Why These 5 Stocks Are Trending on Wednesday

In this article we take a look at five stocks that are trending on Wednesday. If you want to read our detailed analysis of these stocks, go to read Why These 10 Stocks Are Trending on Wednesday.

5. HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) has rallied almost 3% after Jason Napier of UBS upgraded HSBC to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’. HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) has rallied over 7.5% year to date. Of the around 873 elite funds in our database, 11 were long HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) at the end of Q2.

4. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) is in the spotlight after the company announced on Tuesday it agreed to buy Questar Pipelines from Dominion Energy for $1.975 billion including the assumption of $430 million in debt despite Carl Icahn’s public objections. Southwest Gas Holdings shares are down around 3.4% on Wednesday although lower natural gas prices may also be a factor. The number of elite funds in our database that were long Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) fell to 19 in the second quarter from 23 in the first quarter.

3. Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) is in the spotlight due to its agreed sale of Questar Pipelines to Southwest Gas Holdings, which could help the company’s balance sheet. The sale could also help Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) with its clean energy growth initiatives. Of the around 873 elite funds in our database, 34 were long Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) at the end of the second quarter.

2. Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) is trending after the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.38 and sales of $2.37 billion for the fiscal second quarter versus the consensus of $2.77 and $2.3 billion. The company is also making progress toward returning $5 billion in value to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. 50 elite funds in our database were long Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) at the end of June.

1. Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) has surged more than 11% after the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.27 for its fiscal fourth quarter, versus the consensus $2.85. Sales for the period were $992.7 million, versus the average estimate of $963.96 million. Generation Investment Management was long over 1.72 million shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) at the end of June.

Disclosure: None.