Monday - September 11, 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 RANK BUY STOCKS Zacks #1 Rank stocks average a 32.4% annual return. Every day on Zacks.com we highlight four new 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 – Tidewater (TDW) Tidewater's (TDW) earnings momentum is strong as evidenced by the fact that it has exceeded analyst estimates for seven consecutive quarters. Year-over-year growth surpassed 100% in six of those quarters. Five analysts have raised their estimates for this fiscal year, while four have done so for next year. Over the past two months, this year's estimates have increased 8.9% to $5.26 per share, while next year's numbers have jumped 10.7% to $5.98 per share. Read the full analysis on TDW at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2510. Growth & Income - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) topped analysts’ earnings expectations in 12 out of the past 14 quarters. This year marked the 44th straight in which the company boosted its dividend. JNJ has a current dividend yield of 2.4% and a five-year average dividend yield of 1.8%. The company’s return on equity crushes that of the industry average—27% compared to a negative 12%. Read the full analysis on JNJ at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2511. More...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Momentum - Gorman-Rupp Company (GRC) Gorman-Rupp Company (GRC) is the perfect blend of improving fundamental outlook and a positive technical pattern. In short, the perfect storm is brewing. Anyone who isn’t yet convinced that positive earnings surprises have long effects on a stock price should examine Gorman-Rupp. On Jul 28, the company reported EPS of 52 cents for the second quarter, versus 32 cents in the previous year. The EPS number was a positive 37% surprise over analysts’ consensus estimates. Sales grew 15% to $67.9 million while income more than doubled to $5.5 million versus $2.7 million in the same period of 2005. Read the full analysis on GRC at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2512. Value - Steel Technologies, Inc. (STTX) Steel Technologies, Inc. (STTX), which is a Zacks #1 Rank stock, topped the Street’s earnings estimate in 10 out of the past 12 quarters by an average margin of 24.0%. Consensus estimates have been shooting upward. STTX has a price-to-book ratio of only 1.1, significantly lower when compared to 5.2 for the market. The company is currently yielding 1.4% and has a five-year average dividend yield of 1.3%. Read the full analysis on STTX at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2513. Zacks Rank Resources
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: Return on Equity (ROE) One of the quickest ways to gauge whether a company is creating assets or gobbling up investor's cash is to look at their ROE. This fast moving Profit Track returned an impressive +19.1% in 2005. In the first five months of 2006, it continued to outperform the S&P 500, returning 18.5% versus the S&P 500 rise of 5.0%. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (DTG), which has a ROE of 10.40 and a price to sales ratio of 0.63, announced second-quarter financial results in late July. Earnings per share totaled 79 cents, improving last year’s 43 cents and jumped ahead of the consensus estimate by 58%. The company increased its earnings guidance for the full year 2006 to a range of $2.25 to $2.55 per share from $2.15 to $ 2.45. Analysts have issued bullish forecasts since the release of the second report. Current estimates of $2.69 are above two months-ago levels of $2.58. Continue your research on DTG at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2254. EMC Insurance Group Inc. (EMCI) satisfies the criteria for this Profit Tracks with a ROE of 17.95 and a price to sales ratio of 0.86. In late July, the company reported second-quarter earnings of 76 cents per share, outpacing last year’s 34 cents and matching analysts’ expectations. Wall Street estimates have been on the rise for EMCI. Current projections for the full year 2006 stand at $3.14 per share, up from two months-ago levels of $2.64. Continue your research on EMCI at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2255. Granite Construction Inc. (GVA) posted second-quarter earnings of 80 cents per share, topping Wall Street forecasts by approximately 48% and exceeding the year-prior total of 36 cents. Granite Construction has outpaced analysts’ expectations each time during the past four consecutive quarters. GVA's ROE stands at 17.18 and its price to sales ratio is 0.79. Continue your research on GVA at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2256. ONEOK Inc. (OKE) meets the requirements of this Profit Tracks with a ROE of 15.98 and a price to sales ratio of 0.32. In early August, the company released its results for the second quarter. Not only did the earnings per share total increase year-over-year, it also outpaced analysts’ estimates by 180%. OKE increased its earnings guidance to a range of $2.36 to $2.44 per share versus its previous forecast of $2.30 to $2.36. Wall Street is currently projecting 2006 earnings of $2.36 per share, an increase of 3% from the level of 60 days ago. Continue your research on OKE 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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kevin Matras combines some of his winningest strategies to create a Custom Consensus screen: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2259. 