Monday - August 7, 2006
 Want to view the archive of past issues? Go to: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2314. Manage Profit from the Pros subscription: 1. ZACKS EQUITY RESEARCH As oil prices again top their previous record highs and global tensions are never very far from the surface, we were interested to find out whether there were good opportunities in alternative energy stocks at this time. We spoke with senior alt-energy analyst Jon Kolb to get his perspective. What's been happening with alternative energy these days? I'd say one thing that has happened since the last time we talked [about six months ago] is that ethanol has emerged as one of the top alternative energy sources out there. There have been quite a few ethanol-related IPOs - some have done well, some not so well. But when it's all said and done, ethanol will likely be the biggest component in the alt-energy space, followed closely by solar and wind power. More. . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - There is clearly a strong political incentive to develop reliable alternative sources of energy and this emerging industry likely benefits from significant government funding, subsidies and tax incentives. Ethanol, for example, not only helps break U.S. dependency on foreign oil, but increased demand for corn is also clearly good for the American farmer. Most of the corn grown by farmers is subsidized by the federal government and yet it often simply goes to waste sitting in silos. This win-win scenario is one of the reasons why I think ethanol will be a significant segment of the alt-energy industry. You say solar power will be the second-most utilized alt- energy? Yes. Recently, the state of California announced it will spend about $3.2 billion dollars on solar power over the next ten or so years. This is, so far, the biggest state investment in alternative energy - and solar energy, specifically - that has ever been made. So this is a really significant movement. Plus, electric utilities have incentives to derive a portion of their electricity output from alternative sources such as solar, so there is regular source of demand for solar power. Solar power obviously will be biggest in states that get a lot of sun: California, Florida, Texas, Hawaii. In the Midwest, where the terrain is flat - Kansas, Texas - that's where most of the wind power turbines are going to be put up. Wind farms are also popping up off the coast of Texas, Cape Cod, and in the Great Lakes. Wind energy is facing a bit of NIMBY sentiment, isn't it? Yeah, "not in my back yard." Off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts we've seen a bit of that over the past couple years. I read about some companies trying to put up wind turbines on Lake Michigan, and some people who live in the northern suburbs of Chicago are upset about it. The thinking is: they pay a lot of money to get these homes right on the coastline, and they don't want to have to look out onto a bunch of big pinwheels. So where do you see alt-energy headed as an industry going forward? My feeling right now is that these sub-groups will eventually all evolve into their own industries - solar, wind, biomass, what have you - and be independent of each other. We're still only in the first or second inning of this ball game. The differences in economics of these different groups show how diverse they are from one another. They all have bottlenecks, but in solar energy's case, the only real bottleneck is the supply of silicon used to make solar panels. Otherwise, this is about as inexpensive as you can get with alt-energy. It's cheaper than the electricity rates that currently exist. With wind, keep in mind that the weather is one of the hardest things to predict - even harder than the stock market! So the way to value wind power companies is by having really good wind data. And not just data, but predictions as well. We've all noticed how often the weatherman is wrong, so we see continued difficulties in valuing wind projects. Read the complete Analyst Interview by clicking: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2723 Jon Kolb is a senior analyst covering the utilities, defense & aerospace and alternative energy industries for Zacks Equity Research. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Analyst Blog Real-time market insights from Zacks Equity Research Analysts. Stocks featured recently include Texas Instruments (TXN), Lamar Advertising Co. (LAMR), Whole Foods (WFMI) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT). To see their latest posts, click here. Hilton Hotels (HLT) - Inline Quarterly Results. For full Zacks research report, click here. Chemtura Corporation (CEM) - Risks Losing Accounts and Market Share. For full Zacks research report, click here. Demand Remains High in Wire & Cable Products Good Results Keep Coming Find out which stocks have been recently upgraded by Zacks Equity Research: click here. Read the reports on all of the stocks on the Zacks Equity Research Buy List: click here.
