Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Bet on Low-Beta Stocks STNG, BZ & TME as Market Uncertainty Remains

Read MoreHide Full Article

Key Takeaways

  • {\"0\":\"Market volatility rises as the U.S. Supreme Court reviews the legality of major Trump-era tariffs.\",\"1\":\"Scorpio Tankers, Kanzhun and Tencent Music qualify as low-beta stocks under 0.6 in screening.\",\"2\":\"STNG shows strong liquidity, BZ boasts RMB 16B cash, while TME gains users via new app features.\"}

According to a CNBC report, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to review the legality of President Trump’s major import tariffs in hearings scheduled for Nov. 5. As a result, uncertainty persists, and the market is likely to stay volatile.

Thus, to safeguard the portfolio from the choppy and uncertain market, investors should bet on low-beta stocks like Scorpio Tankers Inc. (STNG - Free Report) , Kanzhun (BZ - Free Report) and Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME - Free Report) .

What Does Beta of a Stock Measure?

Beta measures the volatility or risk of a particular asset compared to the market. In other words, beta measures the extent of a security’s price movement relative to the market. In this article, we are considering the S&P 500 as the market.

If a stock has a beta of 1, then the price of the stock will move with the market. So, the stock is more volatile than the market if its beta is more than 1. In the same way, the stock is not as volatile as the market if its beta is less than 1.

For example, if the market offers a return of 20%, a stock with a beta of 3 will return 60%, which is overwhelming. Similarly, when the market slips 20%, the stock will sink 60%, which is devastating.

Screening Criteria Using Research Wizard:

We have taken a beta between 0 and 0.6 as our prime criterion for screening stocks that are less volatile than the market. However, this should not be the only factor to be considered while selecting a winning strategy. We need to take into account other parameters that can add value to the portfolio.

Percentage Change in Price in the Last 4 Weeks Greater Than Zero: This ensures that the stocks saw positive price movement over the last month.

Average 20-Day Volume Greater Than 50,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stocks are easily tradable.

Price Greater Than or Equal to $5: They must all be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher.

Zacks Rank Equal to 1: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks indicate that they will significantly outperform the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Here are three of the 18 stocks that qualified for the screening:

Scorpio Tankers

Scorpio Tankers is a well-known name in the shipping of petroleum products worldwide. With most of the ships being modern and relatively young, with an average age of less than 10 years, Scorpio Tankers has a strong competitive advantage. The company also has a strong balance sheet, with a liquidity of more than $1.3 billion, as stated on the second-quarter 2025 earnings call.

Kanzhun

Kanzhun is known for running BOSS Zhipin, China’s top job-hunting app. The company has a strong cash position with a reserve exceeding RMB 16 billion. BZ’s robust operations are reflected in its more than RMB 1 billion cash generation every three months.

Tencent Music

In China, Tencent Music is a leading name for running key music apps like QQ Music, Kugou, Kuwo and WeSing. People are spending more time than ever in the music apps, thanks to new features like the bubble community.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your two-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.

Published in