CHICAGO, Dec. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the Macy's (NYSE:M-Free Report), United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS-Free Report), CTPartners Executive Search (AMEX:CTP-Free Report), Robert Half International Inc (NYSE:RHI-Free Report) and Kforce Inc. (Nasdaq:KFRC-Free Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
3 Top-Ranked Staffing Stocks for Strong Holiday Hiring
The U.S. labor market has reached a milestone with its streak of monthly job growth and rising wages, outperforming other economies across the globe. The economy added 321,000 jobs in November, marking the best number in nearly three years. With less than a month to go for the New Year and job gains averaging 241,000 per month this year, the country is on track for the strongest annual job growth since late 1999.
Though job growth has been widespread with all segments reporting significant gains in November, there was definitely a real holiday cheer in retail, temporary services, and transportation and warehousing. This is especially true as retailers across the country hired temporary employees for the busy holiday shopping season. While it is difficult to determine the exact temporary hiring for November, seven retailers combined are expected to add nearly 400,000 jobs this winter, led by Macy's (NYSE:M-Free Report) with an expected 86,000 seasonal job openings.
Other retailers are also hiring workers in droves. Given this, the National Retail Federation expects seasonal retail hiring to grow about 4% to as much as 800,000, suggesting continued strong hiring this month as well (read more: 3 Retail Stocks to Buy Before Christmas).
Parcel service providers like United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS-Free Report) also went on a hiring spree with UPS adding as many as 95,000 seasonal workers for last-minute Christmas shopping and gift delivery.
The staffing sector had other good news to share as well. The unemployment level was at a six-year low of 5.8%. Average hourly wages rose nine cents to $24.66 in November from $24.57 in October and 2.1% on an annual basis. This suggests continued strong confidence in U.S. economic growth, which is now heading toward full growth.
The economy has shown its two strongest quarters of growth back to back in over a decade. The U.S. expanded at a solid clip of 3.9% annually in the third quarter, up from the initial estimate of 3.5%, and was preceded by 4.6% growth in the second quarter.
This healthy hiring scene is likely to continue in the coming months too, giving a solid boost to the staffing stocks. Further, the solid Zacks Industry Rank (in the top 10%) fuels optimism into the space. This will result in smooth trading for the sector going forward. Investors seeking to ride out this surge could look at the few top ranked stocks having a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) in the staffing industry.
Below, we have highlighted three stocks that are clearly outpacing the S&P 500 from a year-to-date look and have superior growth potential which would help them to continue leading the staffing space heading into the New Year.
Stocks to Buy
CTPartners Executive Search (AMEX:CTP-Free Report)
Based in New York City, CTP Partners is a leading provider of high quality, industry-focused executive search services globally. It assists the recruitment and hiring of "C-level" executives, other senior executives and board members.
The stock has seen solid earnings estimate revisions for both the recent quarter and the current year over the past 60 days. The Consensus Estimate for the fourth quarter has risen to 20 cents from 13 cents per share while the current year estimate climbed by 6 cents to 95 cents per share. The 2014 Zacks Consensus Estimate represents a massive year-over-year increase of 491.67% for earnings and a substantial increase of 29.6% for revenues versus the industry averages of 11.3% and 0.5%, respectively.
Further, the company delivered positive earnings surprises in the last four quarters, with an average beat of 26.28%. The stock has delivered strong returns of 150% in the year-to-date time frame and currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Robert Half International Inc (NYSE:RHI-Free Report)
Based in Menlo Park, CA, Robert Half is an industry leader worldwide in professional consulting and staffing services. It is the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm that helps companies solve problems in finance, technology, operations, governance, risk and internal audit.
The stock has seen a cumulative upward earnings estimate revision of 3 cents for the current quarter to $0.61 and of 7 cents to $2.24 for the current fiscal year over the past two months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate represents increases of 22.26% for earnings and 10.4% for revenue from the past year. Additionally, it has delivered average earnings surprises of about 4.23% over the past four quarters (read more: Is Robert Half International a Great Growth Stock?).
Robert Half is up about 33.5% in the year and has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Kforce Inc. (Nasdaq:KFRC-Free Report)
Based in Tampa, FL, Kforce is a global professional staffing services firm that matches the requirement of job seekers with that of employers in the specialty skill areas of technology and finance & accounting. It offers web-based services including online resumes and job postings, interactive interviews and job placements and career management strategies.
Kforce has also seen rising estimates of 10.3% for the ongoing quarter and 2.7% for the current fiscal year over the past two months. In fact, the Zacks Consensus Estimate reflects substantial earnings growth of 33.13% and revenue growth of 9.7% for the current full year. The company has delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 5.51% in the last four quarters.
The stock has returned nearly 15% so far in the year and currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). All these indicate a bright future for Kforce.
Bottom Line
With the U.S. economy gaining momentum and job market on track, investors should try their fortune by investing in these stocks in the New Year. The above-mentioned stocks are likely to continue outperforming the broad markets should the same trends sustain over the coming months.
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
About Zacks Equity Research
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.
Get the full Report on M - FREE
Get the full Report on UPS - FREE
Get the full Report on CTP - FREE
Get the full Report on RHI - FREE
Get the full Report on KFRC - FREE
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
[email protected]
http://www.zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-zacks-analyst-blog-highlights-macys-united-parcel-service-ctpartners-executive-search-robert-half-international-and-kforce-300008466.html
SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.
Share this article