Valentine’s Day is around the corner and people are splurging on gifts. This should translate into high consumer spending and result in an upside in the stock market.

Spending is expected to hit the second highest in 15 years as Americans are expected to spend an average of $175.41 per person or a total of $23.9 billion on Valentine’s Day this year as per the National Retail Federation’s survey. This is up from $164.76 or $21.8 billion in 2021 and behind $27.48 billion spent in 2020.

Given an uptick in seasonal sales, companies selling Valentine’s Day products will see a boost in sales and a resultant surge in their stock price. So, hearty investors could show their affection and love to some stocks in order to exploit the near-term trend. This includes Amazon.com (AMZN - Free Report), Darden Restaurants (DRI - Free Report) , Dollar Tree (DLTR - Free Report) , Hershey Company (HSY - Free Report), and Signet Jewelers (SIG - Free Report). These stocks have a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), suggesting their strong performances in the near term.

About 53% of Americans plan to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, up slightly from 52% in 2021. Online continues to be the hot spot for Valentine’s Day shopping, visited by 41%, followed by department stores at 32%, discount stores at 28%, local small businesses at 18% and florists at 17%.

Candy (56%), greeting cards (40%) and flowers (37%) remain the most popular gift items this Valentine’s Day. About 31% of respondents plan to gift an “evening out” this year, up from 24% in 2021 for a total of $4.3 billion. About 22% will opt to gift jewelry to a special someone. Total spending on jewelry is estimated at $6.2 billion, up from $4.1 billion in 2021 and the highest in the survey’s history.

Stocks to Splurge On

Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce providers, with sprawling operations in North America, now spreading across the globe. The AMZN stock saw a solid earnings estimate revision of 76 cents over the past 30 days for this year and has a market cap of $1.6 trillion.

Amazon has a Zacks Rank #3 and a Growth Score of A.

Darden Restaurants is one of the largest casual dining restaurant operators worldwide. With a market cap of $18.7 billion, it has an estimated earnings growth of 74.9% for the fiscal year (ending May 2022).

DRI has a Zacks Rank #3 and a Growth Score of B.

Dollar Tree is an operator of discount variety stores offering merchandise and other assortments. DLTR saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 25 cents over the past 30 days for this year with an expected earnings growth of 9.9%.

Dollar Tree has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of B. DLTR has a market cap of $31.8 billion.

Hershey is the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America as well as a global leader in chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery. It manufactures pantry items like baking ingredients, toppings and beverages; and gum and mint refreshment products; snack bites and mixes, as well as spreads. HSY saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 25 cents over the past 30 days for this year with an expected earnings growth of 9.9%.

Hershey has a Zacks Rank #2 and Growth Score of B. HSY has a market cap of $41.9 billion.

Signet Jewelers is a retailer of diamond jewelry, watches as well as other products. The company is often considered as the leading retailer of diamond jewelry and has a market cap of $4.6 billion. SIG saw a solid earnings estimate revision of $1.32 over the past 30 days for the fiscal year (ending January 2023).

Signet Jewelers carries a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of B.