Here are Wall Street analysts five favorite stocks heading into earnings

Published Sat, Jan 15 20229:29 AM EST

Wall Street analysts named some of their favorite stocks to buy this week as quarterly earnings kicks off. S & P 500 companies are expected to grow profit by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to Refinitiv. CNBC Pro combed through the most-recent Wall Street research to find the top buying opportunities heading into earnings. They include: General Electric , Tyson Foods and Apple , along with United Airlines and Signature Bank . United Airlines United was recently named a top pick by Cowen, as the legacy airline is expected to be a key reopening beneficiary for 2022. Investors should expect further insight when the company's reports its fourth quarter earnings next week, the firm wrote. "We attribute our optimism relative to the peer group to our view that international leisure destinations will outperform domestic beginning in summer 2022 and continue into 2023 and beyond," analyst Helane Becker said. The firm also said it expects United to "focus on paying down debt and improving its balance sheet while maintaining strong liquidity." Becker noted that other key catalysts include increased vaccinations and fleet restructurings. Shares of the United are up more than 6% year to date. Signature Bank Signature was named as a top mid-cap pick at Morgan Stanley, with the firm calling the bank's business model "unique." "We think the highlight of the quarter for SBNY will be continued extraordinary balance sheet growth, expecting Q/Q loan and deposit growth of 6.9% and 6.8%, respectively, driven by Funds Banking and growth in digital deposits," analyst Betsy Graseck wrote. In particular, cryptocurrency has been a key driver of the company's growth. "We saw this early. We organized ourselves and were determined to build an infrastructure," Signature co-founder and Chairman Scott Shay told CNBC in August. Graseck is also bullish on Signature's digital payment platform Signet. It's powered by the blockchain, which is the underlying technology of cryptocurrency. The firm has a Street high price target of $475 per share and says the stock's valuation is attractive, even as shares are up more than 128% over the past year. Signature is slated to report earnings Tuesday before the bell. Tyson Foods Shares of the poultry company are up 45% over the past year, and Stephens analyst Ben Bienvenu said the stock is just too "compelling" to ignore. The firm has a Street high price target of $110 per share for Tyson, which is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings Feb. 7. " TSN remains our highest conviction name in the space as we expect to see steadily improving chicken and prepared food margins as well as sustained strength in beef and pork margin," he said. The analyst added that, even if margins moderate, the company's fundamentals are strong and well-positioned for further upside. Bienvenu is expecting a "solid beat" for the quarter. "Chicken fundamentals remain very strong, and we expect this to continue into the first half of the year." Apple- KeyBanc, Overweight rating "Monthly Apple credit card suggests a strong upcoming quarter; Our Key first look data suggests AAPL is tracking ahead of consensus Hardware for F1Q22. Indexed spending was +26% m/m in December, vs. the 3-year avg. of 36%, and was +18% q/q in 4Q21 vs. the 3-year avg. of 13%. Our data suggests q/q Hardware growth above Apple's historical avg. ... However, consensus expects total Hardware revenue growth in 4Q21 of 53%, well below the 3-year avg. of 62%. Our data increases our conviction in demand, and we reiterate our OW rating and $191 pt." General Electric- Citi, Buy rating "Top Picks into the quarter are DOV, EMR, and GE, whom we see benefitting from a combination of self-help, solid or improving growth prospects (including potential 're-opening' tailwinds), and relatively modest valuations that reflect good value in a more inflationary environment. We're also opening a positive Catalyst Watch on GE, which should benefit from simplified financial reporting, improving end market trends over the course of the year, and ongoing operational improvements." Signature Bank- Morgan Stanley, Overweight rating "We think the highlight of the quarter for SBNY will be continued extraordinary balance sheet growth, expecting Q/Q loan and deposit growth of 6.9% and 6.8%, respectively, driven by Funds Banking and growth in digital deposits. ... SBNY has a unique business model, with its single point-of-contact bankers, excellent credit culture, and a highly efficient operating structure." Tyson Foods- Stephens, Overweight rating "TSN remains our highest conviction name in the space as we expect to see steadily improving chicken and prepared food margins as well as sustained strength in beef and pork margins. This combination should drive consensus estimates higher over the next several quarters, and with current valuation on shares, we think the stock is a compelling buy. Chicken fundamentals remain very strong, and we expect this to continue into the first half of the year." United Airlines- Cowen, Outperform rating "They should benefit from increased international leisure demand and continued strength in domestic leisure travel. Any business travel recovery would be a boon. We expect UAL to focus on paying down debt and improving its balance sheet while maintaining strong liquidity. ... We attribute our optimism relative to the peer group to our view that international leisure destinations will outperform domestic beginning in summer 2022 and continue into 2023 and beyond."

Larry Culp, CEO, General Electric

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Wall Street analysts named some of their favorite stocks to buy this week as quarterly earnings kicks off.

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