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 10,362 ratings on stocks in the S&P 500. Of these 10,362 ratings, 50.4% are Buy ratings, 42.5% are Hold ratings, and 7.0% are Sell ratings.
At the sector level, analysts are most optimistic on the Energy (66%), Health Care (59%), and Communication Services (59%) sectors, as these three sectors have highest percentages of Buy ratings.
On the other hand, analysts are most pessimistic about the Consumer Staples (39%), Utilities (42%), Financials (42%), and Real Estate (43%) sectors, as these sectors have the lowest percentages of Buy ratings. The Real Estate sector also has the highest percentage of Hold ratings (51%), while the Consumer Staples (12%) and Utilities (11%) sectors also have the highest percentages of Sell ratings.
Insight/2019/12.2019/12.23.2019_TOW2/S%26P%20500%20Buy%20Hold%20and%20Sell%20Ratings.png)
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 shown in the tables below.
|
Company |
Buy |
Hold |
Sell |
|
Assurant, Inc. |
100% |
0% |
0% |
|
Diamondback Energy, Inc. |
97% |
3% |
0% |
|
Amazon.com, Inc. |
96% |
4% |
0% |
|
L3Harris Technologies Inc |
95% |
5% |
0% |
|
salesforce.com, inc. |
93% |
7% |
0% |
|
Quanta Services, Inc. |
93% |
7% |
0% |
|
Boston Scientific Corporation |
92% |
4% |
4% |
|
Visa Inc. Class A |
91% |
6% |
3% |
|
Mastercard Incorporated Class A |
91% |
6% |
3% |
|
ConocoPhillips |
91% |
9% |
0% |
|
Company |
Buy |
Hold |
Sell |
|
Franklin Resources, Inc. |
0% |
47% |
53% |
|
Globe Life Inc. |
33% |
22% |
44% |
|
Macy's Inc |
13% |
44% |
44% |
|
W. R. Berkley Corporation |
17% |
42% |
42% |
|
Consolidated Edison, Inc. |
12% |
47% |
41% |
|
Hormel Foods Corporation |
8% |
54% |
38% |
|
Clorox Company |
13% |
50% |
38% |
|
Campbell Soup Company |
13% |
50% |
38% |
|
Robert Half International Inc. |
21% |
43% |
36% |
|
Waters Corporation |
0% |
67% |
33% |
Since September 30, the total number of ratings on S&P 500 companies has increased by 1.0% (to 10,362 from 10,258). The number of Buy ratings has decreased by 1.8% (to 5,227 from 5,324). Three sectors have witnessed an increase in Buy ratings, led by the Information Technology (+4%) sector. Eight sectors have seen a decrease in Buy ratings, led by the Financials (-9%) sector. The number of Hold ratings has increased by 3.2% (to 4,408 from 4,272). Eight sectors have recorded an increase in Hold ratings, led by the Consumer Discretionary (+10%) and Industrials (+9%) sectors. Three sectors have witnessed a decrease in Hold ratings, led by the Energy (-4%) sector. The number of Sell ratings has increased by 9.8% (to 727 from 662). Eight sectors have a recorded an increase in Sell ratings, led by the Communication Services (+42%) and Materials (+33%) sectors. Three sectors have seen a decrease in Sell ratings, led by the Energy (-4%) sector.
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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