Weekly Investor – December 9, 2019
S&P 500 Near All-Time Highs
The S&P 500® Index rose to close near all-time highs last week. Stocks were lower early in the week but were up nearly 1% Friday after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced November Jobs numbers well ahead of economists’ estimates. The BLS announced November Nonfarm Payrolls and Private Payrolls grew 266k and 254k respectively. These were the highest numbers since January. The unemployment rate hit a 50-year low at 3.5% and wages grew 3.1%. With strength in jobs and wages, U.S. consumer spending is likely to remain strong through the holiday shopping season.
There were a few positive earnings announcements last week. Ulta Beauty Inc. was up over 11% on Friday after the company announced 3Q revenue and earnings that were better than most analysts expected. DocuSign Inc. rallied over 8% Friday after it beat expectations and raised revenue guidance. HealthEquity Inc. also announced strong quarterly results and raised revenue guidance. The Health Savings Account (HSA) provider rallied over 7% last week as integration of its WageWorks acquisition fueled results.
The S&P 500® Index was up 0.2% for the week. Its top-performing sectors were Energy (1.5%) and Consumer Staples (0.9%), while the bottom-performing sectors were Consumer Discretionary (-0.8%) and Industrials (-1.1%). In the fixed-income market, the 10-year Treasury yield was even, ending at 1.8%.
We continue to seek companies that reflect our Change-BasedSM investment approach.
Change Based Investment
Boston Scientific Corporation develops manufactures and markets medical devices used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties.
Boston Scientific has undergone a multi-year turnaround effort that has been driven by several new product introductions yielding positive results for the company. We believe these encouraging changes have put Boston Scientific in a position to be a leading growth company within the medical device space. With its potential for accelerating sales growth and improving profitability, we feel Boston Scientific fits well with Argent’s Change-BasedSM investment approach.
Top 5 Equity Holdings
Large Cap Growth
| Alphabet Inc. (Google) | 7.8% |
| Mastercard, Incorporated | 5.3% |
| Fiserv, Inc. | 5.2% |
| Post Holdings, Inc. | 5.1% |
| Target Corporation | 5.1% |
Small Cap Core
| Atkore International Group | 3.1% |
| Fortinet, Inc. | 2.9% |
| World Fuel Services | 2.8% |
| OneMain Holdings, Inc. | 2.7% |
| Callaway Golf Company | 2.5% |
Dividend Select
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 6.3% |
| Target Corporation | 5.4% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 4.5% |
| Marvell Technology Group | 3.9% |
| Fidelity National Financial | 3.8% |
Mid Cap
| CDW Corporation | 4.4% |
| Amedisys, Inc. | 3.9% |
| Cintas Corporation | 3.7% |
| Copart,Inc. | 3.3% |
| NVR, Inc. | 3.3% |
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.
