Thursday - November 23, 2006
 Want to view the archive of past issues? Click here. Manage Profit from the Pros subscription: 1. ZACKS RANK BUY STOCKS Zacks #1 Ranked 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 – Prologis (PLD) Earnings estimates for Prologis (PLD) have jumped nicely over the past month for both this year and next. 2006 earnings have risen 10.8% to $3.58 per share over the past 30 days, while next year's estimates have increased an even more impressive 13.3% to $3.93 per share. The company has exceeded earnings estimates in five straight quarters. Read the full analysis on PLD now! J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc. (JCP), which was first featured as a Growth & Income stock on Aug 22, exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations in 13 out of the past 14 quarters. The stock is up 20% since its debut. After reporting solid results for the third quarter, the company upped its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings per share guidance. This Zacks #1 Rank stock has a current dividend yield of 0.89%. Read the full analysis on JCP now! More...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Momentum – Supertex (SUPX) Supertex (SUPX) reported earnings almost a month ago and the stock is still feeling the effect of a positive earnings surprise. On Oct 24, SUPX reported EPS of 43 cents, versus 31 cents last year, and a 10.3% positive surprise above analysts’ consensus estimates. Read the full analysis on SUPX now! Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (RVSB), a Zacks #1 Rank stock, exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations in four out of the past five quarters by an average margin of 10.4%. The company recently reported record second-quarter fiscal 2007 profits. Consensus estimates for both this year and next have been trending higher. RVSB has a price-to-book ratio of 1.7, compared to 4.9 for the market. It is currently yielding 2.9%. Read the full analysis on RVSB now!
2. ZACKS CHALLENGE: TOP PLAYER INTERVIEW Zacks.com features a free investment simulator where our customers can prove their stock picking skills to the rest of the world. In these articles we will share with you the insights and recommendations from Top Simulator Players. Learn more about the current Zacks Challenge. Donpow Don Powers is somewhat of a chartist, who is partial to technology and does not believe in day trading. This investor looks for stocks that have the potential to at least double in a year. Don’s investing prowess has so far guided his Simulator portfolio into the top 20 in the Zacks 4th Quarter Stock Challenge, with an overall return that is on the verge of hitting 40%. Some of his plays include ATVI, BRCD, AUY, PKTR and MRVL. Click here to check out this participant's complete trading history. What is his plan of attack? “Typically I look for companies that are depressed due to temporary circumstances such as an acquisition, temporary disruption say due to supply delays, or delay in new product introductions etc. I am especially attracted to technology stocks where this happens often. I am an ardent believer in charting which helps me to locate bottoms and buy points,” stated Don. The stock market enthusiast added, “Once I choose to buy a stock, I look at the sector, business, key statistics, concentration on ROE (return on equity), profitability, PEG, cash position and flow.” Basically, there has to be growth or potential for growth. Don explained that the his picks have a high growth rate or are from growing sectors or, of course, both. Once this disciplined stock picker finds what he likes, he doesn’t necessarily invest full throttle. Don commented, “I invest 1/3 of my buy and watch for points of weakness to continue to add to my position. This enables me to accumulate a position over time. So once I make my first buy, I hope the stock goes down to be able to build the position. It make take a few days or months to build a position.” Does he have a portfolio “darling?” One stock that has generated the most bang for his buck is PKTR. This Simulator contender sees a lot of bullishness in this company. Don described PKTR, pointing out that it is the leader in WAN (wide area network) problems, controlling and analyzing traffic over the network. “Because so many employees, students, etc. are downloading bigger and bigger files over their company’s or school's network, traffic slowdown has become a major problem for all companies. PKTR has the only full solution for this problem,” said Don. He went on to explain that other players in this field include RVBD, CSCO, JNPR and F5. However, according to Don, PKTR is the best buy in this arena. He noted, “RVBD's valuation is 3x PKTR, yet they are half the size. PKTR is a screaming buy and should be selling in the high teens or in the twenties. PKTR is and has been profitable and growing fast. Outlook for this sector is huge.” What does the future hold? The election results have caused this market player to have a dimmer outlook on the market. Don mentioned that he is concerned about the tax situation in 2010 and the does not see a huge upswing for the Dow for the remainder of this year. He is, however, in the bullish camp when it comes to the Nasdaq and emerging markets, especially India, China, South Africa and Indonesia. Any advice? “My advice for someone new to investing is to get a simple book on charting. They are available in the book stores. There are some very basic patterns that anyone can learn. It will help you to time your purchases and sales. Use the simulator and practice, practice, practice. You not need to day trade. That is counter productive, takes too much time and in the end will not make you much money,” replied Don. It’s free. Its fun. It's the place to show your investing prowess. The best stock pickers will be rewarded with thousands of dollars in prizes. Learn more. Trade Options? Then sign up for the Zacks Options Challenge. 