Beat the Market the Zacks Way: ProAssurance, Stride, Hershey in Focus

Last Friday, the three most widely followed benchmark indexes closed a winning week. The Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 6.7%, 4.6% and 2.5%, respectively.Throughout the week, trade was influenced by apparent de-escalation in the ongoing trade war, especially between Beijing and Washington. Combined with encouraging earnings numbers, investor mood has remained optimistic for some time now. Beijing exempted some U.S. imports on the back of recent de-escalatory statements from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.  Consumer sentiment, although at a three-year low, was upwardly revised.Investors, however, are keeping an eye out for companies’ guidance amid economic uncertainty.Regardless of market conditions, we, here at Zacks, provide investors with unbiased guidance on how to beat the market. As usual, Zacks Research guided investors over the past three months with its time-tested methodologies. Given the prevailing market uncertainty, you may want to look at our feats to prepare better for your next action.Here are some of our key achievements:ProAssurance and Vox Royalty Surge Following Zacks Rank UpgradeShares of ProAssurance Corporation PRA have gained 63.7% (versus the S&P 500’s 7.8% decrease) since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on February 25.Another stock, Vox Royalty Corp. VOX, which was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) on February 26, has returned 38.1% (versus the S&P 500’s 7.4% decrease) since then.A hypothetical portfolio of Zacks Rank # 1 (Strong Buy) stocks returned -3.48% in January 2025 (through February 3rd) vs. -0.60% for the S&P 500 index and -2.75% for the equal-weight version of the indexThis portfolio returned +22.3% in 2024, vs. +28% for the S&P 500 index and +19.9% for the equal-weight version of the S&P 500 index. This hypothetical portfolio returned +20.63% in 2023 vs. +24.83% for the S&P 500 index and +15% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. The portfolio of Zacks Rank #1 stocks is an equal-weight portfolio, while the S&P 500 index is a market-cap-weighted index that has been notably distorted by the concentrated performance of mega-cap stocks since late 2022. The Zacks Model Portfolio - consisting of Zacks Rank #1 stocks – has outperformed the S&P index by almost 13 percentage points since 1988 (through the end of January 2025, the Zacks # 1 Rank stocks generated an annualized average return of +23.9% since 1988 vs. +11.3% for the S&P 500 index).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here >>>Check ProAssurance’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>Check Vox Royalty’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchZacks Recommendation Upgrades PagSeguro Digital and DNB BankShares of PagSeguro Digital Ltd. PAGS and DNB Bank ASA DNBBY have advanced 36.3% (versus the S&P 500’s 1.8% fall) and 3.4% (versus the S&P 500’s 4.4% fall) since their Zacks Recommendation was upgraded to Outperform on March 11 and March 10, respectively.While the Zacks Rank is our short-term rating system that is most effective over the one- to three-month holding horizon, the Zacks Recommendation aims to predict performance over the next 6 to 12 months. However, just like the Zacks Rank, the foundation for the Zacks Recommendation is trends in earnings estimate revisions.The Zacks Recommendation classifies stocks into three groups — Outperform, Neutral and Underperform. While these recommendations are determined quantitatively, our analysts have the flexibility to override them for the 1100+ stocks they closely follow based on their better judgment of factors such as valuation, industry conditions and management effectiveness than the quantitative model.To access our research reports with Zacks Recommendations for the 1100+ stocks we cover, click here>>>Zacks Focus List Stocks Huntington Ingalls, CACI Shoot UpShares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. HII, which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have gained 15.5% over the past 12 weeks. The stock was added to the Focus List on May 9, 2016. Another Focus-List holding, CACI International Inc CACI, which was added to the portfolio on December 2, 2015, has returned 14.6% over the past 12 weeks. The S&P 500 has declined 8.9% over this period. The Focus List portfolio returned -2.96% in the first quarter of 2025 vs. -4.30% for the S&P 500 index and -0.61% for the equal-weight version of the index. The 50-stock Zacks Focus List portfolio returned +18.41% in 2024 vs. +25.04% for the S&P 500 index and +13% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. The portfolio had returned +29.54% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index and +13.61% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. In 