Zacks.com featured highlights include NatWest, CBOE Global, Alcoa, Safran and Casey's

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – October 29, 2025 – Stocks in this week’s article are NatWest Group NWG, CBOE Global Markets CBOE, Alcoa Corp. AA, Safran SA SAFRY and Casey's General Stores CASY.Buy These 4 Low-Leverage Stocks as Markets Hover at Record HighsThe U.S. stock market rallied yesterday, with all three major indices touching new record highs, reflecting investors’ optimism surrounding the upcoming meeting between Trump and Xi on Thursday, with widespread anticipation of a positive trade truce. The upbeat mood of Wall Street was also on account of the cooler-than-expected inflation data released last week and impressive quarterly results expected from the big tech stocks this week.With optimism lifting market sentiment, stakeholders might be encouraged to invest more, expecting momentum to build as the U.S.-China meeting draws closer. However, since the share market has lately been on edge, we recommend choosing safe-bet stocks like NatWest Group, CBOE Global Markets, Alcoa Corp.,Safran SA and Casey's General Stores that are less leveraged and thus likely to provide a protective cushion against a sudden economic crisis.Now, before selecting low-leverage stocks, let’s explore what leverage is and how choosing a low-leverage stock can help investors.What’s the Significance of Low-Leverage Stocks?In finance, leverage refers to the practice of borrowing capital to help companies run their operations smoothly and expand their business. Such borrowings are done through debt financing. But there remains an option for equity finance. This is probably due to the cheap and easy availability of debt over equity financing.However, debt financing has its share of drawbacks. Particularly, it is desirable only as long as it successfully generates a higher rate of return compared to the interest rate. To avoid considerable losses in your portfolio, it is advisable to avoid companies that rely excessively on debt financing.The crux of safe investment lies in choosing a company that is not burdened with debt, as a debt-free stock is almost impossible to find.The equity market can be volatile at times, and, as an investor, if you don’t want to lose big time, we suggest you invest in stocks that bear low leverage and are, hence, less risky.To identify such stocks, historically, several leverage ratios have been developed to measure the amount of debt a company bears. The debt-to-equity ratio is one such common ratio.Analyzing Debt/EquityDebt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Liabilities/Shareholders’ EquityThis metric is a liquidity ratio that indicates the amount of financial risk a company bears. A lower debt-to-equity ratio reflects improved solvency for a company.With the ongoing third-quarter 2025 earnings season, investors should be eyeing stocks that have demonstrated solid earnings growth in recent periods.But if a stock bears a high debt-to-equity ratio in times of economic downturn, its so-called booming earnings picture might turn into a nightmare.The Winning StrategyConsidering the factors above, it is prudent to choose stocks with a low debt-to-equity ratio to ensure steady returns.Yet, an investment strategy based solely on the debt-to-equity ratio might not fetch the desired outcome. To choose stocks that have the potential to give you steady returns, we have expanded our screening criteria to include some other factors.Excluding stocks that have a negative or a zero debt-to-equity ratio, here we present our five picks out of the 17 stocks that made it through the screen.Natwest Group: It operates as a banking and financial services company. On Oct. 7, 2025, Natwest Group announced its minority investment in JS Group to drive the adoption of its Aspire platform. This investment underscores NatWest’s commitment to supporting innovative solutions that enhance financial accessibility and efficient management for funders through the adoption of technology.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NWG’s 2025 earnings has improved 7.5% over the past seven days. The company boasts a long-term (three-to-five years) earnings growth rate of 12.2%. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2.CBOE Global Markets: It is one of the largest stock exchange operators by volume in the United States and a leading market globally for ETP trading. On Oct. 3, 2025, CBOE reported September trading volume statistics across its global business lines. The statistics reflected that total volume across Cboe's four options exchanges set monthly and quarterly records, with an average daily volume of 20.5 million in September and 18.8 million in the third quarter.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CBOE’s 2025 sales suggests an improvement of 10.8% from the year-ago quarter’s level. The company boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 14.8%. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2.Alcoa Corp.: It is the world's largest third-party producer of alumina. On Oct. 22, 2025, the company reported its third-quarter 2025 results. Its revenues grew 3.1% year over year. AA’s Alumina production increased 4% sequentially to 2.5 million metric tons.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AA’s 2025 sales suggests a year-over-year improvement of 6.3%. The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 51.9%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.Safran: It is a high-technology company that produces aircraft, rocket engines, and propulsion systems. On Oct. 24, 2025, the company reported its third-quarter 2025 revenue results. Its third-quarter revenues improved 18.3% year over year, driven by growth witnessed across its business divisions.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SAFRY’s 2025 sales suggests a year-over-year improvement of 40.4%. The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 20.9%. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Casey's General Stores: It operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. On Sept. 8, 2025, the company announced financial results for first-quarter fiscal 2026, which ended on July 31, 2025. Its inside same-store sales increased 4.3% year over year, while earnings grew 19.5%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CASY’s fiscal 2026 sales indicates an improvement of 9.6% from the fiscal 2025 reported actuals. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CASY’s fiscal 2026 earnings indicates an improvement of 9.3% from the fiscal 2025 reported actuals. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.You can get the remaining stocks on this list by signing up now for your two-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your trading. Further, you can create your strategies and backtest 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.For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2766365/5-low-leverage-stocks-to-buy-as-market-takes-a-tumbleDisclosure: 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.About Screen of the WeekZacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine.  But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.Strong Stocks that Should Be in the NewsMany are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.Follow us on Twitter:  https://www.twitter.com/zacksresearchJoin us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearchZacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.Contact: Jim GiaquintoCompany: Zacks.comPhone: 312-265-9268Email: pr@zacks.comVisit: https://www.zacks.com/Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.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.#1 Semiconductor Stock to Buy (Not NVDA)The incredible demand for data is fueling the market's next digital gold rush. As data centers continue to be built and constantly upgraded, the companies that provide the hardware for these behemoths will become the NVIDIAs of tomorrow.One under-the-radar chipmaker is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. It specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.See This Stock Now for Free >>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 Alcoa (AA): Free Stock Analysis Report Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE): Free Stock Analysis Report Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY): Free Stock Analysis Report Safran SA (SAFRY): Free Stock Analysis Report NatWest Group plc (NWG): 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