The Zacks Diversified Operations industry is poised to benefit from strength across aerospace, defense, and oil & gas industries. Growth in the commercial aviation sector and solid demand across medical and life science end markets have been driving the performances of the industry participants. Higher infrastructure development, product innovation efforts and technological advancements in business operations have been acting as other tailwinds.
However, challenges in the manufacturing sector and supply-chain issues have been weighing on the performances of some industry players. PDD Holdings Inc. and Federal Signal Corp. are a couple of stocks poised to take advantage of the buoyancy in the industry.
About the Industry
The Zacks Diversified Operations industry includes companies that operate in various end markets, including oil and gas, industrial, electronics, power, aviation, technology, finance, healthcare, chemical, non-residential construction and transportation. Such companies manufacture and provide equipment and solutions, including bioprocessing products, molecular testing-related products, gas and steam turbines, generators, commercial jet engines and engineered fluid-process equipment.
Industry players also provide related services to a large customer base. A few companies offer services in the agriculture, marine and telecommunications markets, and are engaged in providing environmental and safety solutions. The diversified market operators have a vast global presence, with exposure in the United States, Japan, India, China, Canada and other countries.
Major Trends Shaping the Future of the Diversified Operations Industry
Strength in Aerospace & Defense Markets: The prospects of multi-sector companies are closely linked to the operating conditions of end markets. Some factors that currently favor the industry are strong demand from the defense and governmental sectors, higher exploration activities in the oil and gas industry, and infrastructure development. Industry players with exposure in the commercial aviation markets are poised to gain from healthy growth in air transport flight hours. Also, solid demand for several products and equipment in the medical and life science markets bode well for some industry participants.
Investments in Innovation & Technological Advancements: The industry players’ constant focus on innovation, product upgrades and the development of products to stay competitive in the market should drive growth. With the gradual development of business models and cutting-edge technologies, several industry players have been banking on digitizing their business operations. Digitization enables industry participants to boost their competitiveness through enhanced operational productivity, product quality and better cost management.
Weakness in the Manufacturing Sector: Persistent weakness in the manufacturing sector has been denting demand in the industry. Per the Institute for Supply Management’s (“ISM”) report, the Manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index touched 46.5% in October, down from 47.2% in September and August. A figure less than 50% indicates a contraction in manufacturing activity. After breaking a contraction streak of 16 months by growing in March, the manufacturing sector contracted for the seventh consecutive month in October. Also, the New Orders Index remained in the contraction territory for the seventh consecutive month, registering 47.1% in October.
Supply-Chain Disruptions: Lately, supply-chain disruptions, especially related to the availability of electrical and electronic components, have been of concern to industry participants. This is evident from the latest ISM report’s Supplier Deliveries Index, which reflected slower deliveries for the fourth consecutive month in October. Supply-chain issues, if not controlled, might hinder growth of diversified operation companies, going forward.
Zacks Industry Rank Suggests Strong Prospects
The Zacks Diversified Operations industry, housed within the broader Zacks Conglomerates sector, currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #61. This rank places it in the top 24% of more than 250 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates robust prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
The industry’s positioning in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of the positive earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are keeping more faith in this group's earnings growth potential. The industry’s earnings estimates for the current year have increased 14.4% in the past year.
Given the bullish near-term prospects of the industry, we will present a couple of stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio. However, it is worth taking a look at the industry’s shareholder returns and current valuation first.
Industry Lags the S&P 500
Over the past year, the Zacks Diversified Operations industry has underperformed the S&P 500 composite. The industry has risen 13.7% compared with the S&P 500 Index’s 36.6% growth.
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of forward P/E (F12M), which is a commonly used multiple for valuing diversified operations stocks, the industry is currently trading at 15.42X compared with the S&P 500’s 22.43X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 38.15X and as low as 15.42X, with a median of 20.62X.
2 Diversified Operations Stocks to Buy
PDD Holdings: Based in Dublin, Ireland, it is a multi-national commerce group that operates a portfolio of businesses. PDD Holdings’ strength in its e-commerce business model is a major positive. Solid momentum in the Pinduoduo platform on the back of a wide range of product offerings, which include agricultural produce, apparel, shoes, mother and childcare products, food and beverage, electronic appliances, furniture, and household goods, is primarily driving PDD Holdings’ e-commerce business growth. PDD’s strengthening Temu platform, which is an innovative online marketplace capitalizing on online ads, social media, coupon codes, and games to attract and retain users, is another positive.
Estimates for PDD’s 2024 earnings have improved 0.5% in the past 60 days. It surpassed earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, delivering a surprise of 41.1%, on average. Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have increased 16.2% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Federal Signal: This Oak Brook, IL-based company provides a suite of products and integrated solutions for municipal, governmental and commercial customers. Federal Signal is well-poised to benefit from robust aftermarket demand and strong order intake, supported by effective pricing actions. Growth in demand for public safety equipment, road-marking and line-removal products and services has been driving its performance.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 company have jumped 38.9% over the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings has been revised 1.2% upward over the past 60 days. It beat estimates in each of the last four reported quarters, delivering an average earnings surprise of 11.8%.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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