For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – May 21, 2018 - Stocks in this week’s article Louisiana-Pacific Corp. LPX, Amedisys Inc. AMED, MGM Growth Properties LLC MGP, Oshkosh Corporation OSK and Federated National Holding Company FNHC.Buy These 5 Low-Leverage Stocks to Strengthen Your PortfolioIn the world of business finance, leverage refers to an investment strategy that involves borrowing of funds to finance the expansion of the business, purchase of inventory and other assets as well as supporting other aspects of business operations. Financial leverage is the amount of debt that exists in the capital structure of a company.Per the theory of cost of capital, a company’s capital structure reflects a mix of debt and equity used to finance its capital projects. A comparative analysis of the same theory reveals that most companies prefer debt financing over equity since debt is cheaper, especially in periods of low interest rates.This is because when a company resorts to debt financing, it takes on 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 partial owner of the company but develops a direct claim on the company’s future profits as well. Consequently, debt financing has emerged as a more popular financing option among the majority of corporations.But debt financing has its share of drawbacks. The problem arises when leverage becomes exorbitant. A high degree of financial leverage means high interest payments, which tend to affect the company's bottom line.Of course, this does not mean that debt financing should be a taboo in corporate financing. Nevertheless, given the current macroeconomic scenario in the United States, in favor of interest rate hikes, the market seems to be not so suitable for borrowersTherefore, to safeguard their portfolio from losses, the real challenge for an investor is to determine whether the organization’s debt level is sustainable. This is because a debt-free corporation is rare to find. 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 indicates improved solvency for a company.With the first-quarter reporting in its last lap, investors must be targeting stocks that are exhibiting solid earnings growth. But if the stocks bear a high debt-to-equity ratio, in times of economic downturns, their so-called booming earnings picture might turn into a nightmare.Considering this, it will be wise for investors to select companies with low leverage. These are financially more secure and immune to financial bankruptcy.For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/304101/buy-these-5-low-leverage-stocks-to-strengthen-your-portfolioDisclosure: 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. 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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 http://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 Oshkosh Corporation (OSK): Free Stock Analysis Report Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LPX): Free Stock Analysis Report Federated National Holding Company (FNHC): Free Stock Analysis Report Amedisys, Inc. (AMED): Free Stock Analysis Report MGM Growth Properties LLC (MGP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. 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