Two RUT stocks have been can't-miss winners in October and 4Q, historically
Small-cap stocks have been on a tear recently, as evidenced by the recent record highs in the
Russell 2000 Index (RUT). The small-cap barometer on Tuesday rallied as high $142.85, and enjoyed its
best session in six months. Against this backdrop, we decided to crunch the numbers to find some possible small-cap stock-buying opportunities in the short term. Below are the 25 best small-cap stocks in the month of October, and the 25 best of the fourth quarter, historically, as well as the two stocks that have been can't-miss winners over the past decade.
To populate our lists, Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White used the following criteria: RUT stocks as of October 2016; optionable stocks; and stocks with at least eight years of data. The data goes back 10 years.
Leading the pack for October is
Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) stock, which has ended the last 10 Octobers in the black -- the only one on that list to boast a 100% win rate. The stock has averaged a monthly gain of 5.28%, and a similar rally next month would put SAFT shares even deeper into record-high territory. At last check, SAFT stock was up 0.4% at $76.05, and earlier notched an all-time high of $76.30.
Looking at the fourth-quarter stats, again, only one small-cap stock boasted a win rate of 100% -- this time it was tobacco stock
Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR). VGR shares have ended the fourth quarter in the black every year for the past decade, averaging a gain of 6.12%. So far in 2017, the stock is down 3.1%, and was last seen trading around $20.97 -- 0.8% higher on the day. Another rally of 6.12% would have VGR stock around $22.25 at the end of the year -- a two-year high.