Friday - December 22, 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 31.8% 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 – Houston Wire & Cable Company (HWCC) Houston Wire & Cable Company (HWCC) has easily exceeded earnings estimates in the past two quarters by an average of 90%. Over the past two months, this year's estimates have jumped 18 cents to $1.43 per share. Similarly, next year's numbers have risen 19 cents to $1.59 per share. The stock is cheap at 13.8x next year's estimates, well below the projected long-term growth rate of 34.2%. Read the full analysis on HWCC now! More...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Telenor ASA (TELN) which was first highlighted as a Growth and Income stock on Mar 22, has soared 70%. The company upped its full-year revenue guidance after posting impressive results for the third quarter. Earnings per share are expected to grow 12% over the next 3-5 years. The company has a current dividend yield of 2.8% and a five-year average dividend yield of 1.5%. TELN’s return on equity dwarfs that of the industry average—29% compared to 9%. Read the full analysis on TELN now! Bio-Imaging Technologies (BITI) has begun to turn profitable, reporting on Nov 8 EPS for the Sep 2006 quarter at 3 cents per share. That compared to a loss of five cents in the Sep 2005 quarter. The Nov 8 report was also a 200% positive surprise compared to analysts’ expectations. Read the full analysis on BITI now! AMERISAFE, Inc. (AMSF), a Zacks #1 Rank stock, exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations over the past four quarters by an average margin of 42.2%. In late October, the company posted solid results for the third quarter and first nine months of the year. AMSF has a price-to-book ratio of 2.0, compared to 4.9 for the market. Its return on equity nearly doubles that of the industry average—25% compared to 13%. Read the full analysis on AMSF now!
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: High Rank Value High Rank Value is a strategy designed to find the true bargains among value stocks. By requiring a Zacks Rank of #1 ("Strong Buy") or #2 ("Buy"), this strategy restricts the pool of value stocks to only those with positive revisions in earnings estimates. In other words, profits are expected to improve in the future at a faster pace than originally anticipated. The combination of a low valuation and a high Zacks Rank is very profitable. This Profit Track has consistently topped the S&P 500 during the past five years. In 2005, High Rank Value generated an annualized return of +13.7%, more than double the 6.5% return for the S&P 500 (return data is through Dec 2). EMC Insurance Group Inc. (EMCI), a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company, has a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 9.10 and a price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 1.77. In late October, the company announced third-quarter earnings of 85 cents per share, which matched the consensus estimate. The company noted that it was another record-breaking quarter, adding that it has a solid book of business and it continues to benefit from favorable development on prior years' reserves. Continue your research on EMCI now! Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. (ENH) offers a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 10.79 and a price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 1.30. In late October, the company reported third-quarter earnings of $1.87 per share, excluding items. The result outperformed the consensus estimate by almost 36%. ENH stated that its results benefited from strong pricing and lower than expected losses in its catastrophe exposed businesses. Continue your research on ENH now! First United Corporation (FUNC) released financial results for the third quarter in early November. Earnings per share totaled 53 cents, surpassing the year-prior total of 50 cents. First United Corporation satisfies the criteria for this Profit Track as evidenced by its price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 10.09 and a price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 1.46. Continue your research on FUNC now! Unitrin, Inc. (UTR), another Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) name, posted third-quarter earnings per share that were ahead of analyst expectations by roughly 127%. The company mentioned that it was pleased with its record third quarter operating results, adding that operating results were particularly strong at its Unitrin Kemper Auto and Home and its Life and Health Insurance business segments. UTR sports a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 13.10 and a price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 1.61. Continue your research on UTR 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”. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kevin Matras shows how to find great growth stocks at an excellent value. More... 3. ZACKS EQUITY RESEARCH Checking in on how the restaurant industry is doing, we recently spoke with senior restaurant analyst Ann Northrop, CFA. We also got her view on the short-term and long-term expectations for stocks in this group. How have restaurant stocks been performing lately? Restaurant industry stocks have enjoyed a big run-up in the latter part of this year. They have outperformed the S&P and the Nasdaq, and has been kind of in-line with the Russell. At the same time of this run-up, however, the industry faces slowing same-store sales trends as well as other headwinds: rising gas prices, rising mortgage rates, a potential slowing of the economy – all of which are expected to squeeze the consumer. More. . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Particularly hard-hit is the casual dining sector, which looks to be affected more than the other restaurant groups: upscale and quick-service restaurants (QSRs, or “fast food”). Why? Because people buying a steak at Ruth’s Chris (RUTH) are typically not worried about an extra $10 to fill the gas tank, and for some people fast food is the only means of eating. Casual dining, on the other hand, is more tied to consumer sentiment and has more of a psychological impact. If people are feeling poorer, they are less likely to dine out. So are you seeing restaurant stocks as currently being overvalued? I wouldn’t say overvalued so much as trading at peak multiples. Right now, casual dining is trading at a discount to fast food, but as a whole casual dining is growing faster over the longer term. In fact, long-term industry trends for restaurants are looking pretty good. As more individuals and families are time-squeezed, they tend to eat at more restaurants. Dual-income families and the more-affluent Baby Boomers also tend to eat out more. And for all three segments – upscale, casual and QSR – they are all favorable in the long term. Trends for restaurants are generally showing characteristics of a maturing industry. We are seeing slowing sales and profitability, and narrowing margins. Companies are returning value to shareholders in the form of share buybacks, though, and much of the slowing in growth is a result of their focus on profitability. Which type of stocks are you recommending at this time? Well, near-term, stocks should be selected very carefully, based on the headwinds I was mentioning before. But there are some companies that are stock-price catalysts in that they have more viable strategies to improve their sales margins and earnings in the face of the near-term industry slowdown. We are currently looking more favorably on companies like Rubio’s (RUBO) and O’Charley’s (CHUX). These companies tend to trade at substantial discounts to the group as a whole, so if they execute on their strategies they could achieve good returns for investors. And long-term, restaurants are still a growth industry. That’s right. For 2007, the likelihood of higher gas prices and mortgage rates, in addition to a slowing economy, are all negatives for restaurants. But long-term, there are a lot of favorable aspects – Baby Boomers, dual income and time-squeezed families. Also, people are shopping at grocery stores less: sales are decelerating to low-to-mid-single-digit growth, whereas restaurant sales over the long term are accelerating to and/or maintaining mid-to-high-single-digit growth. Ann Northrop, CFA is a senior analyst covering the restaurant industry for Zacks Equity Research. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Analyst Blog Real-time market insights from Zacks Equity Research Analysts. Stocks featured recently include GlaxoSmithKline, Plc (GSK), ConocoPhillips (COP), Palm, Inc. (PALM) and Wet Seal (WTSLA). To see their latest posts, click here. Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) - Demand Increasing. For full Zacks research report, click here. Jabil Circuit (JBL) - Reducing Estimates. For full Zacks research report, click here. Hitting the Brakes on Trucking Materials and Industrials Expected to Lead Q4 Earnings 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. FEATURED EXPERTS Here we cast the spotlight on timely Featured Expert commentaries that recently appeared on Zacks.com.
Dr. Melvin Pasternak discusses the S&P’s recent climb and other economic data. Benefit from his insight and discover a few stocks. More...
Gregory Spear says the market may be pausing before the next step up. Discover what he sees heading into 2007. More...
Jack Adamo is taking a little money off the table. Learn why and read some of his stock updates. 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. Or view the full list of Zacks #1 Ranked stocks. 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 05/22/2013
| 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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