Zacks.com featured highlights Novartis, ENGIE, MasTec, Dorman Products and Sterling Infrastructure

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – June 2, 2025 – The stocks in this week’s article are Novartis NVS, ENGIE SA ENGIY, MasTec MTZ, Dorman Products DORM and Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. STRL.Buy These 5 Low-Leverage Stocks Amid Volatile Market SentimentThe U.S. stock market showed mixed signals on May 29, with investors reacting to a combination of events. While NVIDIA’s strong quarterly results and a favorable ruling from the U.S. International Trade court against Trump-imposed tariffs supported gains on the Nasdaq and S&P 500, the Dow Jones slipped, weighed down by investor concerns over the broader economic outlook amid escalating geopolitical uncertainties.Given such volatile market sentiment, prudent investors are expected to choose safe bet stocks like Novartis, ENGIE SA, MasTec, Dorman Products and Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. to safeguard their portfolio from huge losses (in times of crisis). These stocks bear low leverage and, therefore, should be a safer option for investors if they don’t want to lose big in times of market turmoil.Now, before selecting low-leverage stocks, let’s explore what leverage is and how choosing a low-leverage stock helps investors.What’s the Significance of Low-Leverage Stocks?In finance, leverage is a term used to denote the practice of borrowing capital by companies to run their operations smoothly and expand the same. 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. So, to avoid considerable losses in your portfolio, one should always avoid companies that resort to excessive 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 of the most common ratios.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 first-quarter 2025 earnings season almost behind us, investors must be eyeing stocks that have exhibited solid earnings growth in the recent past.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.Excluding stocks that have a negative or a zero debt-to-equity ratio, here we present our five picks out of the nine stocks that made it through the screen.Novartis: It has one of the strongest and broadest portfolios of varied drugs. On May 27, 2025, Novartis announced that it had launched a tender offer to acquire Regulus Therapeutics for $7.00 per share in cash plus a potential $7.00 contingent payment tied to a regulatory milestone, as part of a previously announced merger agreement. The move is likely to strengthen Novartis’s pipeline in RNA-targeted therapies, enhancing its long-term innovation and growth strategy.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NVS’ 2025 sales suggests an improvement of 7.1% from the 2024 reported figure. The company boasts a long-term (three-to-five years) earnings growth rate of 7.9%. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2.ENGIE SA: It engages in the power, natural gas, and energy services businesses. On May 14, 2025, the company announced its first-quarter 2025 results. Its revenues grew 5.6% year over year in the first quarter. As of March 31, 2025, ENGIE has 8.5 GW of renewable and battery capacity under construction, representing more than 100 projects worldwide.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings suggests a year-over-year improvement of 22.9%. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.MasTec: It is a leading infrastructure construction company operating mainly throughout North America. On May 1, 2025, the company announced its first-quarter 2025 results. Its revenues increased 6% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA margin improved 6 basis points.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 sales indicates an improvement of 11% from the 2024 actual. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings suggests a year-over-year improvement of 54.9%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.Dorman Products: It is a leading supplier of Dealer Exclusive replacement parts to the Automotive, Medium and Heavy Duty Aftermarkets. On May 29, Dorman Products announced the release of hundreds of new light-duty automotive repair solutions, including several aftermarket-first innovations across key vehicle systems. This product expansion not only boosts Dorman’s extensive 138,000-SKU catalog but also creates over 12 million new sales opportunities, reinforcing its market leadership and growth in the aftermarket parts industry.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 sales indicates an improvement of 4.9% from the 2024 actual. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings suggests a year-over-year improvement of 9.7%. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2.Sterling Infrastructure: It operates through subsidiaries within segments specializing in E-Infrastructure, Building and Transportation Solutions, principally in the United States. On May 5, the company announced its first-quarter 2025 results. Its revenues increased 7% year over year, while adjusted earnings per share surged 29%.STRL boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 15%. The stock boasts an average earnings surprise of 11.54%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.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 trading.Further, you can also 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/2479595/buy-these-5-low-leverage-stocks-amid-volatile-market-sentimentFollow 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.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.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 Novartis AG (NVS): Free Stock Analysis Report Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL): Free Stock Analysis Report MasTec, Inc. (MTZ): Free Stock Analysis Report Dorman Products, Inc. (DORM): Free Stock Analysis Report ENGIE - Sponsored ADR (ENGIY): 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