3. ZACKS EQUITY RESEARCH The second half of 2006 has begun with some real fluctuation in the market. Amid longer-term economic concerns, how is the IT industry expected to perform? For answers, we turned to senior tech analyst Larry Orlowski, CFA. Are there any areas within the general IT market that you think might make good investments at this time? Sure I do. I think the computer services market – particularly companies such as CACI International (CAI) and ManTech International (MANT) which are good candidates to receive accelerated funding from the federal government in 2007 – would be good places to be invested within the tech market. Let me explain my thinking behind this. I’m finding myself pretty sensitive now to what’s happening in the economy, especially with regard to the announcement recently that the productivity of the U.S. worker has slowed while labor costs continue to rise. My concern is that the Fed will sit up and take notice of this, believe that there may still be some inflation in the pipeline, and continue to raise interest rates. More. . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now, the housing sector is another concern, and if interest rates keep going up we may see the issue of negative equity arise, which would force people to sell their houses. Higher interest rates would then tighten credit and the cost of borrowing, not just in terms of home mortgages but also in terms of consumer spending. And if spending slows, then I certainly would not want to overweight my investments in the tech market. Which brings us back around to the computer services companies you do like. Right. Certain factors make me think that some companies may be well situated if we do see an economic downturn. At this time, I have a Buy on CACI, which delivers IT applications and infrastructure to improve communications and building mission-critical solutions at the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the intelligence industry. The stock price has fallen recently – there was some disappointment in the market when organic growth slowed – but I think now would be a good time to buy. I see accelerated growth in 2007, so I think CACI is a good stock to own. So you see this as a solid long-term investment? Yes, and I also see it as a defensive play. Congress wants Defense and Homeland Security bills to be signed into law before the mid-term election break. Even if congress swings Democratic after the election, neither party wants to be seen as weak on national security issues. So I think CACI and ManTech – on which I have a Hold at this point, but may give some consideration to upgrading in the near future – will have a strong fourth quarter because I think funding will accelerate for these companies’ products. Politically, national security remains a hot topic. So the funding is definitely there, especially for those companies focused on the premium part of government IT – mission-critical solutions for intelligence operations. This is one area where investors can seek refuge, even if we see a dramatic economic downturn over the coming quarters. On the opposite side of this, what areas of tech would you recommend investors get out of? Tech is cyclical these days; it has grown so big. With that in mind, I wouldn’t want to be too exposed to the PC market or other traditional parts of IT. I just think this market is quite mature, and the economic slow-down scenario that I’m wary of would only make things worse for this group. Read the complete Analyst Interview by clicking: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2723 Larry Orlowski, CFA is a senior analyst covering the IT industry for Zacks Equity Research. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Analyst Blog Real-time market insights from Zacks Equity Research Analysts. Stocks featured recently include Citi Trends (CTRN), Sterling Bancshares (SBIB), Unibanco (UBB) and Monster Worldwide (MNST). To see their latest posts, click here. Amgen, Inc. (AMGN) - Strong Play in Biotech. For full Zacks research report, click here. CONMED Corp. (CNMD) - Reducing Expectations. For full Zacks research report, click here. Machinery Still Working Estimate Revisions Continue Cooling Down 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.
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. Packeteer, Inc. (PKTR) Foot Locker, Inc. (FL) American International Group, Inc. (AIG) 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. Two Trades for the Bulls Dr. Olmstead details two option plays, each of which could return a gain of 53% or better. http://at.zacks.com/?id=2329 Richard Moroney says a diversified basket of small and midcap value stocks is a winning strategy. Discover a few attractive picks. http://at.zacks.com/?id=2399 Donald Rowe says a great boom and bull market will stun the "experts" this fall. Check out his commentary and recommendation. http://at.zacks.com/?id=2543. 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 05/22/2013
| Company Name | Symbol | %Change |
|---|---|---|
| ALLIANCE FIB | AFOP | 9.31% |
| SONIC FOUNDR | SOFO | 7.77% |
| VELTI PLC OR | VELT | 7.58% |
| TRI TECH HOL | TRIT | 6.62% |
| A M R CP | AAMRQ | 4.52% |
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