Weekly Investor – February 9, 2015
A Good Week for U.S. Equity Markets
U.S. equity markets rebounded last week with the S&P 500® Index ending significantly higher in the last five days of trading. Oil rallied during the week and the dollar continued to show strength relative to other currencies. Economic reports released throughout the week continued to highlight an expansionary environment with the ISM Manufacturing Index recording its 20th consecutive month above 50 (signaling expansionary conditions). Looking ahead this week, investors will be paying close attention to the release of major economic reports including wholesale inventories, prior week initial jobless claims, consumer sentiment as well as another round of earnings reports.
U.S. equity markets – The S&P 500® was up 3.0% for the week. The top-performing sectors in the S&P 500® Index included Telecommunications (6.9%) and Energy (5.4%), while bottom-performing sectors included Health Care (0.7%) and Utilities (-3.7%). In the fixed-income market, the 10-year Treasury yield was up during the week, ending at 2.0%.
We continue to seek those companies possessing identifiable catalysts, and focusing on those stocks with favorable odds.
Favorable Conditions
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) is a third party logistics company which provides freight transportation services and solutions to various industries worldwide. CHRW was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
As a best-in-breed third party logistics company, we believe CHRW has the opportunity to take advantage of favorable conditions within the North American trucking industry. In fact, our Main Street Contacts have confirmed several positive industry trends for CHRW including strong trucking pricing and the need for additional trucking capacity within North America. Improving U.S. economic growth only boosts the opportunity for these trends to continue. In addition, CHRW recently acquired Freightquote.com, further solidifying the company’s commitment to grow its market share by gaining exposure to increasing segments of the logistics market. We believe positive industry conditions coupled with CHRW’s best-in-breed status provide favorable odds for our portfolio.
Top 10 Equity Holdings
| . | |
|---|---|
| Electronic Arts, Inc. | 5.3% |
| Google, Inc. | 5.1% |
| Skyworks Solutions | 4.7% |
| Teva Pharmaceutical | 4.3% |
| Danaher Corp. | 3.9% |
| CBS Corporation | 3.9% |
| Broadcom Corporation | 3.7% |
| Lincoln National | 3.6% |
| Lowe’s Companies, Inc. | 3.2% |
| F5 Networks, Inc. | 3.2% |
This newsletter presents selected recommendations from portfolio managers of Argent Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Opinions reflect the portfolio manager’s judgment on the date above and are subject to change. A list of stocks recommended by Argent is available upon request. You should not assume that these recommendations are or will be profitable. In the course of it’s business, Argent’s client accounts may be buying and selling these stocks.
