We’re six days into a war with Iran, and there’s no clear end in sight right now.
President Donald Trump has emphasized he is willing to fight “forever,” even though he says he doesn’t expect the conflict to last longer than about five weeks.
The U.S. has the advantage in that this is a war of choice.
Once Trump decides the mission is accomplished or that Iran has been weakened to the point that it no longer constitutes a threat, we can simply retreat.
So, it’s not necessarily unrealistic to believe we’ll stick to a five-week timeline.
In the meantime, the raging bull market in energy stocks continues.
The State Street Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) is up about 26% year to date, and war in the Middle East serves as a boon for American oil companies.
So, it’s no coincidence that energy is well represented in this week’s rankings.
Today, I’m highlighting stocks that have just earned a fresh “Bullish” rating on my Green Zone Power Ratings system.
S&P 500 New Bulls
I ran my usual screen for S&P 500 Index companies that popped up as “Bullish” this week, and this is what I came up with:
Hubbell, Inc. (HUBB) topped the list after seeing its rating climb almost 19 points over the past month.
With AI data centers requiring gargantuan amounts of electricity, utilities are a growth industry again. And Hubbell is a major supplier of products for electrical utilities such as arresters, insulators, connectors and switches.
Hubbell rates particularly strongly on its quality and growth factors, with ratings of 94 and 79, respectively.
Deckers Outdoors (DECK), the owner of the UGG, HOKA and Teva brands, among others, is also looking strong.
It rates a perfect 100 on its quality factor and a very impressive 97 on growth.
Still, you might want to be patient in initiating a position because it rates a “Bearish” 15 on its momentum factor. Plus, DECK shares took a tumble a little over a year ago and have struggled to establish a new uptrend.
Moving on, with energy companies having a strong year, it’s no surprise to see oil major ConocoPhillips (COP) make the list.
COP shares have been trending sharply higher since November and rate particularly well on quality and value with scores of 78 and 84, respectively.
Rounding out the S&P 500’s new bulls is Keysight Technologies (KEYS), a maker of electrical design and testing solutions.
Keysight had a blowout earnings announcement last month fueled by high demand from AI data centers, and KEYS shares have been surging higher. It rates a “Strong Bullish” 93 on quality and 88 on momentum.
New Bulls Outside the S&P 500
Let’s cast the net a little wider and look at the newly “Bullish” stocks outside of the S&P 500.
I ran a screen for the top 20 stocks with the largest score increases over the past month.
I wasn’t surprised to see Intrepid Potash (IPI) make the list.
Potash is a critical component in fertilizer, and I dedicated the entire February issue of my flagship investment newsletter Green Zone Fortunes to the bullish case for fertilizer.
As countries grow wealthier, they grow “meatier.”
In every example I could find, rising living standards led to higher consumption of animal proteins… even in traditionally vegetarian countries like India.
A high-protein diet requires a lot more grain than a vegetarian diet. It takes about 7 kilograms of grain to produce one kilogram of beef.
As I explained in the issue, war in Iran is a potential catalyst as well.
Iran is a major producer of nitrogen-based fertilizers, as are several of its Persian Gulf neighbors. So the longer the war drags on, the higher fertilizer prices will go.
Cheniere Energy Partners (CQP) is another noteworthy addition this week. This company should look familiar to my Green Zone Fortunes readers. It’s a longtime portfolio recommendation, and it’s up about 40% since I recommended it.
Cheniere is the largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the U.S. And the company is thriving amid today’s heightened geopolitical tensions.
American LNG exports have been surging for years, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact, U.S. exports have effectively replaced Russian gas for much of Europe.
Of course, a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz or sustained damage to Middle Eastern production would only further increase the value of American exports.
The bottom line is that while geopolitics remain unpredictable, the trend is clear…
Capital is flowing toward energy, infrastructure and real-world growth. And these newly rated “Bullish” stocks are where opportunity and momentum are converging right now.
To good profits,
Adam O’Dell
Editor, What My System Says Today
