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Where Are Analysts Most Optimistic on Ratings for S&P 500 Companies for Q2 2019?

Earnings

By John Butters  |  June 15, 2018

With the end of the second 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 over the past few months?

Overall, there are 10,456 ratings on stocks in the S&P 500. Of these 10,456 ratings, 52.9% are Buy ratings, 41.0% are Hold ratings, and 6.1% are Sell ratings.

At the sector level, analysts are most optimistic on the Energy (64%), Health Care (60%), and Communication Services (60%) sectors, as these three sectors have the highest percentages of Buy ratings. It is interesting to note that the Energy sector is projected to report the largest earnings decline (-9.8%) of all 11 sectors in CY 2019 and the largest earnings growth (29.3%) of all 11 sectors in CY 2020.

Buy Sell Hold Ratings

On the other hand, analysts are most pessimistic about the Consumer Staples (39%), Utilities (43%), and Real Estate (44%) sectors, as these three sectors have the lowest percentages of Buy ratings. The Real Estate sector also has the highest percentage of Hold ratings (50%), while the Consumer Staples sector also has the highest percentage of Sell ratings (12%).

At the company level, the 10 stocks in the S&P 500 (with a minimum of three analysts submitting ratings) with the highest percentages of Buy ratings and the highest percentages of Sell ratings are listed on the next page.

Compared to the end of the first quarter (March 31), there has been little change in the overall breakdown of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings. The percentage of Buy ratings has decreased to 52.9 from 53.2% since March 31. The Energy sector has seen the largest percentage-point decline in Buy ratings (to 64% from 67%) during this time. The percentage of Hold ratings has increased to 41.0% from 40.7% since March 31. The Energy sector has seen the largest percentage-point increase in Hold ratings (to 32% from 30%) during this time The percentage of Sell ratings is unchanged since March 31 at 6.1%. The Consumer Staples sector has seen the largest percentage-point increase in Sell ratings (to 12% from 11%) during this time, while the Communication Services has seen the largest percentage-point decrease in Sell ratings (to 5% from 6%) during this time.

 

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

Company

Buy

Hold

Sell

Total

Amazon.com, Inc.

100%

0%

0%

100%

Diamondback Energy, Inc.

100%

0%

0%

100%

ABIOMED, Inc.

100%

0%

0%

100%

Assurant, Inc.

100%

0%

0%

100%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

96%

4%

0%

100%

Marathon Petroleum Corporation

94%

6%

0%

100%

Lennar Corporation Class A

94%

6%

0%

100%

Microsoft Corporation

94%

3%

3%

100%

AMETEK, Inc.

93%

0%

7%

100%

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

93%

7%

0%

100%

            * Minimum of 3 analysts contributing ratings

 

 

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

Company

Buy

Hold

Sell

Total

Franklin Resources, Inc.

0%

43%

57%

100%

Torchmark Corporation

22%

22%

56%

100%

Campbell Soup Company

12%

35%

53%

100%

Hormel Foods Corporation

8%

54%

38%

100%

News Corporation Class A

38%

25%

38%

100%

Consolidated Edison, Inc.

5%

58%

37%

100%

Robert Half International Inc.

29%

36%

36%

100%

Public Storage

7%

60%

33%

100%

Omnicom Group Inc

17%

50%

33%

100%

Amcor PLC

0%

67%

33%

100%

            * Minimum of 3 analysts contributing ratings

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John Butters

Vice President, Senior Earnings Analyst

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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