The fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain rock solid with GDP growing at 1.6%, 3% and 2.8%, respectively, in the first three quarters of 2024. On Dec 9, the Atlanta Fed GDPNow projected the GDP growth rate for the fourth quarter at 3.3%. This clearly indicates no signs of softness.

The Fed will conduct its last FOMC meeting for 2024 from Dec 17-18. Market participants are highly hopeful of another round of reduction in the benchmark lending rate. The Fed reduced the market interest rate by 75 basis points in September and November to a range of 4.5-4.75%.

Consequently, a few stocks have shown price strength. We have primarily targeted stocks that have recently been on a bull run. Such stocks have a high chance of carrying the momentum forward.

Five such stocks are — Kingstone Companies Inc. KINS, Universal Technical Institute Inc. UTI, Qifu Technology Inc. QFIN, SB Financial Group Inc. SBFG and Private Bancorp of America Inc. PBAM.

If a stock is continuously witnessing an uptrend, there must be a solid reason or it would have probably crashed. So, looking at stocks capable of beating the benchmark that they have set for themselves seems rational.

However, recent price strength alone cannot create magic. Therefore, other relevant parameters are needed to create a successful investment strategy.

Here’s how you should create the screen to shortlist the current as well as the potential winners.

Screening Parameters:

Percentage Change in Price (4 Weeks) greater than zero: This criterion shows that the stock has moved higher in the last four weeks. 

Percentage Change Price (12 Weeks) greater than 10: This indicates that the stock has seen momentum over the last three months. This lowers the risk of choosing stocks that may have drawn attention due to the overwhelming performance of the overall market in a very short period. 

Zacks Rank 1: No matter whether market conditions are good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of outperformance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Average Broker Rating 1: This indicates that brokers are also highly hopeful about the stock’s future performance. 

Current Price greater than 5: The stocks must all be trading at a minimum of $5.

Current Price/ 52-Week High-Low Range more than 85%: This criterion filters stocks that are trading near their respective 52-week highs. It indicates that these are strong enough in terms of price.

Just these few criteria narrowed down the search from over 7,700 stocks to 16.

Let’s discuss five out of these 16 stocks:

Kingstone Companies Inc. is engaged in the ownership of an insurance company. KINS focuses on automobile, motorcycle and homeowners’ insurance and its customer base is primarily individuals rather than businesses. There are three Atlantic Insurance locations in eastern Pennsylvania. Each of the Barry Scott, Atlantic Insurance and Accurate Agency locations is wholly owned by KINS.

The stock price of KINS has soared 30.5% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 2.9% over the last 30 days.

Universal Technical Institute Inc. provides transportation, skilled trades, and healthcare education programs in the United States. UTI operates in two segments, UTI and Concorde. UTI offers certificate, diploma, or degree programs under various brands, such as Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Marine Mechanics Institute, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology. 

UTI also provides manufacturer-specific advanced training programs, including student-paid electives at its campuses, and manufacturer or dealer-sponsored training at various campuses and dedicated training centers. UTI serves students, partners and communities by providing education and support services in various fields.

The stock price of Universal Technical Institute has jumped 28.4% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 29.3% for the current year (ending September 2025). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 5.4% over the last 30 days.

Qifu Technology Inc. operates as a credit-tech platform under the 360 Jietiao brand in the People's Republic of China. QFIN provides credit-driven services that match borrowers with financial institutions to conduct customer acquisition, initial and credit screening, advanced risk assessment, credit assessment, fund matching, and other post-facilitation services and platform services. QFIN also offers e-commerce loans, enterprise loans, and invoice loans to SME owners. QFIN serves financial institutions, consumers, and small- and micro-enterprises. 

The stock price of Qifu Technology has climbed 25.8% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 55.2% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 13.3% over the last 30 days.

SB Financial Group Inc. operates as the financial holding company for the State Bank and Trust Company, which provides a range of commercial banking and wealth management services to individual and corporate customers primarily in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. 

SBFG offers checking, savings, money market accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit and commercial, consumer, agricultural, and residential mortgage loans. SBFG also provides automatic teller machines, personal and corporate trust, commercial leasing, bank credit cards, safe deposit box rental, internet banking, private client groups, and other personalized banking products and services, and various trust and financial services comprising asset management services for individuals and corporate employee benefit plans, as well as brokerage services. 

The stock price of SB Financial Group has surged 15.6% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 12.7% for next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next-year has improved 13.4% over the last 60 days.

Private Bancorp of America Inc. provides banking products and services to individuals and businesses in California. PBAM offers checking and savings, money market, certificate of deposit, sweep, zero balance, and individual retirement accounts, unsecured lines of credit, personal credit lines, and term loans, additional services, such as direct deposits, online banking, ATM and debit cards, credit cards, savings/line of credit overdraft protection, and safe deposit boxes, and certificate of deposit account registry services.

The stock price of Private Bancorp of America has appreciated 11.4% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 0.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 6.3% over the last 60 days.

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 own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test 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.

Disclosure: 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.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.

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Universal Technical Institute Inc (UTI) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Kingstone Companies, Inc (KINS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

SB Financial Group, Inc. (SBFG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Qifu Technology, Inc. (QFIN) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Private Bancorp of America, Inc. (PBAM) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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