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

With the start of the second quarter approaching, where are analysts most optimistic and pessimistic in terms of their ratings on stocks in the S&P 500?

Overall, there are 11,557 ratings on stocks in the S&P 500. Of these ratings, 53.8% are Buy ratings, 40.5% are Hold ratings, and 5.7% are Sell ratings. The percentages of Buy ratings and Sell ratings are below their 5-year (month-end) averages of 54.4% and 6.1%, while the percentage of Hold ratings is above its 5-year (month-end) average of 39.5%.

At the sector level, analysts are most optimistic on the Energy and Communication Services sectors, as these two sectors have the highest percentages of Buy ratings at 63% each. On the other hand, analysts are most pessimistic on the Consumer Staples and Materials sectors, as these two sectors have the lowest percentages of Buy ratings at 45% and 46%, respectively. The Consumer Staples and Materials sectors also have the highest percentages of Hold ratings at 48% and 47%, respectively. The Industrials sector has the highest percentage of Sell ratings at 8%.

The ten S&P 500 companies with the highest percentages of Buy ratings and Sell ratings can be found below.

After a decline to 53.6% from 55.1% during the months of January and February, the overall percentage of Buy ratings for the S&P 500 has increased slightly to 53.8% today. At the sector level, the Utilities sector has seen the largest increase in its percentage of Buy ratings of all eleven sectors since February 29 (to 51.0% from 49.3%).

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