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Research Daily

Monday, June 11, 2018

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Disney (DIS), Caterpillar (CAT) and MetLife (MET). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>

Disney’s shares have lost -3.2% year to date, underperforming the Zacks Media Conglomerates industry’s -1.6% decline in that same time period. Disney’s impressive second-quarter fiscal 2018 results benefited from continuing strength at Parks & Resorts segment and stupendous success of Marvel title Black Panther, which were enough to mitigate another dismal performance from ESPN segment.

Parks & Resorts gained from significant visitor growth, increased per capita spending and shift in the timing of the Easter holiday. However, higher programming costs negatively impacted ESPN’s profitability. The Zacks analyst thinks continued subscriber loss remains a concern for the division.

Additionally, higher spending on ESPN+ is likely to hurt profitability. Nevertheless, Disney’s scintillating slate of movie titles, Avengers: Infinity War’s impressive collections and strong book rates at Parks & Resorts are positive developments that will help the stock to rebound in the rest of fiscal 2018.

(You can read the full research report on Disney here >>>).

Shares of Strong Buy-ranked Caterpillar have gained +46.4% over the past year, outperforming the Zacks Construction and Mining industry which has increased +45.1% over the same period. Driven by strong order rates, increasing backlog, positive economic indicators Caterpillar expects adjusted EPS at $10.25-$11.25 for 2018, the mid-point of which reflects year-over-year rise of 56%.

The Zacks analyst thinks the Construction segment will benefit from infrastructure development in China and continued demand improvement in North American residential, non-residential and infrastructure markets. Rising commodity prices will drive Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation’s revenues. Cost cutting efforts and additional investments in expanded offerings and services will drive growth.

(You can read the full research report on Caterpillar here >>>).

Buy-ranked MetLife’s shares have lost -10.9% over the last year, underperforming the Zacks Multi-Line Insurance industry, which has declined -2% over the same period. However, MetLife’s efforts to streamline business, only to focus on core business, are really impressive, according to the Zacks analyst.

Its revenues grew in 2017 after declining for two years and the trend is likely to continue in 2018. Its strong international operations and disciplined capital management should drive long-term growth.

The stock has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings being revised upward over the last 60 days. Nevertheless, exposure to catastrophe losses and investment in efficiency programs will put pressure on margins.

(You can read the full research report on MetLife here >>>).

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Becton, Dickinson (BDX), Celgene (CELG) and Northrop Grumman (NOC).

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Mark Vickery

Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>

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