Mid Cap Report: The Best Mid Caps, Including HAS, OCR, DDS, IRF, KSU

The best scoring mid caps from one year ago (1/3/2013) averaged 762 bps of excess over the S&P 400, with 0% turnover.  The top performers included NFLX up 280%, ACXM up 102%, MAN up 99%, ILMN up 99%. HBI up 94%, and VRX up 93%.     The average mid cap score is 72.69 this week, above the four week moving average score of 71.87.  The average mid cap stock is trading 7.44% above its 200 day moving average, has 6.6 days to cover short, and is expected to see EPS growth of 14.57% next year. The best scoring mid cap sector is consumer goods.  Industrial goods also score above average.  Services and healthcare score in line.  Basics, technology, financials, and utilities score below average.   MID CAP       1/2/2014 4 Week MA Company Name Symbol Sector INDUSTRY SCORE SCORE BEST           Hasbro Inc HAS CONSUMER GOODS TOYS & GAMES 110 100 Omnicare OCR SERVICES DRUG STORES 110 110 Dillard's Inc. DDS SERVICES DEPARTMENT STORES 105 103.75 Int'l Rectifier IRF TECHNOLOGY SEMICONDUCTOR- INTEGRATED CIRCUITS 105 103.75 Kansas City Southern KSU SERVICES RAILROADS 105 96.25 Phillips van Heusen PVH CONSUMER GOODS TEXTILES 105 91.25 Tractor Supply Co. TSCO SERVICES SPECIALTY RETAIL, OTHER 105 96.25 Verisign VRSN TECHNOLOGY INTERNET SOFTWARE & SERVICES 105 107.5 Actavis ACT HEALTHCARE DRUGS-GENERIC 100 88.75 Alexion Pharma ALXN HEALTHCARE DRUG MANUFACTURERS 100 98.75 Arris Group ARRS TECHNOLOGY COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT 100 97.5 Borg Warner BWA CONSUMER GOODS AUTO PARTS 100 98.75 Church and Dwight Co Inc CHD CONSUMER GOODS CLEANING PRODUCTS 100 98.75 Choice Hotels International, Inc CHH SERVICES LODGING 100 98.75 Core Lab CLB BASIC MATERIALS OIL & GAS EQUIPMENT & SERVICES 100 88.75 Commercial Metals Co CMC BASIC MATERIALS STEEL & IRON 100 97.5 Conseco Inc CNO FINANCIALS ACCIDENT & HEALTH INSURANCE 100 92.5 Columbia Sportswear COLM CONSUMER GOODS TEXTILES 100 92.5 Carpenter Technology Corp. CRS BASIC MATERIALS STEEL & IRON 100 97.5 Carlisle Co's CSL CONSUMER GOODS RUBBER & PLASTICS 100 97.5 Covance Inc. CVD HEALTHCARE RESEARCH SERVICES 100 86.25 Curtiss-Wright Corp. CW INDUSTRIAL GOODS AEROSPACE/DEFENSE  PRODUCTS & SERVICES 100 100 Federal Mogul Corp FDML CONSUMER GOODS AUTO PARTS 100 80 Helmrich & Payne Inc HP BASIC MATERIALS OIL & GAS DRILLING & EXPLORATION 100 100 Hormel Foods HRL CONSUMER GOODS MEAT PRODUCTS 100 92.5 Illumina ILMN HEALTHCARE BIOTECHNOLOGY 100 100 Jack Henry JKHY TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS SOFTWARE & SERVICES 100 87.5 Lennar Corp  LEN INDUSTRIAL GOODS RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION 100 93.75 Manitowoc Company Inc MTW INDUSTRIAL GOODS FARM & CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY 100 95 NetEase NTES TECHNOLOGY INTERNET INFORMATION PROVIDER 100 83.75 NVR Inc NVR INDUSTRIAL GOODS RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION 100 87.5 Open Text OTEX