Stocks to buy: After a two-day close, the U.S. stock market re-opened on Wednesday. General Motors published better-than-expected third quarter results; October Chicago PMI data missed the market expectations. U.S. stocks closed mixed; the Dow fell 0.08%, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.36% while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index edged up 0.02%. The U.S. stock market finished lower for October, the Dow cumulatively fell 2.5%, the Nasdaq Composite was down 4.5% and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost about 2%. On Wednesday, a number of stocks were upgraded by analysts, here are some of them:
American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) earning income primarily from the investments in agency mortgage-backed securities. AGNC stock was upgraded by analysts at Wunderlich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $34.0 on Wednesday. AGNC stock traded up 3.12% to $33.00 Wednesday. AGNC stock price has a 52-week range between $27.07 and $36.77. The current AGNC stock price is 3.65% below its 50-day moving average of $34.25 and 2.23% higher than its 200-day moving average of $32.28. American Capital Agency Corp. has a market cap of $11.27 billion and a P/E multiple of 10.91.
Shares of the energy producer and transporter, Dominion Resources (D), were upgraded by analysts at Argus from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning. The shares of the company rose 1.36%, to $52.78. D stock price has an one-year low of $48.87 and one-year high of $55.62. The current D stock price is very close to its 50-day moving average of $53.0 and 200-day moving average of $52.24. Dominion Resources has a market cap of $30.33 billion and a P/E multiple of 25.53.
Analysts at BB&T upgraded stock of Flowers Foods (FLO), a producer and marketers of bakery products, to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, sending FLO stock price to climb 2.66% to $19.69. FLO shares traded between $18.39 and $24.20 over the past 52 weeks. The current FLO stock price is very close to its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which are standing at $19.93 and $20.61, respectively. Flowers Foods currently has a market cap of $2.373 billion and a P/E multiple of 22.46.
Generac Holdings Inc. (GNRC) had its stock upgraded by analysts at KeyBanc Capital Mkts from a hold rating to a buy rating. The company published adjusted net income of $0.78 per share for its third quarter on Wednesday morning, up from $0.75 per share in the prior year, beating the Wall Street analysts’ estimates of net income of $0.71 per share. The designer and manufacturer of generators and engine powered products, also lifted its guidance for full year adjusted EPS to between $2.95 and $3.00, from the previous estimate range within $2.65 to $2.70. Analysts are expecting this figure to be $2.66. GNRC stock price surged 20.01% to $34.00. GNRC stock traded between $18.35 and $34.63 over the past 52 weeks. The shares are currently 49.58% and 34.60% above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $22.73 and $25.26, respectively. Generac currently has a market cap of $2.31 billion and a P/E multiple of $6.75.