Kevin Matras shows how to find bottomed-out stocks before they turn higher. Stocks in this week’s article include Blount International Inc. (NYSE: BLT), Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT), DTS Inc. (NASDAQ: DTSI), Dionex Corporation (NASDAQ: DNEX) and McCormick & Company (NYSE: MKC). Click here for the full story exclusively on Zacks.com: http://at.zacks.com/?id=109

Screen of the Week written by Kevin Matras of Zacks Investment Research:

In this week's screen, we're going to focus on searching for bottomed-out stocks that have recently hit or are trading near their 52-week lows.

The last week or so has been pretty brutal (in fact this whole year has been setting records on the downside so far), but the markets won't go down forever. And in this week's screen I'm particularly interested in those stocks that have recently hit a potential bottom. Not just any bottom though, but a recent 52-week low.

I'm looking for these kinds of stocks because there have been some great stocks that have bucked the falling market's downtrend. And while many of these stocks will continue to do so, some will now fall or become out of favor as new Sectors and Industries take on leadership roles.

A perfect example is the healthcare sector. At one point that was an area of safety. But over the last week or so, there's been a dramatic unwinding of these stocks.

As the market falls and ultimately puts in a new bottom, new stocks will begin to get noticed, and these should have some excellent upside potential.

Parameters

* Zacks Rank less than or equal to 3

The Zacks Rank is one of the best Ranking systems out there, with the Zacks #1 Ranks showing an average annual return of over 26%, the Zacks #2 Ranks over 16% and the Zacks #3 Ranks over 7%. The Zacks #4 Ranks and Zacks #5 Ranks, which are Sells and Strong Sells respectively, have significantly underperformed the market over the years, so we're keeping those off of our list.

* % Change in F(1) Earnings Estimates over the last 12 weeks greater than 0

Because we're looking at Zacks #3 Ranks as well, we want to make sure that the analysts covering them are raising their estimates and getting more bullish on the stocks.

* Year over Year Projected EPS Growth greater than 0

These companies must have a growth story. Without any growth, it's hard to make a case for a sustained rally. So a brighter future for these companies is a must.

* Current Price/52 Week Low less than or equal to 1.2

Stocks trading at their 52-Week low will have a ratio value of 1. Stocks with a ratio value of 1.2 means it's 20% above the low. This screen looks for companies less than 20% off the low. In other words, it can be on the low, just a bit off the low or even up to 20% above it. But we're excluding companies more than 20% above the low as we want to make sure we're not getting into stocks that might be overextended on the upside.

* Relative % Price Change over the last 4 weeks greater than 0

I'm looking for stocks that have outperformed the S&P 500 over the last 4 weeks. Some might have been up. Some might have been down. But they all performed better (i.e., at the very least fell less) than the S&P 500 over the last 4 weeks.

* I'm also applying the above parameters to stocks over $5 with over 100,000 shares traded.

Results

Here are 5 companies from this week's screen (3/3/09):

You'll find that a lot of these stocks have put in double-bottoms, rounded bottoms, spike bottoms or even inverted head-and-shoulder bottoms. And for anybody who looks at charts, it's a great way to put fundamentally-improving companies with bottoming chart formations onto your radar screen.

Get the rest of the stocks on this list and start your search for more bottomed-out stocks with the likelihood of turning higher. It's easy to do. Sign up now for your free trial to the Research Wizard and start finding bottomed-out stocks before they get away: http://at.zacks.com/?id=111

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.

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