TECHNOLOGY INTERNET SOFTWARE & SERVICES 100 100 Polaris Industries Partners PII CONSUMER GOODS RECREATIONAL VEHICLES 100 96.25 Stifel Fin'l SF FINANCIALS INVESTMENT BROKERAGE 100 100 Skechers USA SKX CONSUMER GOODS TEXTILES 100 81.25 Terex Corp TEX INDUSTRIAL GOODS FARM & CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY 100 100 TiVo Inc TIVO SERVICES CATV SYSTEMS 100 71.25 Tempur Pedic TPX CONSUMER GOODS HOME FURNISHING & FIXTURES 100 91.25 Toro Corp TTC INDUSTRIAL GOODS SMALL TOOLS & ACCESSORIES 100 98.75 Wolverine World Wide WWW CONSUMER GOODS TEXTILES 100 97.5             WORST           Amedisys Inc AMED HEALTHCARE HOME HEALTH CARE 25 42.5 Biomed Realty Trust BMR FINANCIALS REITS 25 35 Forest Oil FST BASIC MATERIALS INDEPENDENT OIL & GAS 25 33.75 Harmony Gold Mining HMY BASIC MATERIALS GOLD 25 28.75       Commentary: The best scoring mid cap basket is electronics wholesale (AVT, ARW, WCC).  Electronics typically enjoy tailwinds at this point in the year as book-to-bill climbs and '14 model planning kicks in.  Farm & construction machinery (TEX, MTW) offer upside into 2014 and will offers opportunity as commercial construction activity climbs this year.  Restaurants (CAKE, WEN, EAT) offer strong seasonality in the first quarter.  Drug makers (ALXN, VRX) will continue to enjoy support tied to global roll-outs, maturing pipelines, label expansion, and specialty drug pricing power in 2014.  Small tools (TTC, SNA, SSD) offer opportunity on rising home construction, auto sales, and manufacturing. In mid cap basics, steel & iron (CRS, CMC, STLD), major chemicals (FMC, ASH), and drillers (HP, PTEN, OII) score best.  Watch steel & iron for pricing recovery and demand tied to recovery in Europe and ongoing improvement in the U.S.  Value added metals/services offer margin support.  In consumer, buy textiles (PVH, WWW, SKX, COLM, HBI, UA), auto parts (FDML, BWA, TEN, GNTX, CLC), and beverages (MNST).  Cotton remains a profit tailwind for textiles.  Auto parts will continue to benefit from strong U.S. sales; however a bigger tailwind will come as European auto sales rebound strongly against weak comparisons.    Investment brokers (SF, GHL, SEIC) and asset managers (EV, AMG, LAZ) score best in financials.  Equity markets provide fee income opportunity as money flow out of lower fee fixed income products.  Only drug makers score above average in mid cap healthcare -- focus on large cap instead.  Across industrials, buy farm & construction machinery, small tools, residential construction (NVR, LEN, TOL, DHI), and aerospace/defense (CW, TDG, ESL, BEAV).  As consumers become accustomed to rising rates, look for order activity to rebound thanks to improving job growth.  In services, buy wholesale electronics, restaurants, advertising (IPG), and specialty retailers (TSCO, BID, PETM, SBH).  