Advertisement
Singapore markets closed
  • Straits Times Index

    3,224.01
    -27.70 (-0.85%)
     
  • Nikkei

    40,369.44
    +201.37 (+0.50%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    70,212.23
    -311.94 (-0.44%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,254.35
    +5.86 (+0.11%)
     
  • Dow

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • Nasdaq

    16,379.46
    -20.06 (-0.12%)
     
  • Gold

    2,254.80
    +16.40 (+0.73%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    83.11
    -0.06 (-0.07%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.2060
    +0.0100 (+0.24%)
     
  • FTSE Bursa Malaysia

    1,536.07
    +5.47 (+0.36%)
     
  • Jakarta Composite Index

    7,288.81
    -21.28 (-0.29%)
     
  • PSE Index

    6,903.53
    +5.36 (+0.08%)
     

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: CRH, Grafton Group, Johnson Controls International and Ryanair

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – February 3, 2020 – 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: CRH plc CRH, Grafton Group plc GROUF, Johnson Controls International plc JCI and Ryanair Holdings plc RYAAY.

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

4 Top Stocks to Buy as Irish Economy Gathers Steam

Ireland, the fastest-growing economy of the European Union, has gone from strength to strength in the past few years. The Irish labor market is currently tight with unemployment at a 13-year low. Also, the country’s finance ministry has raised its growth forecast for the Celtic Tiger.

ADVERTISEMENT

Finally, broadly encouraging business conditions and improving Irish wages have also been pivotal in shaping up this economy. Such favorable conditions call for investing in stocks from Ireland.

13-Year Low Unemployment

Per the latest reports from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), the country’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.8% in December. This also happens to be the metric’s lowest settlement in the past 13 years. Furthermore, economists remain optimistic about another strong year of employment growth within the Irish economy.

The CSO also reported that the total number of unemployed workers was 119,000 in December. In comparison, this figure was 356,600 or roughly 16% in February 2012. Also, the headline unemployment rate was the lowest since January 2007. Notably, the metric is also three percentage points lower than the eurozone average of 7.5%.

Ireland Increases GDP Forecast for 2020

As the terms of Brexit become clearer, Ireland’s finance ministry expects the country’s economy to grow at a higher pace than earlier expected. The finance ministry expects Ireland’s GDP to have advanced 6.3% in 2019. Also, the expected rate of growth has been pegged at 3.9% for 2020 and 3% for 2021.

The latest estimates are based on the free-trade deal between the European Union and Britain. Terms of this deal include the existing arrangements or a possible extension of the transition period that finishes by the end of 2020.

Rating Agencies Upbeat About Ireland’s Prospects

Two of the world’s leading credit rating agencies recently vested their faith in the prospects of the Irish economy. The agencies expect the country to weather any tensions related to Brexit, geopolitics and trade related concerns.

German agency Scope has kept its credit rating of A+, unchanged for the country. However, it has improved its long-term prognosis of the Irish economy from stable to positive.

On the other hand, another leading rating agency, Moody’s, has stated that the country’s economic growth would remain above the average growth for the eurozone. It expects the country’s GDP to advance 3.2% in 2020, which would remain above the eurozone average of 1.4%. Furthermore, the agency also growth in Ireland’s export and productivity will continue to support the economic growth of Ireland.

4 Best Choices

Such favorable conditions make Ireland’s stocks a hotbed for money. In this context, we have selected four stocks that are expected to gain from these factors. These five stocks flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CRH plc is a manufacturer and distributor of building materials.

The company is based out of Dublin and sports a Zacks Rank #1. The expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 0.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 6.5% over the past 60 days.

Grafton Group plc is a provider of merchanting, retailing and mortar manufacturing services.

The company is based out of Dublin and carries a Zacks Rank #2. The expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 6.94%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 1.4% over the past 60 days.

Johnson Controls International plc is the owner and operator of a diversified technology and multi industrial company.

The company is based out of Cork and has a Zacks Rank #2. The expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 29.74%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 0.8% over the past 60 days.

Ryanair Holdings plc is a provider of scheduled-passenger airline services.

The Zacks Rank #1 company is based out of Swords. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 12.1% over the past 60 days.

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained and impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%.

This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year.

See their latest picks free >>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com                    

https://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 https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Johnson Controls International plc (JCI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
CRH PLC (CRH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Grafton Group PLC (GROUF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research