Oil and gas prices remain high for consumers, but heading into the fourth quarter, Wall Street analysts are saying buy the stocks.
According to a FactSet analysis published on Friday, out of all the industries tracked by the firm, analysts were most upbeat about the energy sector, which has the highest percentage of “buy” ratings, at 64%. Conversely, that report said, they were most downcast on consumer staples, which had lowest share of buy ratings, at 45%.
Rising oil prices played a big role in pushing up prices last month overall, even as the rate of price increases for things people buy has slowed since last year. Higher prices for basics like oil, along with steeper interest rates, have constrained what people can buy elsewhere — from the stores, hotels, auto makers, restaurants and other businesses that make up the consumer discretionary sector.
With the third-quarter earnings reporting season just a few weeks away, Wall Street analysts, collectively, expect profit growth for the 500 companies in the S&P 500 Index — albeit just barely. They see per-share profit rising 0.2% during that quarter, according to FactSet. For the fourth quarter, they expect earnings gains of 8.2%, but those estimates generally trend lower as more quarterly results come in.
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