The top scoring technology baskets include semi ICs (IRF, TQNT, SWKS), Internet software (VRSN, OTEX), and specialized semiconductors (QLGC). MID CAP INDUSTRY SCORE BY SECTOR   1/2/2014 Sector INDUSTRY SCORE       BASIC MATERIALS STEEL & IRON 88.00 BASIC MATERIALS CHEMICALS- MAJOR DIVERSIFIED 80.00 BASIC MATERIALS OIL & GAS DRILLING & EXPLORATION 80.00 BASIC MATERIALS SPECIALTY CHEMICALS 75.00 BASIC MATERIALS OIL & GAS EQUIPMENT & SERVICES 69.00 BASIC MATERIALS INDEPENDENT OIL & GAS 68.57 BASIC MATERIALS INDUSTRIAL METALS & MINERALS 63.33 BASIC MATERIALS OIL & GAS REFINING & MARKETING 57.50 CONSUMER GOODS TEXTILES 85.00 CONSUMER GOODS AUTO PARTS 78.75 CONSUMER GOODS BEVERAGES 75.00 CONSUMER GOODS HOME FURNISHING & FIXTURES 75.00 CONSUMER GOODS BUSINESS EQUIPMENT 73.33 CONSUMER GOODS PACKAGING & CONTAINERS 72.86 CONSUMER GOODS PAPER & PAPER PRODUCTS 70.00 CONSUMER GOODS PROCESSED & PACKAGED GOODS 66.67 FINANCIALS INVESTMENT BROKERAGE 82.50 FINANCIALS ASSET MANAGEMENT 80.00 FINANCIALS PROPERTY & CASUALITY INSURANCE 73.33 FINANCIALS REGIONAL BANKS 72.14 FINANCIALS INSURANCE BROKERS 67.50 FINANCIALS REITS 56.30 HEALTHCARE DRUG MANUFACTURERS 90.00 HEALTHCARE BIOTECHNOLOGY 70.00 HEALTHCARE HOSPITALS 70.00 HEALTHCARE MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS & SUPPLIES 69.17 HEALTHCARE DIAGNOSTIC SUBSTANCES 62.50 INDUSTRIAL GOODS FARM & CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY 91.67 INDUSTRIAL GOODS SMALL TOOLS & ACCESSORIES 90.00 INDUSTRIAL GOODS RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION 89.00 INDUSTRIAL GOODS AEROSPACE/DEFENSE  PRODUCTS & SERVICES 83.89 INDUSTRIAL GOODS INDUSTRIAL ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT 72.50 INDUSTRIAL GOODS GENERAL BUILDING MATERIALS 68.33 INDUSTRIAL GOODS DIVERSIFIED MACHINERY 66.67 INDUSTRIAL GOODS WASTE MANAGEMENT 65.00 SERVICES ELECTRONICS WHOLESALE 92.50 SERVICES RESTAURANTS 91.67 SERVICES ADVERTISING AGENCIES 82.50 SERVICES SPECIALTY RETAIL, OTHER 80.83 SERVICES TRUCKING 80.00 SERVICES BUSINESS SERVICES 76.67 SERVICES MOVIE PRODUCTION, THEATERS 75.00 SERVICES EDUCATION & TRAINING SERV 74.00 SERVICES PUBLISHING-NEWSPAPERS 70.00 SERVICES APPAREL STORES 66.88 SERVICES AUTO DEALERSHIPS 65.00 SERVICES BROADCASTING 65.00 SERVICES DISCOUNT, VARIETY STORES 60.00 SERVICES PERSONAL SERVICES 53.33 TECHNOLOGY SEMICONDUCTOR- INTEGRATED CIRCUITS 85.00 TECHNOLOGY INTERNET SOFTWARE & SERVICES 81.25 TECHNOLOGY SEMICONDUCTOR-SPECIALIZED 78.33 TECHNOLOGY COMPUTER PERIPHERALS 75.00 TECHNOLOGY TECHNICAL & SYSTEM SOFTWARE 74.00 TECHNOLOGY COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT 72.00 TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS SOFTWARE & SERVICES 71.00 TECHNOLOGY SEMICONDUCTOR-BROAD LINE 70.00 TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION & DELIVERY SERVICES 66.67 TECHNOLOGY SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS 66.67 TECHNOLOGY SCIENTIFIC & TECHNICAL INSTRUMENTS 63.75 TECHNOLOGY DIVERSIFIED ELECTRONICS 60.00 TECHNOLOGY PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS 45.00 UTILITIES DIVERSIFIED UTILITIES 63.33 UTILITIES GAS UTILITIES 55.00