Monday - January 8, 2006
 Want to view the archive of past issues? Click here. Manage your Profit from the Pros subscription: 1. ZACKS RANK BUY STOCKS Zacks #1 Rank 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 - Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (MDRX) Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (MDRX) is benefiting
from the secular growth of information technology in the
healthcare industry. Our analyst Gregory Aurand, CFA believes
the growth outlook is favorable, despite financial barriers,
as acceptance of technology to improve healthcare is
increasing and the Allscripts market is only about one-quarter
penetrated.. Read the full analysis on MDRX now! Growth & Income - W.R. Berkley Corporation (BER) W.R. Berkley Corporation (BER) reported solid results for the third quarter and first nine months of the year in late October. On Nov 3, the Board of Directors increased the company's share repurchase authorization by 20 million shares and declared a quarterly cash dividend of four cents per share. BER’s return on equity nearly doubles that of the industry average—25% compared to 13%. Read the full analysis on BER now! More...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Momentum - Rock-Tenn Company (RKT) Rock-Tenn Company (RKT) continues to benefit from the positive
earnings surprise that it reported on Nov 6, the third
straight quarter that it exceeded analysts’ expectations. The
company is expected to report earnings for the Dec 2005
quarter at the end of the month, on Jan 25. Analysts are
calling for EPS of 14 cents, versus a loss of 17 cents in the
prior-year period. Read the full analysis on RKT now! Value - SeaBright Insurance Holdings, Inc. (SEAB) SeaBright Insurance Holdings, Inc. (SEAB), a Zacks #1 Rank
stock, topped analysts’ earnings expectations in four out of
the past five quarters by an average margin of 16.7%. The
company reported solid results for the third quarter and first
nine months of the year in late October. Consensus estimates
for this year and next have jumped over the past two months.
The company has a price-to-book ratio of 1.6, compared to 4.8
for the market. Its PEG ratio currently sits at 0.71. Read the full analysis on SEAB now! 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: PEG Ratio This strategy uses the PEG Ratio to find attractively priced stocks poised for price appreciation. The PEG Ratio is simply the P/E (Price divided by Earnings) of a stock divided by its 5-year projected growth rate. Too often investors think of value investing being the antithesis of growth investing. The beauty of using PEG is that you can find value stocks even amongst hot growth stocks. Let's take a closer look. A company with a P/E Ratio of 20 and a Growth Rate of 10% will have a PEG Ratio of 2.0 (20 / 10 = 2.0). While a company with a P/E Ratio of 40 and a Growth Rate of 50% will have a PEG Ratio of only 0.8 ( 40 / 50 = 0.8) The stock with the P/E of 40 is actually the better bargain since its PEG Ratio is lower (0.8) implying it's undervalued with more upside potential. In general, a PEG value of less than 1 is considered undervalued while greater than 1 is thought to be fully valued to overvalued. The lower the PEG, the better the value, because the investor would be paying less for each unit of earnings growth. Houston Wire & Cable Company (HWCC), a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company, released third-quarter results in late October. ACGL posted after-tax operating income of $2.62 per share for the third quarter. The result topped the consensus estimate by nearly 45% and reversed the year-ago loss. Arch Capital Group’s PEG ratio currently stands at 0.48. Continue your research on HWCC now! National Oilwell Varco, Incorporated (NOV) reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of 30 cents per share in mid-October. The result improved on last year's 20 cents and topped the consensus estimate by approximately 7%. Celadon Group stated that higher freight rates and continued focus on cost controls allowed it to improve its operating ratio by 300 basis points to 89.2% in the September 2006 quarter from 92.2% in the September 2005 quarter. CLDN offers a PEG ratio of 0.46. Continue your research on NOV now! Steelcase Inc. (SCS), another Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company, satisfies the criteria for this Profit Track as evidenced by its PEG ratio of 0.48. In early November, the company announced third-quarter earnings of 45 cents per share, beating the consensus estimate by nearly 41%. Sales increased to a record $90 million from the previous year's $58 million. Continue your research on SCS now! W-H Energy Services Inc. (WHQ), also a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) name, has a PEG ratio currently stands at 0.27. The company released fiscal second-quarter results in late October. Earnings