2. PROFIT TRACKS Zacks.com is proud to share with you some of the best trading
strategies that truly allow you to Profit from the Pros. Today
we highlight... Profit Tracks: Earnings and Margins This Profit Track goes to the heart of fundamental investing by finding companies with healthy earnings. The main ingredients are the search for Earnings Growth and Net Profit Margins. Then for good measure we make sure earnings estimates are moving higher which is a strong indicator of future performance and that brokerage firms are positively rating the stock. Earnings are the single most important metric for a company. Combine that with a healthy Net Profit Margin and you find a screen that has generated a cumulative return of +425% since January 2001. During 2005, this screen continued its winning ways with a +22.3% return. Ametek Inc. (AME) delivered annual profits last year that were 22% higher than the year-prior. AME has a net margin of 0.10. The company recently reported second-quarter results that established quarterly records for sales, operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share. Earnings per share of 65 cents topped the consensus estimate by 3% and outperformed the previous year. Continue your research on AME at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2254. Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (ANIK) posted second-quarter earnings of 12 cents per share, matching last year’s result and outpacing analysts’ expectations of eight cents. The company mentioned that its outlook for the second half of 2006 remains positive as it continues to execute against its 2006 plan. ANIK is enjoying a net margin of 0.20 and full year earnings growth of 44% compared to the previous year. Continue your research on ANIK at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2255. Brush Engineered Materials Inc. (BW), a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company, recently announced second-quarter earnings of 35 cents per share, eclipsing the year-prior total of 29 cents and matching Wall Street forecasts. The company expects earnings for the third quarter to be in the range of 23 cents to 28 cents per share. The guidance is in line with Analyst estimates. Earnings per share for BW grew 10% last year versus the year-prior. Continue your research on BW at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2256. Ladish Co. Inc. (LDSH), another Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) name, meets the requirements for this Profit Track with annual earnings that were up 250% year-over-year. The company recently released second-quarter earnings of 60 cents per share, nearly doubling the previous year’s 33 cents and exceeding the consensus estimate by 28%. Sales advanced 36% from last year’s second quarter result. Continue your research on LDSH at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2257. To see the full list of stocks that currently pass this winning screen, go to: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2258. All the Profit Track strategies were created and backtested using the Research Wizard software from Zacks Investment Research. If you like this screening strategy, but want to narrow down the list of stocks and even improve the performance, then you should start a free trial to this powerful stock picking tool. Learn more about the Research Wizard free trial offer and our new special report “Top 10 Stock Screening Strategies” at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2307. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - EPS Growth -- Past and Present Kevin Matras combines short-term and long-term Historical Earnings Growth with Earnings Estimate Revisions for a winning stock picking strategy: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2259. 3. ZACKS RANK BUY STOCKS Every day on Zacks.com we highlight four Zacks Rank Buy stocks. Each individual stock is chosen based on how well they match the criteria for the four main schools of investing: Aggressive Growth, Momentum, Growth & Income and Value. Aggressive Growth - HealthSpring, Inc. (HS) HealthSpring, Inc. (HS) reported robust second-quarter earnings and guided higher going forward. Not surprisingly, earnings estimates have been significantly rising. Over the past week, this year's estimates have jumped 27.7% to $1.43 per share. Two analysts raised their numbers. Third-quarter numbers increased 12.5% to 36 cents over the same time period. HS is currently trading at 13.1x this year's estimates, well-below the projected long-term growth rate of 19.38%, giving the stock a PEG ratio of 0.68. Read the full analysis on HS at : http://at.zacks.com/?id=2510. Growth & Income - Smith International, Inc. (SII) Smith International, Inc. (SII), which was first featured as a Growth and Income pick on Feb 23, has maintained its Zacks #1 Rank. The company met or beat analysts’ earnings estimates in the past 14 quarters, most recently by 7.6%. SII recently upped its 2006 earnings guidance, and consensus estimates have been trending higher. The company’s return on equity tops that of the industry average—24% compared to 21%. Read the full analysis on SII at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2511. More...