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Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including General Electric (GE - Free Report) , Altria (MO - Free Report) and UnitedHealth (UNH - Free Report) .
General Electric shares have lagged the market over the last three months, gaining only +1.3% on concerns about the conglomerate's order backlog and continued weakness in the energy end-market. This issue notwithstanding, the company has done an excellent job of its plan to reduce its exposure to finance and get back to its industrial and engineering roots.
To that end, it is enjoying strong momentum in the power and aviation end markets, partly offset by continued weakness in the energy space. General Electric reported relatively healthy fourth-quarter results and has offered a bullish guidance for 2017 on healthy growth dynamics. (You can read the full research report on General Electric here.)
Altria shares have outperformed the Zacks Consumer Staples sector in the past three months, gaining +9.5% vs a -0.8% decline. Altria reported mixed fourth quarter earnings though earnings and revenue increased year-over-year. The analyst is optimistic about Altria’s subsidiary, Nu Mark LLC, which expanded the distribution of MarkTen XL e-vapor products and Green Smoke e-cigarettes in several lead markets.
Overall, the company’s growing market share in the e-cigarette category and efforts to adapt to the evolving consumer trends and develop less harmful alternative tobacco products are encouraging. However, higher fees associated with litigations and the FDA’s anti-smoking campaigns are hurting profitability. (You can read the full research report on Altria here.)
Buy rated UnitedHealth shares have gained 47.1% over the last one year, underperforming the Zacks Medical Health Maintenance Organization industry, which has gained 38.2% over the same period. UnitedHealth’s better-than-expected earnings were driven by strong results from both UnitedHealth Care and Optum segments. The company also reaffirmed the previously issued guidance for 2017.
The analyst stresses that the company is consistently gaining from the Medicaid and Medicare businesses. Continued growth at Optum is also creating a diversified revenue source. Also, UnitedHealth should benefit from its capital strength and niche market position. But losses on public exchange business and higher operating costs are some of the headwinds. You can read the full research report on UnitedHealth here.)
Today's Long-Term Buys & Sells Today you can gain access to the best long-term trades unearthed by Zacks Research. These moves have double and triple-digit profit potential and are rarely available to the public. Starting now, you can look inside our stocks under $10, home run and value stock portfolios, plus more. Want a peek at this private information? Click here >>
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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Top Research Reports for February 6, 2017
Monday, February 6 2017
Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including General Electric (GE - Free Report) , Altria (MO - Free Report) and UnitedHealth (UNH - Free Report) .
General Electric shares have lagged the market over the last three months, gaining only +1.3% on concerns about the conglomerate's order backlog and continued weakness in the energy end-market. This issue notwithstanding, the company has done an excellent job of its plan to reduce its exposure to finance and get back to its industrial and engineering roots.
To that end, it is enjoying strong momentum in the power and aviation end markets, partly offset by continued weakness in the energy space. General Electric reported relatively healthy fourth-quarter results and has offered a bullish guidance for 2017 on healthy growth dynamics. (You can read the full research report on General Electric here.)
Altria shares have outperformed the Zacks Consumer Staples sector in the past three months, gaining +9.5% vs a -0.8% decline. Altria reported mixed fourth quarter earnings though earnings and revenue increased year-over-year. The analyst is optimistic about Altria’s subsidiary, Nu Mark LLC, which expanded the distribution of MarkTen XL e-vapor products and Green Smoke e-cigarettes in several lead markets.
Overall, the company’s growing market share in the e-cigarette category and efforts to adapt to the evolving consumer trends and develop less harmful alternative tobacco products are encouraging. However, higher fees associated with litigations and the FDA’s anti-smoking campaigns are hurting profitability. (You can read the full research report on Altria here.)
Buy rated UnitedHealth shares have gained 47.1% over the last one year, underperforming the Zacks Medical Health Maintenance Organization industry, which has gained 38.2% over the same period. UnitedHealth’s better-than-expected earnings were driven by strong results from both UnitedHealth Care and Optum segments. The company also reaffirmed the previously issued guidance for 2017.
The analyst stresses that the company is consistently gaining from the Medicaid and Medicare businesses. Continued growth at Optum is also creating a diversified revenue source. Also, UnitedHealth should benefit from its capital strength and niche market position. But losses on public exchange business and higher operating costs are some of the headwinds. You can read the full research report on UnitedHealth here.)
Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include 3M (MMM - Free Report) , Caterpillar (CAT - Free Report) and Phillips 66 (PSX - Free Report) .
Today's Long-Term Buys & Sells
Today you can gain access to the best long-term trades unearthed by Zacks Research. These moves have double and triple-digit profit potential and are rarely available to the public. Starting now, you can look inside our stocks under $10, home run and value stock portfolios, plus more. Want a peek at this private information? Click here >>
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 >>>