2022, the portfolio returned  -15.2% vs. the S&P 500 index’s -17.96%. Since 2004, the Focus List portfolio has produced an annualized return of +11.39% (through the end of 2025 Q1). This compares to a +10.03% annualized return for the S&P 500 index and +9.87% for the equal-weight version of the index in the same time period.The portfolio lags the broader market over the preceding year, but leads over the preceding 3, 5, and 10-year periods.Unlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Focus List, Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium. Gain full access now >>Zacks ECAP Stocks Cencora & Hershey Make Significant GainsCencora, Inc. COR, a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), has jumped 12.1% over the past 12 weeks. The Hershey Company HSY has followed Cencora with 9.1% returns.The Zacks Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), which consists of 30 concentrated, ultra-defensive, long-term Buy-and-Hold stocks, returned +3.20% in the first quarter of 2025 vs. the S&P 500 index’s -4.30% decline (SPY ETF). For the year 2024, the portfolio returned +16.26% vs. +24.89% for the S&P 500 index (SPY ETF). In 2023, the portfolio returned +12.17% vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index. The portfolio returned -4.7% in 2022 vs. the S&P 500 index’s -17.96%.With little to no turnover and annual rebalance periodicity, ECAP seeks to minimize capital loss by holding shares of companies whose earnings streams exhibit a proven 20+ year track record of surviving recessionary periods with minimal impact on aggregate earnings growth relative to the overall S&P 500.The ECAP and many other model portfolios are available as part of Zacks Advisor Tools, a cloud-based solution to access Zacks award-winning stock, mutual fund and ETF research. Click here to schedule a demo.Zacks ECDP Stocks American Tower and Fastenal Outperform PeersAmerican Tower Corporation AMT, which is part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), has returned 12.8% over the past 12 weeks. Another ECDP stock, Fastenal Company FAST, has climbed 7.9% over the same time frame. Of course, the inclination of investors toward quality dividend stocks to secure an income stream amid heightened market volatility contributed to this performance.Check American Tower's dividend history here>>>Check Fastenal’s dividend history here>>>With an extremely low beta and a history of minimum earnings variability over the last 20+ years, this 25-stock portfolio helps significantly mitigate risk.The Zacks Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP) returned +5.74% in 2025 Q1 vs. the S&P 500 index’s -2.41% pullback and the Dividend Aristocrats ETF’s (NOBL) +3.11% return. For the full-year 2024, the portfolio returned +6.95% vs. +24.89% for the S&P 500 index and +6.72% for NOBL. The portfolio returned -0.9% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index and +8.11% for NOBL. The portfolio returned -2.3% in 2022 vs. -17.96% for the S&P 500 index and -8.34% for NOBL.Click here to access this portfolio on Zacks Advisor Tools.  Zacks Top 10 Stock Stride Delivers Solid ReturnsStride, Inc. LRN, from the Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2025, has jumped 35.7% year to date against the S&P 500 Index’s 6% decrease.The Top 10 portfolio returned -11% this year in 2025 Q1 vs. -4.3% for the S&P 500 index and -0.61% for the equal-weight version of the index. The Top 10 portfolio returned +62.98% in 2024, vs. +25.04% for the S&P 500 index and +13% for the equal-weight version of the index. The portfolio had returned +25.15% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index. Since 2012, the Top 10 portfolio has produced a cumulative return of +1767.4% through the end of 2025 Q1 vs. +437.9% for the S&P 500 index and +348.9% for the equal-weight version of the index. The portfolio has produced an average return of +24.2% in the period 2012 through 2025 Q1 vs. +11.79% for the S&P 500 index and +9.89% for the equal-weight version of the index.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>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 American Tower Corporation (AMT): Free Stock Analysis Report Fastenal Company (FAST): Free Stock Analysis Report Hershey Company (The) (HSY): Free Stock Analysis Report ProAssurance Corporation (PRA): Free Stock Analysis Report CACI International, Inc. (CACI): Free Stock Analysis Report Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII): Free Stock Analysis Report Cencora, Inc. (COR): Free Stock Analysis Report Stride, Inc. (LRN): Free Stock Analysis Report Vanguard Communication Services ETF (VOX): ETF Research Reports PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (PAGS): Free Stock Analysis Report DNB Bank ASA (DNBBY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks