Zacks.com featured highlights: Asbury Automotive Group, AmerisourceBergen, AutoNation, Global Brass & Copper and Bunge

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 07, 2016 - Stocks in this week's article include: Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. ABG, AmerisourceBergen ABC, AutoNation, Inc. AN, Global Brass & Copper Holdings, Inc. ( BRSS) and Bunge Ltd. BG.

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:

5 Stocks Set to Gain from Recent Broker Rating Upgrades

Sometimes in life, one ends up taking incorrect decisions in the absence of proper guidance. The same is often true in the investing world. With stocks flooding the investing space, it is very hard if not impossible for investors to add the right bunch to their portfolio for handsome returns without proper pointers.

After all, no one wants to see his hard earned money go down the drain, which is usually the result if one invests in stocks arbitrarily. To avoid such a fiasco, one should pay heed to what analysts are saying about a stock before investing in it.

Of the three types of analysts (sell-side, buy-side and independent) present in the investment world, sell-side analysts are most common. Various brokerage firms employ them to provide unbiased opinion to investors after thorough research. Buy-side analysts are employed by hedge funds, mutual funds etc. while the independent ones simply sell their reports to investors. So, an analyst, irrespective of the type, does extensive research on the company(s) followed.

Broker Ratings Hold the Key to Buy/Sell Decisions

Given the time crunch that we all face, it is impossible for investors to follow each stock minutely. So, it is best to follow expert advice. Brokers, by virtue of their detailed study, are armed with information on various aspects of the companies they follow. They have a lot more information on a company and its prospects than normal people as they not only scrutinize publicly available financial documents but also attend company conference calls and other presentations.

Since brokers arrive at their recommendation (buy, sell or hold) on a stock after thoroughly analyzing the nitty-gritties associated with the company, it is natural that if investors them improving their recommendation on a particular stock, they are inclined to believe that there is a solid reason/logic behind it. In fact, a rating upgrade generally leads to stock price appreciation. Similarly, the price of a stock may plummet following a rating downgrade.

For example, in the event of oil prices plummeting, analysts are likely to become bullish on an airline stock which might lead them to raise their earnings estimates and improve their target price. The bullish stance adopted by analysts on the stock serves as an important guide for investors on whether they should spend their hard-earned money on it. On the other hand, in the event of estimates moving south, which can happen due to lower-than-expected earnings/modest sales or pipeline failure (for a biotech company), investors tend to offload the stock from their portfolio.

The Winning Strategy

Our screen based on improving analyst recommendation and upward revisions to earnings estimates over the last four weeks takes care of the bottom-line performance of stocks. But what about the top line? To take care of its revenue performance, we have included the price/sales ratio which serves as a strong complementary valuation metric.

Screening Criteria

# (Up- Down Rating)/ Total (4 weeks) =Top #75 : This gives the list of top 75 companies that have witnessed net upgrades over the last 4 weeks.

% change in Q (1) est. (4 weeks) = Top #10 : This gives the top 10 stocks that have witnessed earnings estimate revisions over the past 4 weeks for the upcoming quarter.

To ensure that the strategy is a full-proof and winning one, we have added the following screening parameters:

Price-to-Sales = Bot%10 : The lower the ratio the better, companies meeting this criteria are in bottom 10% of our universe of over 7,700 stocks with respect to this ratio.

Price greater than 5 : A stock trading below $5 will not likely create significant interest for mostinvestors.

Average Daily Volume greater than 100,000 shares over the last 20 trading days : Volume has to be significant to ensure that these are easily traded.

Market value ($ mil) = Top #3000 : This gives us stocks that are the top 3000 if one judges by market capitalization.

Com/ADR/Canadian= Com : This takes out the ADR and Canadian stocks.

Here are five of the 10 stocks that made it through the screen:

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (ABG): Headquartered in Duluth, GA, Asbury Automotive is a premium auto dealership company. Increasing employment, auto credit facilities and higher per capita disposable income levels give the company scope for growth. The 2016 earnings per share growth rate for the company is 9.10%, a lot higher than the industry average.

AmerisourceBergen (ABC): Headquartered in Chesterbrook, PA, this is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical services companies, which focuses on providing drug distribution and related services to reduce health care costs and improve patient outcome. The company has an impressive track record with respect to earnings, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters by an average of 2.69%.

AutoNation, Inc. (AN): The company, based in Fort Lauderdale, FL, is the largest automotive retailer in the U.S. and about twice the size of its nearest competitor. The company also offers vehicle maintenance and repair services, vehicle parts, extended service contracts, vehicle protection products and other aftermarket products. In addition, it arranges financing for vehicle purchases through third-party sources. The company's 2016 earnings are projected to grow at 7.30%, which is higher than the industry average of 5.50%.

Global Brass & Copper Holdings, Inc. (BRSS): The company, based in Schaumburg, IL, is a converter, fabricator, distributor and processor of copper and brass products primarily in North America. The company also engages in metal melting and casting, rolling, drawing, extruding and stamping to fabricate finished and semi-finished alloy products. The company's 2016 earnings are projected to grow at 4.10%, which compares favorably to the industry average of a loss of 3.10%.

Bunge Ltd. (BG): Based in White Plains, NY, Bunge is a leading agribusiness and food company with over 35,000 employees and operations in about 40 countries. It is a global leader in oilseed processing, and grain & oilseed marketing. The company's 2016 earnings are projected to grow at 10.60%, which is higher than the industry average of 9.90%.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today .

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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