The U.S. stock market is likely to remain volatile due to a combination of economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, and geopolitical risks. While the Federal Reserve maintained its forecast for two rate cuts in 2025, it acknowledged growing uncertainty in the economic outlook.
In this context, creating a curated portfolio of low-beta stocks is a prudent strategy. This provides a safeguard against heightened market fluctuations, equipping investors to navigate volatility with greater resilience and foresight.
Hence, stocks like The Progressive Corporation PGR, Baidu Inc BIDU, TEGNA Inc. TGNA and JD.com, Inc. JD are worth betting on.
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 four of the 12 stocks that qualified for the screening:
The Progressive Corporation
Progressive Corporation delivered strong financial results for February 2025, with net premiums written increasing 17% year over year to $6.68 billion and net premiums earned rising 18% year over year to $6.04 billion. Net income surged 26% year over year to $928 million, translating to $1.58 per share, a 28% increase from the prior year. Additionally, the combined ratio improved significantly to 82.6 from 86.8, indicating enhanced underwriting profitability. With robust growth in policies across personal and commercial lines, particularly a 25% jump in direct auto policies, PGR remains well-positioned for continued expansion and profitability.
Baidu
Baidu's strategic focus on AI-driven transformation is solidifying its competitive edge across multiple business segments. Its ERNIE AI model has demonstrated strong adoption, with growing API usage and an open-source expansion plan to drive market penetration. The company’s AI Cloud division is gaining traction, increasing enterprise adoption in key sectors. Meanwhile, Apollo Go, its autonomous ride-hailing service, continues to scale its operations, including international expansion, reinforcing Baidu’s long-term leadership ???in AI.
TEGNA
TEGNA is executing a strategic transformation to enhance operational efficiency and digital engagement. Its cost-cutting initiatives, including centralized marketing and AI-driven automation, aim to unlock $90 to $100 million in savings. The company is strengthening its digital revenue streams through local CTV advertising and consumer engagement initiatives while leveraging its strong balance sheet for strategic capital allocation. With potential deregulation creating M&A opportunities, TEGNA is well-positioned for long-term value creation???.
JD.com
JD.com is capitalizing on supply chain efficiencies and AI-driven automation to enhance user experience and operational scalability. The company is seeing strong growth in general merchandise and lower-tier market penetration, supported by government stimulus policies. Investments in AI-driven logistics and personalized shopping experiences further strengthen its competitive position. With sustained momentum in user engagement and platform ecosystem development, JD.com remains poised for long-term expansion and profitability.
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.
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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.
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Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The Progressive Corporation (PGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
JD.com, Inc. (JD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
TEGNA Inc. (TGNA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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