As inflation continues to surge, investors need to look very hard to find stocks that are effectively dealing with rising costs and the ongoing market turmoil. CNBC PRO found a few. Thursday’s reading of the September consumer price index spurred further fear for investors and traders alike, showing headline inflation rising over a month-to-month basis and signaling to investors that inflation remains persistent despite the Federal Reserve’s hiking campaign. CPI rose 0.4% for the month , topping a Dow Jones estimate of 0.3% while items excluding food and gas also saw the steepest 12-month gain since August 1982, meaning stubborn prices could fuel persistently aggressive rate hikes moving forward. Amid this market turmoil, CNBC Pro attempted to seek out some potential inflation-fighting names to ride out the storm. These stocks have managed to increase gross margins in the past year despite rising costs. They are also set to grow earnings by 10% this year despite the threat of higher inflation and interest rates, according to analyst estimates. What’s more, these stocks are also less volatile than the overall stock market and are in the green for the year. Here are the 17 rare stocks that came up after searching a FactSet database of 1,500 stocks. Cal-Maine Foods saw the largest increase in margins over the last year, rising by 31 percentage points. Shares of the egg producer and distributor are up about 57% this year with the stock expected to grow earnings per share by more than 186%. Of the names that made the list, Lantheus Holdings should see the largest earnings per share growth — 624.3%. Shares of the provider of imaging diagnostics have risen more than 134% this year, with margins up by more than 16 percentage points. Energy stocks have outperformed this year, with the S & P 500’s energy sector up nearly 46% this year. Names like Coterra Energy and Exxon Mobil made CNBC’s screen, with shares up about 57% and 61% this year and expected to grow earnings by about 127% and 141%, respectively. Despite surging inflation, Coterra grew margins by 27.1 percentage points and Exxon by 4 percentage points. Tegna , Carlisle Companies and food products producer Lamb Weston were among the stocks that made the cut.
