The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Aaron's, Shoe Carnival, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Lithia Motors And Ford Motor
Zacks Investment Research | Jul 17, 2019 10:40PM ET
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – July 18, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Aaron’s, Inc. (NYSE:AAN) , Shoe Carnival (NYSE:CCL), Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) , Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) , Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
American Consumers & Factories Strengthen Q2 View: 5 Gainers
The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates in order to mitigate the ill effects of the ongoing trade dispute and global economic slowdown. Despite such challenges, the economy continues to show signs of strength. American shoppers increased their spending levels significantly last month and factories ramped up production, adding to evidence that it has been a strong second quarter.
Thus, it’s time to invest in stocks that can make the most of the positive second-quarter economic outlook.
Retail Sales Pop in June
Consumer spending generally fuels more than two-thirds of economic output. Sales at U.S. retailers that measure outlays at stores, online-shopping websites and restaurants increased at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.4% in June from a month earlier, pointing to a strong rebound in consumer spending in the second quarter, per the Commerce Department. It also shows that the economy is not as fragile as the Fed seems to believe. And when compared to last June, retail sales jumped 3.4%. Meanwhile, sales at retailers rose at a healthy clip of 0.4%, both in April and May.
The so-called core retail sales that exclude food services, auto dealers, building materials stores and gasoline stations rose 0.7% in June, following an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in May. The core retail sales figure is seen as a more reliable gauge of underlying consumer demand.
Retail sales were mostly broad-based, with Americans increasing spending online, where outlays were up 13.4% compared to year-ago levels and 1.7% from May. Consumers also spent heavily at clothing stores, restaurants and building-material supply outlets.
The uptick in consumer spending was buoyed by higher income levels and consumer confidence. More than these, strong hiring and low layoffs are boosting spending levels. The United States added 224,000 jobs last month, way higher than analysts’ expectations of 170,000 jobs.
Unemployment rate, by the way, edged up to 3.7% from 3.6% but is still near a 50-year low. The U-6 rate ticked up to 7.2%. However, the rate of underemployment rate is below where it was a few years back (read more: Zacks Investment Research
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