3. ZACKS EQUITY RESEARCH In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’m going to talk a little turkey. There are three companies within the Zacks Rank universe that provide turkey products: Hormel Foods (HRL), Smithfield Foods (SFD) and Tyson Foods (TSN). None of these companies are turkey pure plays, however, as there is not a company within the Zacks Rank universe that focuses solely on the big birds. This morning, HRL reported fourth-quarter profits of 64 cents per share, topping expectations by a penny. Revenue growth of 5% was paced by the company’s specialty foods segment, as well as by grocery products and refrigerated products. Jennie-O Turkey Store generated 1.5% sales growth, but experienced an 11.7% decrease in operating profits because of higher meat prices. Hormel expects live turkey production to increase in 2007. More. . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The company guided for fiscal 2007 profits to be in a range of $2.15 to $2.25 per share. Analysts are presently forecasting earnings of $2.19 per share, though this could change following today’s conference call. HRL is a Zacks #2 Rank stock. Smithfield Foods is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter earnings on Nov 30, before the market opens. The company has missed expectations three times during the past four quarters. Analysts are expecting the company to report profits of 47 cents per share, a penny below the forecast of 60 days ago. SFD is a Zacks #3 Rank (“hold”) stock. Last week, Tyson reported an adjusted loss of seven cents per share for its fiscal fourth quarter; analysts were expecting a two-cent loss. The miss was the third in four quarters for the largest meat and poultry producer. Tyson’s guidance for fiscal 2007 profits of 50 to 80 cents per share was viewed as being disappointing by analysts, who quickly cut their forecasts. The new consensus estimate for profits of 64 cents per share is 10 cents below the pre-earnings release forecast. TSN is a Zacks #5 Rank (“strong sell”) stock. Conditions this year have not been favorable to the meat and poultry producers. Earlier in the year, there was an oversupply of chickens. The chicken market appears to be stabilizing. Feeder and live cattle futures have been under pressure over the past few months, however, and this could be causing some overhang. Conversely, pork bellies are trading near 52-week highs. To read the complete Analysts Interview, click here. Charles Rotblut, CFA is the senior market analyst for Zacks Equity Research. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Analyst Blog Real-time market insights from Zacks Equity Research Analysts. Stocks featured recently include FactSet (FDS), ExxonMobil (XOM), Nordstrom (JWN) and Investment Technology Group (ITG). To see their latest posts, click here. Avon Products (AVP) - Successful Growth Strategy. For full Zacks research report, click here. Dynegy, Inc. (DYN) - Continued Market Weakness. For full Zacks research report, click here. 2006 Estimates Rising Innovation Key in Defense Industry 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. 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... Return on Equity (ROE) This Profit Track strategy uses Return on Equity (ROE) to discover solid stocks. ROE is one of the quickest ways to gauge whether a company is creating assets or gobbling up investors' cash. ROE = income / common equity 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. Anixter International Inc. (AXE) reported third-quarter results in late October. Earnings per share were nearly 21% ahead of the consensus estimate and improved from last year’s result. The company said its focus on supply chain services and its continued progress in the security and OEM markets, along with solid growth in its core markets, produced record sales and operating results in the third quarter. AXE offers a ROE of 20.32 and a price to sales ratio of 0.48. Continue your research on AXE now! Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS), which has a ROE of 21.52 and a price to sales ratio of 0.69. The company recently posted third-quarter GAAP earnings of 14 cents per share, outperforming the previous year’s eight cents and exceeding the consensus estimate by 180%. Net sales for the quarter increased 22% year-over-year while comparable store sales increased 8.9%. Continue your research on DKS now! Greenbrier Companies (GBX) satisfies the criteria for this Profit Track with a ROE of 19.26 and a price to sales ratio of 0.64. The company announced fiscal fourth-quarter and year-end results in late October. Greenbrier Companies noted that fiscal 2006 was another very successful year for the company, with its second consecutive year of record earnings and numerous strategic accomplishments. Continue your research on GBX now! Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS) recently posted third-quarter earnings of $1.41 per share, surpassing the year-ago total of 75 cents and eclipsing the consensus estimate by two cents. The company mentioned that demand and pricing for its products continued at a healthy pace during the third quarter. The ROE for RS stands at 25.34, and its price to sales ratio is 0.53. Continue your research on RS now! To see the full list of stocks that currently pass this winning screen, click here. 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”. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Importance of Screening and Backtesting Kevin Matras goes over the importance of Screening and Backtesting. Find out how to increase your odds for success: Click here. 5. ZacksElite.com TIMELY BUY of the WEEK Here you'll discover a Zacks #1 Rank stock hand selected by Ben Zacks to outperform the market over the next 30 to 90 days. This week's Timely Buy is...
