With the start of the fourth quarter approaching, where are analysts most optimistic and pessimistic in terms of their ratings on stocks in the S&P 500?
Overall, there are 12,351 ratings on stocks in the S&P 500. Of these ratings, 55.8% are Buy ratings, 38.9% are Hold ratings, and 5.3% are Sell ratings. The percentage of Buy ratings is above its 5-year (month-end) average of 55.2%. The percentage Hold ratings is below its 5-year (month-end) average of 39.4%. The percentage of Sell ratings is also below its 5-year (month-end) average of 5.4%.
At the sector level, analysts are most optimistic on the Energy (65%), Information Technology (64%), and Communication Services (63%) sectors, as these three sectors have the highest percentages of Buy ratings. On the other hand, analysts are most pessimistic on the Consumer Staples (41%) and Utilities (46%) sectors, as these two sectors have the lowest percentages of Buy ratings. The Consumer Staples (51%) sector also has the highest percentage of Hold ratings, while the Utilities (9%) sector also has the highest percentages of Sell ratings.
Four sectors have recorded an increase in their percentage of Buy ratings since June 30, led by the Consumer Staples (to 41% from 40%) and Materials (to 57% from 56%) sectors. On the other hand, seven sectors have recorded a decrease in their percentage of Buy ratings since June 30, led by the Energy (to 65% from 68%) and Utilities (to 46% from 49%) sectors.
The ten S&P 500 companies with the highest percentages of Buy ratings and Sell ratings (with a minimum of 5 ratings) can be found on page 4. Three of the top ten companies with the highest percentage of Buy ratings are also “Magnificent 7” companies: Microsoft, Amazon.com, and NVIDIA.
This blog post is for informational purposes only. The information contained in this blog post is not legal, tax, or 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.