GM and 4 Stocks With Relative Price Strength to Buy Now

U.S. stocks continue to show impressive strength, with major indexes climbing steadily and sentiment improving on solid economic data and ongoing hopes for another policy cut. Investors appear encouraged by easing inflation pressures and healthy consumer spending, which together signal that the recovery remains durable. Even routine volatility has been met with buying, suggesting confidence beneath the surface.

Expectations for further monetary easing have added to the positive tone. The market is entering a historically strong period, and companies have just delivered another round of upbeat earnings. With growth forecasts improving and the broader economy holding up well, the backdrop looks supportive for risk assets. Any short-term weakness is increasingly seen as a chance to add rather than reduce exposure.

In this kind of an environment, relative price strength becomes a practical strategy — helping investors focus on stocks that continue to outperform the market and allowing them to stay aligned with leadership as the uptrend develops.

At this stage, investors would be wise to consider stocks such as Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM), General Motors Company (GM), Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD), BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) and Everus Construction Group (ECG) based on their relative price strength.

Relative Price Strength Strategy

Investors generally gauge a stock’s potential returns by examining earnings growth and valuation multiples. At the same time, it’s essential to measure the performance of such a stock relative to its industry, peers, or an appropriate benchmark.

If you see that a stock is underperforming on fundamental factors, it would be prudent to move on and find a better alternative. However, those outperforming their respective sectors in terms of price should be selected because they stand a better chance of providing considerable returns.

Then again, it is imperative that you determine whether or not an investment has relevant upside potential when considering stocks with significant relative price strength. Stocks delivering better than the S&P 500 for 1 to 3 months, at least, and having solid fundamentals, indicate room for growth and are the best ways to go about this strategy.

Finally, it is crucial to find out whether analysts are optimistic about the upcoming earnings of these companies. In order to do this, we have added positive estimate revisions for the current quarter’s (Q1) earnings to our screen. When a stock undergoes an upward revision, it leads to additional price gains.

Screening Parameters

Relative % Price change – 12 weeks greater than 0

Relative % Price change – 4 weeks greater than 0

Relative % Price change – 1 week greater than 0

(We have considered those stocks that have been outperforming the S&P 500 over the last 12 weeks, four weeks and one week.)

% Change (Q1) Est. over 4 Weeks greater than 0: Positive current-quarter estimate revisions over the last four weeks.

Zacks Rank equal to 1: Only Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks — that have returned more than 26% annually over the last 26 years and surpassed the S&P 500 in 23 of the last 26 years — can get through. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Current Price greater than or equal to $5 and Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50,000: A minimum price of $5 is a good standard to screen low-priced stocks, while a high trading volume would imply adequate liquidity.

VGM Score less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy), offer the best upside potential.

Here are five of the 24 stocks that made it through the screen:

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited: Agnico Eagle is a gold producer with mining operations in Canada, Mexico and Finland, and exploration activities in Canada, Europe, Latin America and the United States. The company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters, with the average being 11.6%. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, AEM has a VGM Score of B.

The firm has a market capitalization of $87.5 billion. Notably, over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Agnico Eagle’s 2025 earnings has moved up 8.8%. AEM’s shares have doubled in a year.

General Motors Company: One of the world’s largest automakers, General Motors held the largest share of the U.S. auto market at 16.5% in 2024. GM has a market capitalization of nearly $70 billion. The company has a VGM Score of B.

General Motors beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters, with the average being 9%. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings has moved up 9.9%. GM shares have gained 36% in a year.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock: It is America’s top dredging contractor. Headquartered in Houston, it operates a vast fleet of 200 vessels and is expanding into offshore energy. The company also has a strong record of global marine project execution. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings of Great Lakes indicates 31% growth. The company has a VGM Score of A.

Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Great Lakes’ 2025 earnings has moved up 7.8%. The company has a market capitalization of $868.4 million. GLDD shares have edged up 2.1% in a year.

BrightSpring Health Services: Based in Louisville, KY, it delivers home- and community-based care across the United States, serving seniors and specialty populations through its provider and pharmacy segments. BrightSpring Health Services’ expected EPS growth rate for three to five years is currently 53.3%, which compares favorably with the industry's growth rate of 15.6%. The company has a VGM Score of A.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BrightSpring Health Services’ 2025 earnings per share indicates 100% year-over-year growth. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings has moved up from 90 cents per share to $1.12. BTSG shares have gone up 89.1% in a year.

Everus Construction Group: Based in Bismarck, ND, the company provides specialty contracting services across the United States, spanning electrical and mechanical work as well as transmission and distribution projects. Everus Construction Group has a market capitalization of $4.7 billion. It has a VGM Score of B.

Notably, over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ECG’s 2025 earnings has moved up 23%. It beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters and missed in the other, with the average being 51.8%. Everus Construction Group’s shares have gone up 38.7% in a year.

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.

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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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