The Barron’s 400 ETF (NYSEArca: BFOR) and its underlying benchmark, the widely observed Barron’s 400 Index (B400), just completed its most recent semi-annual rebalancing, swapping around companies that have undergone shifts in their fundamental strengths.
The Barron’s 400 Index takes 400 stocks from the broader MarketGrader U.S. Coverage Universe by using a methodology that selects components based on the strength of their fundamentals in growth, valuation, profitability and cash flow, and then screens components for certain criteria regarding concentration, market capitalization and liquidity.
The rules-based index was designed to provide investors a way to track some of the highest-performing U.S. companies based on the strength of their financial statements and the attractiveness of their share prices. To maintain the index’s growth at a reasonable price, the index is reconstituted and rebalanced twice a year. The rebalancing act also reveals what companies have fallen behind, along with firms that are on the up-and-up.
This time around, prominent large-cap additions to B400 include Marriot International (MAR), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Dollar General (DG), Dollar Tree (DLTR) and Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO). Notable large-cap deletions include Alphabet (GOOG), Starbucks (SBUX), Reynolds American (RAI), Carnival (CCL) and Activision Blizzard (ATVI). Among the 47 companies selected for the first time, some of the highest ranked stocks are Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), Viper Energy Partners (VNOM), BancFirst (BANF) and Hudson Technologies (HDSN), according to a press release.