This Top Consumer Staples Stock is a #1 (Strong Buy): Why It Should Be on Your Radar

It doesn't matter if you're a growth, value, income, or momentum-focused investor -- building a successful investment portfolio takes skill, research, and a little bit of luck.How do you find the right combination of stocks that will generate returns that could fund your retirement, or your kids' college tuition, or your short- and long-term savings goals?Enter the Zacks Rank.What is the Zacks Rank?A unique, proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank uses earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to help investors create a winning portfolio.There are four main factors behind the Zacks Rank: Agreement, Magnitude, Upside, and Surprise.Agreement is the extent to which all brokerage analysts are revising their earnings estimates in the same direction. The greater the percentage of analysts revising their estimates higher, the better chance the stock will outperform.Magnitude is the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate for the current and next fiscal years.Upside is the difference between the most accurate estimate, which is calculated by Zacks, and the consensus estimate.Surprise is made up of a company's last few quarters' earnings per share surprises; companies with a positive earnings surprise are more likely to beat expectations in the future.Each one of these factors is given a raw score that's recalculated every night, and then compiled into the Zacks Rank. Using this data, stocks are classified into five groups, ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Strong Sell."The Power of Institutional InvestorsThe Zacks Rank also allows individual investors, or retail investors, to benefit from the power of institutional investors.These professionals manage the trillions of dollars invested in hedge funds, mutual funds, and investment banks, and studies have shown that they can and do move the market because of the large amounts of money they invest with. Thus, the market tends to move in the same direction as institutional investors.In order to figure out the fair value of a company and its shares, these investors will build valuation models focused on earnings and earnings expectations. Because if you raise estimates for the bottom line, it creates a higher fair value for a company.With these changes, institutional investors will act, usually buying stocks with rising estimates and selling those with falling estimates. An increase in earnings expectations can potentially lead to higher stock prices and bigger gains for the investor.Since it can often take weeks, if not months, for an institutional investor to build a position (given their size), retail investors who get in at the first sign of upward earnings estimate revisions have a distinct advantage over these larger investors, and can benefit from the expected institutional buying that will follow.Not only can the Zacks Rank help you take advantage of trends in earnings estimate revisions, but it can also provide a way to get into stocks that are highly sought after by professionals.How to Invest with the Zacks RankThe Zacks Rank is known for transforming investment portfolios. In fact, a portfolio of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks has beaten the market in 26 of the last 32 years, with an average annual return of +23.7%.Moreover, stocks with a new #1 (Strong Buy) ranking have some of the biggest profit potential, while those that fell to a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) have some of the worst.Let's take a look at Estee Lauder (EL), which was added to the Zacks Rank #1 list on May 26, 2026. New York-based The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company’s products are sold through department stores, mass retailers, company-owned retail stores, hair salons and travel-related establishments.For fiscal 2026, 10 analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.17 to $2.41 per share. EL boasts an average earnings surprise of 39.1%.Earnings are expected to grow 59.6% for the current fiscal year, while revenue is projected to increase 4.5%.Additionally, EL has climbed higher over the past four weeks, gaining 18.5%. The S&P 500 is up 6% in comparison.Bottom LineWith a #1 (Strong Buy) ranking, positive trend in earnings estimate revisions, and strong market momentum, Estee Lauder should be on investors' shortlist.If you want even more information on the Zacks Ranks, or one of our many other investing strategies, check out the Zacks Education home page.Discover Today's Top StocksOur private Zacks #1 Rank List, based on our quantitative Zacks Rank stock-rating system, has more than doubled the S&P 500 since 1988. Applying the Zacks Rank in your own trading can boost your investing returns on your very next trade. See Today's Zacks #1 Rank List >>Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks