SA Quant's bottom manufacturing picks as factories shed jobs in Feb

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U.S. private sector hiring showed a modest but better-than-expected pickup in February, offering a mixed backdrop for cyclical names like manufacturers.

Private employers added 63K jobs, the strongest gain since last summer and ahead of forecasts, but the details of the ADP report pointed to uneven momentum, with education, health services and construction driving growth while manufacturing actually shed 5K positions.

This uneven hiring picture sharpens the case for stock-picking discipline among U.S. manufacturing names, where Seeking Alpha's Quant Ratings reveal clear separation between outperformers and laggards. Below is a list of U.S. manufacturing stocks ranked from lowest to highest by their Quant scores—spotlighting autos, electronic services, and others struggling on metrics like valuation, growth, momentum, and profitability amid the sector's hiring chill.

The list is topped by Forward Industries, Inc. (FWDI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FWDI]) and Lucid Group, Inc. (LCID [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LCID]), both carrying “Strong Sell” ratings with Quant scores of 1.05 and 1.06, respectively. Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HOG]) follows with a “Sell” rating at 1.70.

Rounding out the bottom five are Kimball Electronics, Inc. (KE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KE]) and Rivian Automotive, Inc. (RIVN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RIVN]), both with “Hold” ratings. The list represents a mix of industries, including automobile manufacturing, motorcycle manufacturing, and electronic manufacturing services.

For reference, Seeking Alpha’s Quant system ranks stocks based on their performance on certain critical quantitative measures, such as valuation, growth, stock momentum, and profitability. Each stock is rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with any rating above 3.5 indicating a bullish rating. A score of 2.5 or below represents a bearish profile.

Here is the list:

*
Forward Industries, Inc. (FWDI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FWDI]), Quant Rating: 1.05

*
Lucid Group, Inc. (LCID [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LCID]), Quant Rating: 1.06

*
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HOG]), Quant Rating: 1.70

*
Kimball Electronics, Inc. (KE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KE]), Quant Rating: 2.67

*
Rivian Automotive, Inc. (RIVN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RIVN]), Quant Rating: 2.91

*
Netlist, Inc. (NLST [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NLST]), Quant Rating: 3.20

*
CTS Corporation (CTS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CTS]), Quant Rating: 3.33

*
Jabil Inc. (JBL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JBL]), Quant Rating: 3.39

*
Flex Ltd. (FLEX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FLEX]), Quant Rating: 3.40

*
Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BHE]), Quant Rating: 3.40

Industrials ETFs: (XLI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XLI]), (VIS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VIS]), (FXR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FXR]), (IYJ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IYJ]), (FIDU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FIDU]), and (RSPN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RSPN])

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