A few companies, such as Bath & Body Works and Southwest Airlines , may help investors ride out what’s historically proven a rough month for equities. September is known to be the worst month of the year for the S & P 500, Dow Industrials, Nasdaq Composite and the Russell 2000, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac — and the last four Septembers saw a particularly steep drop. This year, investors are in even muddier waters as markets wait for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in November. Using FactSet, we looked through the median September performance over the last decade of companies in the S & P 500 , and then sorted them for the best and worst track records. Take a look at the stocks with the best median performance in September: Southwest Airlines has an average gain of 3.27% in September over the past decade, according to the analysis. The Dalllas-based carrier — which is up about 7.2% over the past month but down for the year — is generally liked by analysts. Those covering the stock rate it a hold, on average, according to FactSet. Evercore ISI analyst Duane Pfennigwerth upgraded Southwest to outperform from in line on Tuesday, saying the company could see strong upside ahead as it further monetizes its underlying fleet value and focuses on profit margins. The firm’s $35 price target implies shares could jump 21%, more than is implied by the consensus price target from analysts polled by FactSet. Cybersecurity provider Palo Alto Networks is up 21.7% this year and could move even higher this month, based on its historical performance anyway. Shares have gained an average of 2% in Septembers over the past decade. Palo Alto recently rallied after a stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter and an upbeat outlook. Several Wall Street firms raised their price targets on the company after its latest financial report. “PANW’s platformization strategy is successfully driving larger deals,” Morgan Stanley analyst Hamza Fodderwala wrote in an Aug. 20 note to clients while reiterating an overweight rating. “Looking ahead, multiple product cycles, AI tailwinds and easier comps should drive topline acceleration thru FY25.” Bath & Body Works has the highest median performance of the lot, gaining an average of 6.16% inn each of the past 10 Septembers. Hurt recently by weaker-than-expected second quarter revenue, Bath & Body Works is down more than 28% since the start of the year. Still, analysts polled by FactSet think there’s more than 38% potential upside ahead for the fragrances retailer. Meanwhile, here are the companies with the worst performance over the past 10 Septembers: Incyte , a developer of cancer treatments, and mobile computing company Zebra Technologies have seen the worst median performance in September over the past ten years, with each historically losing an average of more than 8% during the month. Wolfe Research analyst Rob Ginsberg on Tuesday said he believes Incyte stock “is on the cusp of breaking out” and recommended the stock. Shares have rallied more than 9% this quarter, partly due to enthusiasm surrounding positive test results announced on Aug. 15 for Incyte’s Phase 3 trial of tafasitamab, a prescription treatment for adults with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Other companies with generally poor performances in the month of September include construction company PulteGroup and movie studio and CBS TV owner Paramount Global .
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