Kellanova, based in Chicago, is a major producer of snacks and convenience foods. The company's most well-known brands include Pop-Tarts, Eggo waffles, Pringles, Morningstar Farms, and Cheez-It. The company also owns international cereal brands including Frosties, Zucaritas, Special K, Krave, Miel Pops, Coco Pops, and Crunchy Nut. Kellanova sells its products in more than 180 countries and has manufacturing facilities in 21 countries. The company has approximately 23,000 employees. Kellanova shares are a component of the S&P 500.

Most stock indices didn't rock the world in September, but any progress in that historically difficult month should be considered a bonus -- especially after the gains already booked so far in 2024. The minor and major indices all rose between 1% and 2.7%, with the larger indices doing the best. Turning to sectors, Consumer Discretionary (XLY) and Utilities (XLU) led, both gaining 7%. Communication Services was up 4%, while Information Technology, Materials, Real Estate, and Industrial were all up about 3%. Energy was last, with a 3% loss, with Healthcare down 2% and Financial off 0.6%. Overall, that's a healthy-looking performance report for the month. The biggest S&P 500 individual stock gainers for September were primarily from Discretionary, with some help from Industrial. The largest XLY monthly winners were LVS (+29%); TSLA (+22%); CPRI (19%); UAA, HBI, and TPR, all up 16%; NCLH (+15%); RL (+14%); and CCL and KSS, both up 12%. While there were plenty of retailers on the list of stocks with nice gains, four out of the six were comeback stories. Taken together, this list of Discretionary stocks certainly indicates that investors are not overly worried about consumer spending or the economy. Industrial winners were focused in airlines and included UAL, ALK, DAL, and FBIN. That also seems like a plus for the economy. On the downside list, there were plenty of Energy, Healthcare, and Information Technology stocks. In Energy, APA, DVN, FANG, and NOV all fell between 10% and 14%. Weak Healthcare names included MCK, REGN, HUM, and PRGO. From Information Technology, QRVO, SWKS, and ADBE all lost 10% to 11%.

The third quarter of 2024 has been rewarding for equity investors, as the S&P 500 increased another 5% and has gained almost 20% year to date. Surprise, surprise, though, as value was the segment leader in the quarter. The S&P 500 Value Index advanced approximately 7% in the period, while the S&P 500 Growth Index edged only 3% higher. Leading sectors included Real Estate, Utilities, Financial, Healthcare and Industrials, while lagging sectors for the past three months included Information Technology and Energy. The average stock in the Argus Universe of Coverage rose almost 8% during the quarter, while the median stock increased 9%. The average BUY-rated stock rose 8.3%, while the average HOLD-rated stock gained 6.7%. Here are the top-10 and bottom-five performers from the Argus Universe in 3Q24.

Value stocks -- a market segment that includes high-yield stocks -- outperformed growth stocks in 2022. That's a recent rarity, as for the past decade-plus, the performance record has favored growth. But in 2022, The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines gave a lift to some of the cyclical companies (energy and regional banks) that had lagged in recent quarters, and value stocks outpaced growth stocks that year. While growth stocks have retaken the lead since 2023, the Federal Reserve continues to keep interest rates high to fend off inflation. This could possibly cap multiple expansion for growth companies in coming quarters. In any event, the value sector is the place to achieve income.