Inc. |
96% |
4% |
0% |
100% |
|
Microchip Technology Inc. |
95% |
5% |
0% |
100% |
|
Broadcom Limited |
94% |
6% |
0% |
100% |
|
Visa Inc. Class A |
92% |
8% |
0% |
100% |
|
Mastercard Incorporated Class A |
92% |
8% |
0% |
100% |
|
Equinix, Inc. |
92% |
8% |
0% |
100% |
|
Applied Materials, Inc. |
92% |
8% |
0% |
100% |
|
American Tower Corporation |
92% |
8% |
0% |
100% |
Highest % of Sell Ratings in S&P 500: Top 10 (Source: FactSet)
|
COMPANY |
BUY |
HOLD |
SELL |
TOTAL |
|
News Corporation Class B |
0% |
50% |
50% |
100% |
|
Torchmark Corporation |
0% |
55% |
45% |
100% |
|
Consolidated Edison, Inc. |
6% |
50% |
44% |
100% |
|
Under Armour, Inc. Class C |
21% |
44% |
35% |
100% |
|
Under Armour, Inc. Class A |
20% |
46% |
34% |
100% |
|
VeriSign, Inc. |
0% |
67% |
33% |
100% |
|
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. |
16% |
53% |
31% |
100% |
|
Public Storage |
6% |
63% |
31% |
100% |
|
Campbell Soup Company |
29% |
41% |
29% |
100% |
|
Southern Company |
29% |
43% |
29% |
100% |
Since December 31, the total number of ratings on S&P 500 companies has decreased by 0.5% (to 11,094 from 11,148).
The number of Buy ratings has increased by 5.0% (to 5791 from 5516) since December 31. All 11 sectors have witnessed an increase in Buy ratings, led by the Telecom Services (+18%), Utilities (+13%), and Consumer Staples (+11%) sectors.
The number of Hold ratings has decreased by 5.7% (to 4763 from 5049) during this period. Ten of the 11 sectors have recorded a decrease in Hold ratings, led by the Energy (-10%) and Consumer Discretionary (-9%) sectors.
The number of Sell ratings has decreased by 7.4% (to 540 from 583) since the start of the quarter. Eight of the 11 sectors have recorded a decrease in Sell ratings, led by the Telecom Services (-67%), Real Estate (-24%), and Energy (-21%) sectors.
Insight/Author%20Bios/JohnButters2.jpg)
Mr. John Butters is Vice President and Senior Earnings Analyst at FactSet. His weekly research report, “Earnings Insight,” provides analysis and commentary on trends in corporate earnings data for the S&P 500 including revisions to estimates, year-over-year growth, performance relative to expectations, and valuations. He is a widely used source for the media and has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business News, and the Business News Network. In addition, he has been cited by numerous print and online publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The New York Times, MarketWatch, and Yahoo! Finance. Mr. Butters has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to FactSet in January 2011, he worked for more than 10 years at Thomson Reuters (Thomson Financial), most recently as Director of U.S. Earnings Research (2007-2010).
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The information contained in this article is not investment advice. FactSet does not endorse or recommend any investments and assumes no liability for any consequence relating directly or indirectly to any action or inaction taken based on the information contained in this article.
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