5 Best Sectors to Watch This Week

by Portfolio Grader | August 13, 2012 12:00 pm

The Water Utilities, Household Products, Infrastructure, Diversified Utilities, and Tobacco sectors look strong this week, according to Portfolio Grader[1].

Water Utilities stands out with 80% of the sector’s stocks (4 out of 5) rating a “buy.” American Water Works (NYSE:AWK[2]), American States Water (NYSE:AWR[3]), and Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo (NYSE:SBS[4]) are all currently earning A’s. American Water Works is performing best overall in the sector, with a 37.9% increase over the last 12 months. This is better than the S&P 500’s 17.2% increase for the same time period.

The Household Products sector is thriving on Portfolio Grader this week, with 80% of its stocks (8 out of 10) currently rating a “buy.” Harbinger Group (NYSE:HRG[5]), Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB[6]), and Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD[7]) are paving the way for the sector with A grades. Over the last 12 months, Harbinger Group is the best performer in this sector, with a 79.8% increase.

Infrastructure is thriving this week with 80% of stocks in the sector (4 out of 5) currently rating a “buy.” Macquarie Infrastructure (NYSE:MIC[8]) and Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (NYSE:ASR[9]) are lifting the sector overall, each earning a high grade of A. Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte (NASDAQ:OMAB[10]) currently ranks B. Macquarie Infrastructure beats the other stocks in its sector, with a 79.2% increase from a year ago.

Diversified Utilities is excelling, with 78% of stocks in the sector (18 out of 23) rating a “buy.” With overall grades of A, Wisconsin Energy (NYSE:WEC[11]), Alliant Energy (NYSE:LNT[12]), and NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI[13]) are buoying the sector. Showing the most overall growth in its sector in the last 12 months, Wisconsin Energy is the top stock, with a 32.6% increase.

With 78% of the sector’s stocks (7 out of 9) rating a “buy,” the Tobacco sector is one of the strongest. Out of the Tobacco stocks, Altria (NYSE:MO[14]), Reynolds American (NYSE:RAI[15]), and Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM[16]) are out front with A’s. Altria is performing the best overall in the sector, with a 35% increase from 12 months ago.

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader[1] stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here[17].

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/08/5-best-sectors-to-watch-this-week-wec-lnt-ni/

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