With the end of the year 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 over the past few months?
Overall, there are 11,136 ratings on stocks in the S&P 500. Of these 11,136 ratings, 53.9% are Buy ratings, 40.8% are Hold ratings, and 5.3% are Sell ratings.
At the sector level, analysts are most optimistic on the Energy (66%), Health Care (59%), Communication Services (59%), and Materials (58%) sectors, as these four sectors have highest percentages of Buy ratings.
On the other hand, analysts are most pessimistic about the Consumer Staples (40%), Utilities (44%), and Real Estate (44%) sectors, as these three sectors have the lowest percentage of Buy ratings. The Real Estate sector also has the highest percentage of Hold ratings (51%), while the Consumer Staples sector has the highest percentage of Sell ratings (10%).
Since September 30, the total number of ratings on S&P 500 companies has increased by 1.6% (to 11,136 from 10,957).
The number of Buy ratings has increased by 4.2% (to 6,001 from 5,757). Ten sectors have witnessed an increase in Buy ratings, led by the Energy (+18%) sector. The Consumer Staples (-7%) sector is the only sector that has seen a decrease in Buy ratings. The number of Hold ratings has decreased by 0.6% (to 4,543 from 4,569). Seven sectors have recorded a decrease in Hold ratings, led by the Energy (-11%) sector. Four sectors have witnessed an increase in Hold ratings, led by the Information Technology (+11%) sector. The number of Sell ratings has decreased by 6.2% (to 592 from 631). Seven sectors have a recorded a decrease in Sell ratings, led by the Communication Services (-25%), Consumer Discretionary (-19%), and Energy (-13%) sectors. Three sectors have seen an increase in Sell ratings, led by the Real Estate (+15%) sector.
|
Company |
Buy |
Hold |
Sell |
Total |
|
Marathon Petroleum Corporation |
100% |
0% |
0% |
100% |
|
Keysight Technologies Inc |
100% |
0% |
0% |
100% |
|
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. |
100% |
0% |
0% |
100% |
|
Amazon.com, Inc. |
98% |
2% |
0% |
100% |
|
LKQ Corporation |
94% |
6% |
0% |
100% |
|
Diamondback Energy, Inc. |
94% |
6% |
0% |
100% |
|
E*TRADE Financial Corporation |
94% |
6% |
0% |
100% |
|
Alphabet Inc. Class A |
93% |
7% |
0% |
100% |
|
Alphabet Inc. Class C |
93% |
7% |
0% |
100% |
|
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. |
93% |
7% |
0% |
100% |
|
Company |
Buy |
Hold |
Sell |
Total |
|
Public Storage |
6% |
47% |
47% |
100% |
|
Torchmark Corporation |
18% |
36% |
45% |
100% |
|
Campbell Soup Company |
17% |
39% |
44% |
100% |
|
Robert Half International Inc. |
29% |
36% |
36% |
100% |
|
Southern Company |
24% |
43% |
33% |
100% |
|
Franklin Resources, Inc. |
0% |
67% |
33% |
100% |
|
Omnicom Group Inc |
20% |
47% |
33% |
100% |
|
Consolidated Edison, Inc. |
5% |
63% |
32% |
100% |
|
Expeditors Intl. of Washington, Inc. |
13% |
56% |
31% |
100% |
|
Western Union Company |
17% |
52% |
30% |
100% |