Thursday, September 22, 2022

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including BHP Group Limited (BHP), United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) and Adobe Inc. (ADBE). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>

BHP Group shares have declined -7% over the past year against the Zacks Mining - Miscellaneous industry’s decline of -15.5% and the S&P 500 index's -16.1% decline. The outlook for BHP's commodities remains favorable, notwithstanding near-term macroeconomic headwinds, particularly the uncertain outlook for China.

The recent pullback in iron ore prices nothwithstanding, the Zacks analyst expects the commodity regain ground in the medium to long run on pent-up demand in the automotive sector, infrastructure and the housing market. Copper and nickel prices will also be fueled by demand for electric vehicles.  

BHP will benefit from its efforts to make operations more efficient through smart technology adoption across the entire value chain. Investment in growth projects with a particular focus on commodities like copper, nickel and potash will aid growth as well. The company’s iron ore production guidance for fiscal 2023 is 249-260 Mt. The midpoint of the range indicates a 1% increase from the prior-year tally.

(You can read the full research report on BHP Group here >>>)

UPS shares have handily outperformed rival FedEx over the past year (down -9.2% vs. -33.2%) despite faced with most of the same macroeconomic challenges.

Even though economies are reopening, the urge for online shopping refuses to relent among consumers. High shipping rates also bode well for UPS. Moreover, its strong free cash flow generating ability pleases us and supports UPS' shareholder-friendly activities.

In first-half 2022, UPS generated a free cash flow of $6,895 million compared with $6,804 million in first-half 2021. UPS paid out dividends worth $3,437 million in 2021, up 1.9% year over year. UPS aims to reward its shareholders with $8.2 billion in 2022, through dividends ($5.2 billion) and share buybacks ($3 billion).

(You can read the full research report on United Parcel here >>>)

Adobe shares have declined -55.2% over the past year against the Zacks Computer - Software industry’s decline of -27.5%, with the stock really losing ground following the weak(ish) quarterly report when it guided lower. The Figma acquisition has also weighed on the stock lately, as the market sees the purchase price to be on the high side.

Adobe's Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud products drove the top-line growth in the quarterly report. Further, rising subscription revenues and solid momentum across the mobile apps remained major positives. Growth in emerging markets, robust online video creation demand and solid adoption of Acrobat are tailwinds.

Also, continued key customer wins of the company are contributing well. We remain optimistic about Adobe’s market position, compelling product lines, continued innovation, strategic acquisitions and solid adoption of cloud applications.

(You can read the full research report on Adobe here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW), EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG), and América Móvil, S.A.B. de C.V. (AMX).

Sheraz Mian

Director of Research

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>