5 High-Earnings Yield Picks to Ride Out Market Uncertainty

The stock market is facing a fresh wave of uncertainty. Major U.S. indices slipped yesterday as a mix of geopolitical and economic worries unsettled investor sentiment. Tensions in the Middle East are escalating, with the Israel-Iran conflict dragging into its sixth day today. Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales came in softer than expected for May, hinting at cracks in consumer strength.

All eyes are now on the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting. While policymakers are expected to keep rates unchanged, the weak data could eventually push the Fed toward a more dovish tone in the months ahead. At the same time, Wall Street is also dealing with renewed jitters over Trump’s trade policy, as the deadline to lift the pause on his broad tariffs draws near.

With everything from rate policy to geopolitics to trade in the mix, markets are likely to stay volatile. In such an environment, a value investing approach—focusing on fundamentally strong companies trading at reasonable prices— may offer a more stable path forward.

Aris Mining Corporation ARMN, Quanex Building Products Corporation NX, Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. HRTG, Popular, Inc. BPOP and Priority Technology Holdings Inc. PRTH are a few solid high-value picks with high earnings yields.

Making Sense of Earnings Yield

Earnings yield is a handy metric for investors trying to gauge potential returns. It’s basically the flip side of the P/E ratio—calculated by dividing a company’s earnings per share by its stock price—and tells you how much earnings you’re getting for every dollar you invest.

When comparing similar stocks, a higher earnings yield can be a sign that a stock is undervalued, while a lower one might suggest it’s overpriced. But there’s more to it. Investors can also stack earnings yield up against the yield on the 10-year Treasury. If a stock offers less than what you'd get from a "risk-free" government bond, it might not be worth the risk. But if the earnings yield is comfortably higher, it could signal an opportunity, especially for value investors looking for a better return without overpaying.

Screening Parameters

We have set Earnings Yield greater than 10% as our primary screening criterion but it alone cannot be used for picking stocks that have the potential of generating solid returns. So, we have added the following parameters to the screen:

Estimated EPS growth for the next 12 months greater than or equal to the S&P 500: This metric compares the 12-month forward EPS estimate with the 12-month actual EPS.

Average Daily Volume (20 Day) greater than or equal to 100,000: High trading volume implies that a stock has adequate liquidity.

Current Price greater than or equal to $5.

Buy-Rated Stocks: Stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) have been known to outperform peers in any type of market environment. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Our Choices

Below, we have highlighted five of the 54 stocks that made it through the screen:

Aris Mining is a gold mining company with two producing mines in Colombia and three development projects across Colombia and Guyana.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARMN’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 226% and 81%, respectively. EPS estimates for the current and next year have moved up by 19 cents and 48 cents, respectively, over the past 60 days. Aris Mining currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Value Score of A. 

Quanex designs and produces energy-efficient fenestration products in addition to kitchen and bath cabinet components. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NX’s fiscal 2025 and 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 19.6% and 14%, respectively. EPS estimates for the current and next fiscal have moved up by 7 cents and 14 cents, respectively, over the past 60 days. Quanex currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Value Score of A. 

Heritage Insurance provides personal and commercial residential insurance products.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HRTG’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 62% and 13%, respectively. EPS estimates for the current and next year have moved up by 82 cents and 55 cents, respectively, over the past 60 days. Heritage Insurance currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Value Score of B. 

Popular is a financial services provider with operations in Puerto Rico, the U.S. mainland and the British Virgin Islands. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BPOP’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 17% and 20%, respectively. EPS estimates for the current and next year have moved up by 50 cents and $1.09, respectively, over the past 60 days. Popular currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Value Score of A. 

Priority Technology operates as a payment technology company in the United States. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PRTH’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 108% and 34%, respectively. Estimates for 2025 and 2026 earnings per share have moved up by 2 cents and 9 cents, respectively, over the past 60 days. Priority Technology currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Value Score of A. 

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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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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