Friday - May 19, 2006
 Want to view the archive of past issues? Go to: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2283. Manage Profit from the Pros subscription: 1. ZACKS EQUITY RESEARCH After a rather lengthy implementation process of VoIP and 3G wireless technologies in countries such as the Philippines, we were interested in seeing what comes next for this region in the industry. For his perspective, we interviewed Pacific Rim telecom analyst Peter Chua for his perspective. Because your coverage deals with the telecommunications industry in the region, I wanted to ask you: how are things progressing in the Philippines (and elsewhere) with VoIP and 3G? The technology is ready, but what investors should pay attention to are the government regulations, which we feel are pro-consumer. For example, in the Philippines, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) just awarded 3G licenses and frequency spectra in early January this year to four applicants, with possibly one more being contested by the non-winners. Currently, there are only three wireless services operators. More. . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The NTC is also in the process of crafting a competition policy to regulate competition among industry players. The policy would be written in favor of smaller players by imposing Significant Market Power (SMP) obligations on dominant industry players. One proposed item is the unbundling of network elements that can be provided on a stand-alone basis such as access lines, switching functions, etc. to promote efficiency by avoiding unnecessary duplication of investments. Another item is the requirement to publish access prices and interconnection agreements to prevent anti-competitive behavior. Do you see growing competition in telecom creating any headwinds in the Asia/Pacific region for the major players in the industry? Asia/Pacific (ex. Japan) can be divided into two camps. The first includes the mature markets with high penetration rates like Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. These areas have 90% to over 100% penetration rate, which means some of their populations have more than one subscription plan. They are expected to show slightly negative growth rates. In the other camp, there is some room for growth in the rest of China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Most impressive in the group is China –- it was reported to have added 58 million subscribers in 2005, and is still growing at some 5 million a month. By the end of 2006, the Information Industry Ministry is forecasting that 33% of China’s total population will possess a mobile phone. This means it is still a long way from saturation. In your opinion, what is the best way for investors to play telecom growth in the region? An investor could choose to participate by investing in established handset makers or equipment manufacturers with significant exposure to the growth areas in the region. It minimizes concerns over accounting issues, corporate governance and management track records that direct investing would bring out. To read the complete Analysts Interview, click: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2306. Peter Chua is a senior Zacks analyst covering the telecom industry on the Pacific Rim. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Analyst Blog - NEW! Get real-time market insights from Zacks Equity Research Analysts. To see the latest posts, click here. salesforce.com (CRM) - Attractive valuation. For full Zacks research report, click here. King Pharmaceuticals (KG) - Under Generic Threat. For full Zacks research report, click here. Machinery Demand Continues Traders Focused on Economic Data
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: Low Price Stocks Many investors prefer stocks priced below $20 because the low prices allow them to accumulate more shares. Fortunately, lower prices do not necessarily mean lower quality. This strategy identifies stocks priced below $20 that are trading at discount valuations and have a Zacks Rank of #1 ("Strong Buy") or #2 ("Buy"). The stocks identified by this search strategy trade at price-to-sales (P/S) multiples of 1.0 or below. The strong Zacks Rank is indicative of positive revisions in earnings estimates. Combining these characteristics can result in high-dollar returns. In 2005, this strategy generated a stellar +51.9% return. Here are four stocks that make the grade for the Low Price Stocks Profit Track: Dollar Financial Corp. (DLLR), a leading international financial services company serving under-banked customers, has earned $1.06 per share during the past 12 months. The company recently released its fiscal third-quarter report, stating that its strong results were driven by a continued strengthening of its international businesses, which are DLLR’s fastest growing markets. Dollar Financial Corp. added that it is committed to investing in the development of innovative products and expanding operational efficiencies globally. Continue your research on DLLR at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2290. RPM International Inc. (RPM) satisfies the criteria for this Profit Track with a price-to-sales ratio of 0.78 and earnings per share profitability of $1.22 over the past 12 months. The company posted fiscal third-quarter earnings of six cents per share, excluding charges, in early April. The result was ahead of the previous year’s four cents per share, excluding charges, and topped the consensus estimate by 20%. The company also reported record sales of $612.5 million, an 18.6% increase over the year-ago third quarter. Continue your research on RPM at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2291. Rush Enterprises, Inc. (RUSHA) experienced earnings of $1.94 per share over the past 12 months and has a price-to-sales ratio of 0.16. In mid-April, RUSHA announced first-quarter earnings of 46 cents per share, eclipsing last year’s 31 cents and topping the consensus estimate by approximately 12%. Rush Enterprises operates the largest network of heavy-duty and medium-duty truck dealerships in North America and a John Deere construction equipment dealership in Houston, Texas. Continue your research on RUSHA at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2292. Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) reported first-quarter earnings from continuing operations of 36 cents per share late April. The result exceeded analysts’ expectations by 20% and surpassed the year-ago total. Value investors may find XEL to be appealing based on its price-to-sales ratio of 0.73. The company has seen earnings of $1.29 per share over the past 12 months. Continue your research on XEL at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2293. To see the full list of stocks that currently pass this winning screen, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2294. 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=2295. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kevin Matras outlines a strategy for trading the Zacks Rank that is practical for almost anyone's portfolio: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2289. 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 – Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Ltd. (RDY) Growth & Income – Sun Life Financial, Inc. (SLF) More...
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4. FEATURED EXPERTS Here we cast the spotlight on a timely Featured Expert commentary that recently appeared on Zacks.com. Following the article you will find previews of other profitable commentaries with insights and recommendations from leading investment experts.
Last month, Iranian President Ahmadinejad boasted that his country had enriched uranium to reactor-grade concentrations, a major technical achievement, but far shy of what is needed to create weapons-grade levels. The President also acknowledged that Iran was working on advanced centrifuge designs and stonewalled International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requests under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to inspect the new equipment. Iran also ignored the U.N. Security Council’s deadline at the end of April to stop enriching uranium and has threatened to withdraw from the NPT if the United Nations imposes sanctions. Meanwhile, Israel believes that Iran has purchased a version of the nuclear-capable Soviet SS-6 ballistic missile from North Korea that can travel a bit further than Iran’s current models. None of these developments is really surprising given the inflammatory rhetoric from Ahmadinejad over the last few months. But if we raise our perceptual horizon above the daily headlines and the incessant dramatizing by the financial media, we will notice that our major allies and trading partners appear relatively sanguine about Iran. Russia and China are opposed to U.N. sanctions and even the Republican Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is advocating direct negotiations with Tehran. Coincidentally, President Ahmadinejad has now opened up communication channels, having repaired a 27-year hiatus and written directly to President Bush proposing “new solutions.” Gregory Spear and his team have speculated that Ahmadinejad’s warlike rhetoric was mostly designed for local and regional consumption and that he would probably take a more cooperative approach in backdoor discussions, as Iran has much to gain by playing its cards slowly and carefully. Iran has proven to be rather cooperative with the West over the last few years and a clear shift to a more militant regional posture, signaled by the elevation of Ahmadinejad to the presidency, is by no means a fait accompli. In fact, the entire region is perhaps more liberal than most Western observers realize. A Gallup poll taken last fall shows that the majority of the Muslims surveyed in eight Muslim nations do not believe that 9/11 was justified. Moreover, contrary to the picture painted by most news reporting, the extremist minority is more educated and affluent than the moderate majority, and is motivated by concerns about U.S. control, more than religious fanaticism. Carry Trade Accordingly, in Spear and his team’s weekly editorials this spring, they have not been overly concerned about Iran, and neither has Wall Street, as the major and minor indices are powering nicely ahead. Spear and his team believe the primary reason for the strength in the equity indices is a global boom in the emerging markets, which is being financed by the “carry trade,” i.e. borrowing cash in yen at near zero % interest rates and investing all over the place. Although all eyes were on the U.S. Federal Reserve this week, which did as expected and raised short-term rates as other central banks have been doing around the world, the carry trade between the yen and other currencies is providing a slush fund of liquidity for the global expansion despite central banks tapping on the brakes. This explains why Spear and his team are so