 Zacks features 9 stock picking strategies that have crushed the market since 2001. These "Profit Track" strategies are proven to work in good markets and bad, and are updated every day on Zacks.com. Below, you'll find a descriptions of these winning strategies, and the performance numbers for each.
Discounted Fundamental Strength
This Profit Track identifies stocks with strong underlying fundamentals and low valuations. These companies have solid balance sheets and a history of profitability yet are reasonably priced. Although conservative in approach, this strategy generated double-digit returns for five consecutive years and now boasts a 5.7% return through the early months of 2008.
Track Details | Highlights
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4wk Returns through 06/13/08 and *24wk Returns through 05/16/2008
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Earnings and Margins
Earnings are the single most important metric for a company. Combine that with a healthy Net Profit Margin and you find a screen that has generated a cumulative return of +729.5%, including a 7.7% return for the first five months of 2006.
Track Details | Highlights
Growth and Income
This Profit Track looks for stocks paying dividend yields of greater than 8% along with other attractive fundamental attributes. Although this screen is based on a long-term and lower risk approach to investing, it has a history of outperforming the S&P 500.
Track Details | Highlights
High Rank Value
Many value investors look for stocks trading at Price/Earnings multiples below 15.0 and Price/Book multiples below 3.0. Unfortunately, not all value stocks are bargains. By requiring a high Zacks Rank in addition to a low valuation, this strategy finds the true bargains.
Track Details | Highlights
Low Price
Looking for stocks priced below $20? How about stocks with discount valuations and a positive trend in earnings estimates revisions? This strategy not only finds such stocks, but also generated a 6.0% return for the first five months of 2008.
Track Details | Highlights
PEG
If you like to use a company's P/E ratio to determine its value, you'll love using the PEG ratio. Find out which companies offer the greatest value regardless of growth rate to enjoy stellar returns.
Track Details | Highlights
Recent Price Strength
This screen looks for stocks trading in the upper range of their 52-week highs along with attractive Zacks Rank and Broker Ratings. This strategy proves that the "trend is your friend" with a +607.6% cumulative return.
Track Details | Highlights
Return on Equity (ROE)
One of the quickest ways to gauge whether a company is creating assets or gobbling up investor's cash is to look at their ROE. This fast moving Profit Track returned an impressive +5.2% for the first five months of 2008.
Track Details | Highlights
Upgrades and Revisions
This screen focuses on EPS Revisions, Broker Ratings and Rating Changes. According to Zacks Investment Research "earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Couple that with the proven benefits of ratings upgrades from brokerage firms and you have a strategy that delivered a +679.7% cumulative return.
Track Details | Highlights
Related Links:
Profit Tracks Homepage
Screening Homepage
Custom Screener
Every day, Zacks features a free sampling of stocks picked by these Profit Tracks strategies. Zacks Premium subscribers get the whole list for each of the nine strategies, with daily updates. Premium elements are signified by this symbol 
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