Enrich Your Portfolio With These 4 Top-Ranked Liquid Stocks

Zacks outlines a quantitative screen for “liquid and efficient” equities — current/quick/cash ratios of 1–3, asset utilization above industry, Zacks Rank #1 and Growth Score ≤B — which trimmed a 7,700-stock universe to 12 names and highlights four examples: Abercrombie & Fitch (Q2 EPS $2.50, +131.5% YoY; sales $1.13bn, +21%; raised FY24 sales and margin guidance), Willdan Group (contract revenue +18.4%; won $102m Clark County School District energy contract), Spotify (revenues +20%, MAUs +14%, product expansions) and Angi (monetized transactions +20%, international revenue +14%, FY24 EPS estimate moving into positive territory). The screen is intended to identify liquid companies that also deploy assets efficiently and show growth potential, though Zacks cautions that unusually high liquidity can reflect poor asset utilization and discloses potential conflicts of interest.

Analysis

Zacks uses a quantitative screen focused on liquidity (current, quick and cash ratios between 1 and 3), asset utilization above industry, Zacks Rank #1 and Growth Score ≤ B to reduce a 7,700-stock universe to 12 names; four highlighted qualifiers are Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Willdan Group (WLDN), Spotify (SPOT) and Angi (ANGI). The methodology explicitly warns that unusually high liquidity can indicate inefficient asset deployment, so the screen combines liquidity with asset turnover and growth signals to prioritize companies that can both cover obligations and deploy assets effectively.

Abercrombie & Fitch reported Q2 EPS of $2.50 (+131.5% YoY) and net sales of $1.13bn (+21%), and raised FY24 sales guidance to +12–13% (vs prior 10%) while noting a one-week fiscal shortening that subtracts about $50m from FY sales and ~$80m from Q4. ANF carries a Growth Score of A, a Zacks consensus FY24 EPS of $10.11 (up 1.4% week-over-week) and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 28%.

Willdan’s contract revenue rose 18.4% to $141m and it secured a $102m CCSD energy contract that underpins multi-year savings and backlog visibility; WLDN has a Growth Score of B and a strong historical surprise record. Spotify’s top line is up 20% with MAUs +14% and product expansions (video podcasts, basic ad-free plan), while Angi shows monetization gains (transactions per request +20% to 1.37) and international revenue +14%, with consensus EPS for ANGI moving to $0.01 for 2024.

These names exhibit growth and liquidity by the screen’s design, but investors should monitor risks highlighted in the piece: the interpretation of high liquidity, contract concentration and conversion for WLDN, SPOT’s post- >100% one-year share-price run and ANGI’s still-marginal EPS profile which could magnify volatility.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Initiate or add to a modest ANF position to play upgraded guidance and strong Q2 print, size exposure to account for the one-week fiscal timing effect and monitor same-store sales and inventory turns closely
• Consider selective exposure to WLDN for structural energy-efficiency demand and the $102m CCSD contract, but monitor contract margin recognition, backlog conversion and client concentration risk
• Maintain or cautiously add to SPOT to capture continued MAU and revenue momentum and product monetization, while trimming into strength given the >100% one-year stock run and watching consensus EPS stability
• Treat ANGI as a tactical recovery/small-cap growth exposure given improving monetization and international growth; prefer staged entries until sustained positive EPS and margin expansion are evident
• Use the screen’s parameters as ongoing filters—watch current/quick/cash ratios moving outside 1–3, declines in asset utilization vs industry, or changes to Zacks Rank/Growth Score as triggers to re-evaluate positions