focused on international investments at this time, why they are still doing so well and why Spear and his team believe the boom in Asia will continue far longer than most expect. Stock profiles include: Fuel-Tech (FTEK) provides advanced engineering solutions for the optimization of combustion systems for utility and industrial customers. The company’s proprietary chemical processes control slagging and corrosion in boilers that burn a wide variety of fuels including coal, heavy oil, biomass and municipal waste. Utilities that burn “clean” natural gas are not likely to be found on the customer list, but FTEK is serving accounts around the world, including China, where suffocating smog is growing on an epic scale. During 2005, the company was awarded two utility contracts in Jiangsu Province totaling $15.3 million for the installation of its nitrogen oxide control technologies on six new 600- megawatt coal-fired boilers. China is planning an extensive nuclear energy build out, but that will take decades to make a significant contribution to the country’s energy needs. In the short-term, coal is the answer, and several hundred new coal-fired power boilers are expected to be built in China during the next five years to provide for its massive infrastructure and industrial development. Meanwhile, compliance with new federal and state environmental mandates is a key driver for FTEK’s business on the home front, where the reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions by power companies has become a more serious priority in recent years. The price tag for emission reduction projects slated for 2006 could hit $8 billion. Fuel-Tech reported fourth quarter revenue of $16.3 million, up 110% year-over-year. Earnings growth of 83% brought 11 cents a share to the bottom line. For the full year, the company earned 33 cents a share, up 370%, on a 70% increase in revenue to $52 million. FTEK had a backlog of $28 million at the end of fiscal 2005, with nearly $12 million in cash and zero debt. The company reported first quarter net sales up 42% to a record $17 million, while net income totaled $1.4 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, up 100% year-over-year. American Ecology (ECOL), headquartered in Boise, Idaho, is the nation's oldest radioactive and hazardous waste services provider, operating for more than fifty years. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides radioactive, PCB, hazardous and non-hazardous waste services to commercial and government customers throughout the U.S., such as nuclear power plants, steel mills, medical and academic institutions, refineries and chemical manufacturing facilities. Spear and his team expect a long-term shift in energy production from hydrocarbons to renewable fuels and nuclear. Twenty years ago, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster caused the suspension of nuclear power proliferation around the globe. With the advent of new, safer technologies, such as Pebble Bed Reactors, Spear and his team expect nuclear technology to experience a resurgence of interest and investment over the next two decades, both domestically and abroad. As public and government attention is called to the industry, however, scrutiny of environmental issues remains high. Spear and his team believe that will be good news for ECOL. In fact, it already is. For the quarter ended March 31, net income more than quadrupled to $4.1 million or $0.23 per fully diluted share, on a 71% increase in revenue to $21.5 million. Pricing power accounted for 8% of the increase but a hefty 42% was due to an increase in the volume of waste disposed of at the company's hazardous waste facilities in Idaho, Nevada, Texas and Washington. At quarter end, the company had $17 million in cash and investments and $29 million of working capital. ECOL’s $15 million line of credit was not used during the quarter. Now is the time to invest in security growth stocks. In the next few years, growth in this industry will be as robust as in the technology sector in the early 90's. We are the best source for investment information on these top performers. In the past 24 months our A-List returned 285%! Sign up NOW for a free trial. http://at.zacks.com/?id=2477. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - b) A Solid Bolt-on Acquisition Bill Martin explains that VeriSign’s pending acquisition will strengthen its security business. Learn more about this new deal. More... From a technical perspective, Dennis Slothower, is looking for a short-term bounce. Read this mutual fund expert’s analysis. More... 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=2296. Or view the full list of Zacks #1 Ranked stocks at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2297. 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 to help take definitive action to improve your portfolio's performance. Did we mention it's free? Get started now! 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 Zacks Performance Rank performance is the total return of equal weighted simulated portfolios consisting of those stocks with the indicated Zacks Rank net of fees. Results reflect the reinvestment of dividends and other earnings. Simulated results do not represent actual trading and may not reflect the impact that economic and market factors might have had on decision-making if an adviser were actually managing a client's money. 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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