Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Expedia, Gerdau S.A., Yum! Brands, Frisch’s Restaurants and Brinker International

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 16, 2011 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Expedia, Inc. ( EXPE - Analyst Report) as the Bull of the Day and Gerdau S.A. ( GGB - Analyst Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis Yum! Brands Inc. ( YUM - Analyst Report), Frisch’s Restaurants Inc. ( FRS) and Brinker International Inc. ( EAT - Analyst Report).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Expedia, Inc. ( EXPE - Analyst Report), one of the leading online travel companies in the world, solidly beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the second quarter, despite higher expenses. A stronger economy, increased travel spending by both individuals and corporations and international expansion are driving results.

Additionally, Egencia is turning around, posting strong results in the last quarter. The solid growth strategy across markets and stronger business fundamentals overall are the reasons for our Outperform recommendation.

The shares also appear cheap since they are trading at a forward P/E of 16.5X compared to a 52.2X multiple for the peer group. Our $36.00 target price, 20.0X 2011 EPS, reflects our favorable view.

Bear of the Day:

Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau S.A.'s ( GGB - Analyst Report) second quarter results were rather disappointing as the company's EPS of $0.18 plummeted 38% year over year and lagged behind the Zacks Consensus by 14 cents. Results were plagued by higher raw material costs that have been persistently affecting the company's financial health.

To add to the peril, Gerdau's positive momentum gets restricted by the headwinds arising from foreign currency fluctuation, cyclicality of the industry and stiff competition. Thus, we have downgraded our recommendation on the stock from Neutral to Underperform.

Gerdau's current trailing 12-month earnings multiple is 11.6X, compared with 27.4X for the peer group and 15.9X for the S&P 500. Our $7.75 target price is based on 9.6X 2011 earnings per ADR.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Yum! Brands Ups Dividend 14%

Kentucky-based Yum! Brands Inc. ( YUM - Analyst Report) recently announced its decision to hike quarterly dividend by 14% from 25 cents paid previously. This equates to an annual payout of $1.14 per share. The increased dividend will be paid on November 4, 2011 to stockholders of record on October 14. This represents the seventh consecutive annual increase in dividend paid by Yum! Brands since its inception in 2004 and brings the forward annual dividend yield as of September 14, 2011 to 2.14%.

The company has a consistent track record of paying quarterly dividends, supported by its cash position. The dividend policy continues to target a payout ratio of 35–40% of the annual net income. During the last five-year period, Yum! Brands’ dividend has grown at a rate of 32.8%; a much faster pace than the industry average of 6.3%.

The last dividend hike of 19% to 25 cents was announced in September 2010. Prior to that, Yum! announced a dividend hike of 11% in September 2009 along with an authorization of 300 million share repurchase.

One of Yum! Brands’ peers, Frisch’s Restaurants Inc. ( FRS) announced a 6.7% increment in its dividend to 16 cents, early this week. Another peer, Brinker International Inc. ( EAT - Analyst Report) increased its quarterly dividend by 14% to 16 cents per share in August end.

Yum! Brands’ forward annualized dividend yield surpassed the industry average of 1.48%. However, it lagged forward annualized dividend yields of 3.23% and 2.98% of Frisch’s Restaurants and Brinker, respectively.

Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.

About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

About the Analyst Blog

Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous analyst coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=7158.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD from MIT Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment

Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=4582.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Follow us on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/zacksresearch

Join us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

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.

Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
http://www.zacks.com

Read the full analyst report on EXPE

Read the full analyst report on GGB

Read the full analyst report on YUM

Read the full analyst report on FRS

Read the full analyst report on EAT