Other recently acquired members of the TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF include CareFusion Corp., PetSmart Inc. and Covance Inc. The fact that so many of the fund’s holdings have been targeted shows that acquirers are going after financially healthy companies.

Starwood, the $15 billion owner of the W and Westin hotel chains, could be the next member to get bought. The company, whose chief executive officer abruptly departed in February, said this week that it’s exploring strategic alternatives. Analysts say a deal with a rival such as InterContinental Hotels Group Plc could fill the holes in its portfolio and help solve its growth issues.

Pfizer Spinoff

Zoetis, the $22 billion maker of animal-health products that was spun off from Pfizer Inc., is another candidate. Spinoff stocks have become targets lately because the more narrowly focused companies make for cleaner deals. The trend right now is to consolidate similar businesses that have overlapping operations and then wring out those costs to boost profit.

Also, Zoetis’s largest shareholder is Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management, the activist hedge fund that teamed up with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. in its failed pursuit of Allergan.

For some analysts, a takeover of Scripps is a matter of when, not if. The door opened for buyers after the $9 billion company’s controlling family trust was dissolved in 2012. The owner of HGTV and the Food Network would be a nice addition for Discovery Communications Inc., Viacom Inc. or Walt Disney Co. Discovery even discussed a potential takeover bid in 2013, though no decisions were made, a person with knowledge of the situation said at the time.

Ripening Rockwell

Rockwell Automation Inc. is another member of the ETF long speculated to be ripe for bids. Industrial conglomerates such as Emerson Electric Co. or Honeywell International Inc. could take an interest in the $16 billion company, whose parts and technology are used in all sorts of manufacturing plants.

The TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF also owns some companies that are considered buyers rather than sellers, which could still be beneficial for investors. And companies that generate a lot of cash and have low financial leverage are in the best position to do deals.

Stocks of acquirers have been rising on deal announcements because the transactions provide a way to increase earnings in a time when growth is otherwise tough to come by. On March 30, when UnitedHealth Group Inc.––a member of the fund––agreed to buy Catamaran Corp. for $13 billion in what will be its largest purchase, the ETF surged.