Charlotte Russe Holdings, Inc. (CHIC) is a mall-based specialty apparel retailer, which carries both branded and private-label merchandise, targeting women in their teens and twenties. The retailer offers a broad assortment of fashionable merchandise. The stock got a nice boost to a new high this week after J.P. Morgan raised its rating on CHIC to an "overweight" from a "neutral" due to margin improvement. Each 0.10% improvement in operating margin would bolster earnings between 2 cents to 4 cents per share, JPMorgan estimated. The company said recently its fiscal fourth-quarter net income more than tripled, driven by increased same-store sales and a gain on the divestiture of its Rampage stores. Earnings for the quarter surged to $24.3 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with $6.1 million, or 27 cents per share, in the previous year. Analysts expected 49 cents. CHIC focuses on three main lifestyle presentations: casual clothing, wear-to-work clothing, and going-out clothing. The 360 Charlotte Russe stores offer fashionable, affordable apparel and accessories that have been tested and accepted by the marketplace, appealing to women who prefer established fashion trends. These stores are located predominantly in high-visibility, center court mall locations in spaces that average approximately 7,000 square feet. The stores are designed to create an environment that is exciting to shop and accentuates the fashion, breadth, and value of merchandise selection. Through fashion content, merchandise mix, store layout and design, and merchandise presentation, the company's stores project fashion attitudes that appeal to customers across age and socioeconomic boundaries, with a core emphasis on the fashion and lifestyle needs of young women. Zacks Equity Research Analyst Robert Plaza thinks that Charlotte Russe should continue to deliver strong growth due to its business strategy that includes smart product assortment, distinct brand images, and target a highly desirable market. Specifically, the company's stores offer a broad assortment of fashionable, quality merchandise at prices generally below most of its mall-based competitors. Its value-pricing strategy for both of its store concepts enables the company to offer affordable merchandise with quality that is comparable to higher priced specialty retailers and department stores. This helps lead to a broad and loyal base of customers. Moreover, Charlotte Russe has created focused and differentiated brand images based on fashion attitude, value pricing, and quality. The company communicates its brand images through merchandise assortments, in-store visual merchandising, and marketing materials. Its brand recognition is enhanced through selling about 80% of its merchandise under proprietary labels. The company has exceeded earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with two of them registering surprises above 44%. Six analysts have raised estimates for this year, while five have done so for next year. This year's earnings estimates have increased eight cents over the past 90 days to $1.70. At 14.2x next year's estimates, the stock is attractively priced given its growth rate of 19%.
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 Rank (Strong Buy) List has produced the following results for investors:
And just as importantly, our #5 Ranked stocks (Strong Sells) have alerted investors as to which stocks to dump from their portfolios to avoid unnecessary losses. 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 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. | ||||||||||
- Latest News
- Most Popular
- FED Front & Center Again
- Roundtable Top Picks of the Week
- RTI: Sector Strength Charts - Where's the Opportunity Now?
- Surging Financial ETFs Beating the Market
- Utility Industry Stock Outlook - June 2013
- 3 Japanese Stocks to Buy Now
- Your Next Stock Should Be Making New Highs
- Anatomy of Success: Stoneridge (SRI)
- RTI: What Will the Fed Do Wednesday?
- AWS 6/19: Will Bernanke Clarify Matters Today?
- PFP 6/19: Investors Bold in Wake of the Fed
Recent Quotes
| No Recent Quote currently available |
My Portfolio
|
My Portfolio Tracker One of the most important steps you can take today is to set up your portfolio tracker on Zacks.com. Once you do, you'll be notified of major events affecting your stocks and/or funds with daily email alerts. Set yours up today. |
Zacks #1 Stocks on the Move 06/19/2013
| Company Name | Symbol | %Change |
|---|---|---|
| LUMOS NETWOR | LMOS | 4.51% |
| SUPPORTCOM I | SPRT | 4.42% |
| SONIC FOUNDR | SOFO | 4.10% |
| SUMITOMO MIT | SMFG | 3.57% |
| RENEWABLE EN | REGI | 3.47% |
Quick Links
Resources
Client Support
Zacks Research is Reported On:
Zacks Investment Research
is an A+ Rated BBB
Accredited Business.
Copyright 2013 Zacks Investment Research
At the center of everything we do is a strong commitment to independent research and sharing its profitable discoveries with investors. This dedication to giving investors a trading advantage led to the creation of our proven Zacks Rank stock-rating system. Since 1986 it has nearly tripled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +26% per year. These returns cover a period from 1986-2011 and were examined and attested by Baker Tilly, an independent accounting firm.
Visit performance for information about the performance numbers displayed above.
NYSE and AMEX data is at least 20 minutes delayed. NASDAQ data is at least 15 minutes delayed.