per share improved on a year-over-year basis and were ahead of Wall Street forecasts. Analysts have been bullish on earnings estimates for the year ending in March 2007. Current estimates of $5.64 per share, moved up from one month-ago levels of $5.57. Continue your research on WHQ 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 a price and volume screen for finding stocks on the move, NOW!!! Read more... 3. ZACKS EQUITY RESEARCH Fourth-quarter earnings season officially kicks off on Tuesday with Alcoa’s (AA) results. The aluminum company is projected to report profits of 69 cents per share, though, as I state below, the Most Recent Consensus is more bearish at 67 cents per share. The bulk of earnings reports will not start being released for another 10 days. For companies within the S&P 500, profit growth in the low double-digit range seems possible given current estimates and the prospensity of companies to exceed expectations. Within the broader Zacks Rank universe, there have been fourth-quarter numbers from 88 companies so far. Positive surprises are outnumbering negative surprises by an approximate 2:1 margin (51 versus 24). This is a good start, but given the size of the group, I would suggest refraining from reading too much into the numbers. More. . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The economic calendar is pretty light this week and should not materially influence market direction. November consumer credit will be released on Monday afternoon. November trade deficit and wholesale inventory numbers are scheduled for Wednesday morning. As always, initial jobless claims will be released on Thursday. Friday brings December retail sales data and December import price information. Companies That Could Surprise During the Week of Jan 8-12 Genentech (DNA) has delivered two large quarterly surprises in a row, topping expectations by nine and 10 cents, respectively. This is a tough act to repeat, but the current trend in estimate revisions is bullish. The consensus estimate for the fourth quarter has been revised upwards by a penny over the past 30 days to 52 cents per share. The Most Recent Consensus is more optimistic at 56 cents per share. Investors may also want to note that DNA recently announced positive results from a Phase II study combining petruzumab with gemcitabine to treat women with fallopian tube cancer. Genentech will report on Wednesday, Jan 10, after the close of trading. Alcoa’s (AA) third-quarter earnings were less than desirable at 62 cents per share; analysts had projected profits to total 80 cents per share. Estimates for the fourth-quarter are basically unchanged, though the Most Recent Consensus is two cents below the current consensus estimate of 69 cents per share. Aluminum prices have fallen recently, pulling back from a double-top formation – a bearish pattern. To be fair, earlier this week, AA announced what it described as “major” contract wins in Japan. Alcoa will report on Tuesday, Jan 9, probably after the close of trading. The Greenbrier Companies (GBX) cut its fiscal first-quarter guidance in late December. Citing production difficulties with the introduction of railcars, lower gains on equipment sales and other factors, the company cut its guidance for operating earnings to 10 to 13 cents per share. Three of the four covering analysts responded by slashing their estimates, resulting in a 41-cent drop in the consensus estimate to 13 cents per share. GBX missed fiscal fourth-quarter estimates by nine cents with profits of 53 cents per share. The Greenbrier Companies will report on Tuesday, Jan 9, before the start of trading. Read the complete Earnings Preview now! Charles Rotblut, CFA, is the senior market analyst for Zacks.com. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Analyst Blog Real-time market insights from Zacks Equity Research Analysts. Stocks featured recently include Dollar Financial (DLLR), Pride Int'l (PDE), Alkermes, Inc. (ALKS) and King Pharmaceuticals (KG). To see their latest posts, click here. Hittite Microwave (HITT) - Well Situated. For full Zacks research report, click here. Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN) - Pipeline Setbacks. For full Zacks research report, click here. Flat-Panel Sales Lower Than Expected 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. Scoreboard 2006 As we begin the new year, Kelley Wright examines his portfolio's performance in 2006. More... Walter Frank discusses his outlook for 2007 and profiles a mutual fund. Benefit from his insight. More... Ken Trester continues to receive neutral readings. Find out what he sees on the horizon and check out an option play. 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 at. 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! 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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