Top Stocks for December 2021

The Russell 1000 Index is a market-capitalization-weighted index of the 1,000 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. It represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of all listed stocks in the U.S. equity market. For this reason, it is considered a bellwether for large-cap investing. Some of the largest companies in the index include Apple Inc. (AAPL), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and The Walt Disney Co. (DIS). The Russell 1000 provided a total return of 34.2% over the past 12 months. This market performance number and all data below are as of Aug. 25, 2021.

Here are the top 5 stocks across all sectors with the best value, the fastest growth, and the most momentum.

Value investing is a factor-based investing strategy that involves picking stocks that you believe are trading for less than what they are intrinsically worth, usually by measuring the ratio of the stock’s price to one or more fundamental business metrics. A widely accepted value metric is the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Value investors believe that if a business is cheap compared to its intrinsic value, in this case as measured by its P/E ratio, the stock price may rise faster than others as the price comes back in line with the worth of the company. These are the stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing P/E ratio.

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• UWM Holdings Corp.: UWM Holdings is a holding company that, through subsidiaries, underwrites and provides closing documentation for residential mortgage loans. UWM claims an average mortgage process of 17 days, as compared with an industry average of 45-60. The company reported that net income plunged for Q2 2021 while originations climbed by 90% year-over-year (YOY). The decline in net income was partially due to a significant drop the fair value of mortgage servicing rights.
• Qurate Retail Inc.: Qurate Retail is an e-commerce services company that reaches 218 million homes and operates through seven retail brands, including QVC, HSN, Zulily, and Frontgate. It partners with television networks, e-commerce sites, streaming services, social pages, mobile apps, print catalogs to provide video and digital commerce services. 
• Sage Therapeutics Inc.: Sage Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that creates treatments for central nervous system disorders including schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. One of the company’s flagship drugs is Zulresso, used to treat postpartum depression in adults. For Q2 2021, Sage reported narrowing net losses an 50.9% YOY growth in product revenue. The company also announced that Zuranolone, which is under development, has won breakthrough therapy status from the FDA for treating major depressive disorder.
• Athene Holding Ltd.: Athene Holding is an insurance holding company that provides issuance, reinsurance, and other services globally related to retirement savings products. As of June 30, 2021, Athene had $215.5 billion in total assets. The company reported explosive growth in net income and revenue in Q2 2021.
• Annaly Capital Management Inc.: Annaly Capital Management is a diversified capital management company that invests in and finances residential and commercial assets. Its investment strategies include agency mortgage-backed securities, residential and commercial real estate, and middle market lending. The company has about $93 billion in total assets.

These are the top stocks as ranked by a growth model that scores companies based on a 50/50 weighting of their most recent quarterly YOY percentage revenue growth and their most recent quarterly YOY earnings per share (EPS) growth. Both sales and earnings are critical factors in the success of a company. Therefore ranking companies by only one growth metric makes a ranking susceptible to the accounting anomalies of that quarter (such as changes in tax law or restructuring costs) that may make one or the other figure unrepresentative of the business in general. Companies with quarterly EPS or revenue growth of over 2,500% were excluded as outliers.

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• Freeport-McMoRan Inc.: Freeport-McMoRan is a leading international mining company with significant reserves of copper, gold, and molybdenum. The company has operations in North and South America as well as in Indonesia.
• Ross Stores Inc.: Ross Stores operates off-price apparel and home accessories stores. As of year-end FY 2020, the company operated nearly 1,600 Ross Dress for Less locations in 40 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam. It also operates an addition 274 dd’s DISCOUNTS stores in 21 states. Ross’s net earnings grew by more than 22 times YOY to $494.3 million on strong sales growth in Q2 2021 due to rising customer demand and government stimulus payments.
• Louisiana-Pacific Corp.: Louisiana-Pacific Corp. makes building materials and engineered wood products. The company provides oriented strand board sheathing, siding and trim, i-joists, laminated veneer lumber, and similar products. It operates 25 plants in the U.S. Canada, Chile, and Brazil. On July 30, the company announced a dividend of $0.18 per common share, payable Sep. 1 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 10, 2021. The dividend is a mid-year increase of $0.02 per share, or 13%.
• ConocoPhillips: ConocoPhillips focuses on oil and natural gas exploration and production with operations across 15 countries. It produces crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, natural gas liquids and liquefied natural gas. The company employs roughly 10,300.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.: Chipotle Mexican Grill owns and operates a chain of restaurants serving burritos, bowls, tacos, and salads. The company operated 2,724 Chipotle restaurants throughout the U.S. as of Dec. 31, 2020. For Q2 2021, Chipotle reported a 31.2% YOY increase in comparable restaurant sales, as well as strong growth in digital sales. Digital sales accounted for nearly half of total sales for the quarter.

Momentum investing is a factor-based investing strategy that involves investing in a stock whose price has risen faster than the market as a whole. Momentum investors believe that stocks that have outperformed the market will often continue to do so because the factors that caused them to outperform will not suddenly disappear. In addition, other investors, seeking to benefit from the stock’s outperformance, will often purchase the stock, further bidding its price higher and pushing the stock higher still. These are the stocks that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.

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• GameStop Corp.: GameStop operates a chain 4,000 stores and e-commerce properties in 10 countries. The company sells video game hardware, software, and accessories. In recent months, GameStop has been the focus of attention by investors in the Reddit community as a so-called “meme stock.”
• Moderna Inc.: Moderna is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines. It develops mRNA medicines for infectious, immuno-oncology, and cardiovascular diseases. It has 15 development programs in the clinical study phase. The company employs over 1,800. Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine continues to be in high demand globally. On Aug. 25, Moderna reported that it had completed the rolling submission process for its Biologics License Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the full licensure of of its COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older.
• Olin Corp.: Olin is a vertically-integrated global manufacturer and distributor of chemical products. It also owns Winchester, a U.S. manufacturer of ammunition products. Its chemical products include chlorine and caustic soda, vinyls, epoxies, chlorinated organics, bleach, and hydrochloric acid. Winchester produces and distributes sporting ammunition, law enforcement ammunition, reloading components, and related products. The company employs 8,000 professionals and has customers in nearly 100 countries.
• Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.: Cleveland-Cliffs is a major North American flat-rolled steel producer and major supplier of iron ore pellets. The company employs 25,000 at 46 operating facilities. In late July, Cleveland-Cliffs completed the redemption of its outstanding Series B Participating Redeemable Preferred Stock for roughly $1.2 billion in cash. This process reduces the company’s diluted share count by 10% on a pro-forma basis.
• Capri Holdings Ltd.: Capri Holdings is a U.K.-based holding company that, through subsidiaries, designs, distributes, and sells apparel and accessories. The company sells products including handbags, shoes, watches, pants, sunglasses, and boots. Capri’s Q1 FY 2022 ended June 26, 2021. For that quarter, the company reported net income attributable to Capri of $219 million compared to a net loss for Q1 FY 2021. Quarterly revenue nearly tripled YOY. The company said that strong performances in its Versace, Michael Kors, and Jimmy Choo fashion houses drove this growth. The company announced that Joshua Schulman became chief executive officer (CEO) of the Michael Kors brand on Aug. 24, 2021. Schulman will become CEO of Capri Holdings in September 2022, when current CEO John Idol will become executive chairman.

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