For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – December 11, 2020 – Stocks in this week’s article are Titan Machinery Inc. TITN, Federated Hermes, Inc. FHI, Boise Cascade Company BCC, eXp World Holdings, Inc. EXPI and Cooper Tire & Rubber Company CTB.Want to Invest Safely? Buy These 5 Low-Level StocksLeverage refers to the business strategy of using borrowed funds by companies to finance the purchase of inventory, equipment and other company assets. Companies can obtain such funds either using debt or equity.Historically, it has been observed that debt financing is preferred over equity. This is because when a company resorts to debt financing, it incurs fixed expenses in the form of interest payments for a specific time period. However, in case of equity financing, a shareholder not only becomes a company’s partial owner but also gets entitled to a direct claim to its future profits.Another perk of debt financing is that the interest on debt is tax deductible.Yet debt financing is not free from downsides. In particular, debt financing becomes a risk if it fails to generate a higher rate of return compared to the interest rate. So, one should always avoid resorting to exorbitant debt financing, which might even lead to a corporation’s bankruptcy in a worst-case scenario.Considering the current economic situation worldwide on account of the ongoing pandemic, one cannot be too much bullish on the stock market’s performance, at least over the near term. So, to avoid huge losses, investors should go for stocks that bear low leverage since a debt-free corporation is rare to find. Therefore, measuring the leverage level of a particular stock forms an integral part of the safe investment procedure. Historically several leverage ratios have been developed to measure the amount of debt a company bears and the debt-to-equity ratio is one of the most common ratios.Analyzing Debt/EquityDebt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Liabilities/Shareholders’ EquityThis metric is a liquidity ratio that indicates the amount of financial risk a company bears. A company with a lower debt-to-equity ratio shows improved solvency for a company.With 2020 drawing to a close, investors might be eyeing stocks that have exhibited solid earnings growth year to date. But if a stock bears a high debt-to-equity ratio, in times of economic downturns, its so-called booming earnings picture might turn into a nightmare.For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/1150448/want-to-invest-safely-buy-these-5-low-leverage-stocksDisclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.About Screen of the WeekZacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.Strong Stocks that Should Be in the NewsMany are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Contact: Jim GiaquintoCompany: Zacks.comPhone: 312-265-9268Email: pr@zacks.comVisit: www.Zacks.com Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (CTB): Free Stock Analysis Report Titan Machinery Inc. (TITN): Free Stock Analysis Report Boise Cascade, L.L.C. (BCC): Free Stock Analysis Report Exp World Holdings, Inc. (EXPI): Free Stock Analysis Report Federated Hermes, Inc. (FHI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. 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