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Momentum - Valley National Gasses (VLG) Valley National Gasses (VLG) will report fourth quarter results on Aug 16. Consensus estimates are for EPS of 27 cents, versus 18 cents in the same quarter last year. It is important to note that VLG has not delivered a negative earnings surprise in the last seven straight quarters, so expectations are that it will report at consensus or deliver a positive surprise. Read the full analysis on VLG at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2512. Value - AT&T, Inc. (T) AT&T, Inc. (T), which was first featured as a Value stock on Feb 10, has continued its winning ways. The company exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations in the past six quarters, most recently by 9.4%. In March, T announced its plans to acquire Bell South for $67 billion in equity. The company has a return on equity of 20%, compared to 9% for the industry average. Read the full analysis on T at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2513. Zacks Rank Resources
4. RESEARCH DIGEST What is Wall Street saying about your stocks? You’ll find the answer in our exclusive Research Digest reports. Everyday we provide three new free reports on Zacks.com. The rest are made available to our Zacks Premium members. Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (ACS) Corporate Executive Board Co. (EXBD-Q) PG&E Corporation (PCG) See all Research Digest Reports All Star Analyst Portfolio Broker Rating Upgrades 5. FEATURED EXPERTS Here we cast the spotlight on a timely Featured Expert commentary that recently appeared on Zacks.com. Market Share Potential Paul Tracy highlights a company with 70% market share in terms of revenues and 52% share in terms of locations. http://at.zacks.com/?id=2413 Dr. Olmstead suggests exercising the patience muscle. Learn why and discover his play of the month. http://at.zacks.com/?id=2405 Dennis Slothower says he is confident that the Fed will pause. Read his explanation and discover some stocks. http://at.zacks.com/?id=2366. OTHER TOOLS FROM ZACKS At the heart of Zacks Investment Research is the Zacks Rank investment philosophy that continues to vastly outperform the market. Our Zacks #1 Ranked (Strong Buys) have produced the following results for investors:
And just as importantly, the Zacks #5 Rank stocks (Strong Sell) List has alerted investors as to which stocks to dump from Their portfolios to avoid unnecessary losses. To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That's why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. Download a free copy now to prosper in the years to come by visiting: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2309. Or view the full list of Zacks #1 Ranked stocks at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2266. FREE PORTFOLIO TRACKER Do you believe that these events affect stock prices?
If you answered yes, then how are you staying on top of these changes for your stocks? If you are one of the 45,000 investors who wake up every morning to the Daily Portfolio Updates emails from Zacks.com, then you are all set. If not, then sign up now to get this vital information sent to you daily and improve your portfolio's performance. Did we mention it's free? Get started now by going to: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2310 We hope you enjoyed this issue of "Profit from the Pros", And we look forward to visiting with you again next week. REFER-A-FRIEND If you enjoy this e-mail newsletter, then please pass it along to a friend. Simply forward them the link below to sign up for their own free subscription. If you're reading a forwarded copy, sign up for your own, so you get this wealth of information every week. Just click here. THANKS! Regards and Happy Investing, Charles Rotblut, CFA p.s. What is the mission for Zacks Profit from the Pros? Click here to find out how we will help you become a more successful investor. *The S&P 500 Index is a well-known, unmanaged index of the prices of 500 large-company common stocks, mainly blue-chip stocks, selected by Standard & Poor's. The S&P 500 Index assumes reinvestment of dividends but does not reflect advisory fees. An investor cannot invest directly in an index. Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. To contact us by mail: Zacks Investment Research To unsubscribe from receiving "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter, click here. | |||||||||
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Zacks #1 Stocks on the Move 05/17/2013
| Company Name | Symbol | %Change |
|---|---|---|
| VIASAT INC | VSAT | 19.35% |
| OLD SECOND B | OSBC | 5.76% |
| GAMCO INVEST | GBL | 4.61% |
| CORNING INC | GLW | 4.47% |
| SYNCHRONOSS | SNCR | 4.23% |
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