Goldman Sachs: reversal candidates for 2014

Goldman Sachs names a slew of cheap, underperforming stocks poised to rise this quarter. Cisco, Ford, more.

• All stocks mentioned below in finviz (day's change): http://finviz.com/screener.ashx?v=211&ta=0&o=-change&t=CLF,DGX,LEN,FDO,JBL,LH,TGT,NFX,DE,DHI,FE,SWK,PWR,CTL,F,ABT,EXC,NE,APA,JNPR,THC,CSCO,ESRX,HSP,ETR,PCG,WMT,EIX,MRO,KSS,FCX,XL,CVX,ATI,AVP,XEL,STI,C,SJM,AA
• finviz - weekly charts  http://finviz.com/screener.ashx?v=211&t=CLF,DGX,LEN,FDO,JBL,LH,TGT,NFX,DE,DHI,FE,SWK,PWR,CTL,F,ABT,EXC,NE,APA,JNPR,THC,CSCO,ESRX,HSP,ETR,PCG,WMT,EIX,MRO,KSS,FCX,XL,CVX,ATI,AVP,XEL,STI,C,SJM,AA&ta=0&p=w&o=-change
• finviz - monthly charts: http://finviz.com/screener.ashx?v=211&t=CLF,DGX,LEN,FDO,JBL,LH,TGT,NFX,DE,DHI,FE,SWK,PWR,CTL,F,ABT,EXC,NE,APA,JNPR,THC,CSCO,ESRX,HSP,ETR,PCG,WMT,EIX,MRO,KSS,FCX,XL,CVX,ATI,AVP,XEL,STI,C,SJM,AA&ta=0&p=m&o=-change

Picking underperforming stocks has not been a winning strategy over the long term. It can, however, succeed in the short term–especially at the beginning of the year and when combined with low valuations.

Goldman Sachs offers 40 stocks, with the caveat that investors should “use this screen as a starting point for identifying stocks likely to reverse 2013 underperformance in 1Q 2014,” not as a blanket recommendation. Potential winners include such big names as Ford (F), Wal-Mart (WMT), Target (TGT), Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX).