Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Walter Energy, Patterson-UTI, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and AIG.

Chicago, IL – June 18, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Walter Energy (WLT - Analyst Report) as the Bull of the Day and Patterson-UTI (PTEN - Analyst Report) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Goldman Sachs (GS - Analyst Report), JP Morgan Chase (JPM - Analyst Report) and AIG (AIG - Snapshot Report).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

We are reiterating our Buy recommendation on Walter Energy (WLT - Analyst Report), and are raising our target price to $39.00 per share from $32.00 per share.

Although the weak steel market will adversely impact earnings in 2009, it will still realize favorable margins relative to other domestic coal producers, as it produces some of highest quality low-vol. met coal in the world.

We believe that the company's shift to a pure-play natural resource/energy increases shareholder value as we are bullish on the long-term coal supply and demand story.

Bear of the Day:

Our continued Sell recommendation on Patterson-UTI (PTEN - Analyst Report) shares reflects our expectation of a sustained softness in onshore drilling activities, resulting from a combination of commodity-price weakness, too much natural gas supply and recession-hit demand, particularly in the industrial sector.

Patterson-UTI remains particularly vulnerable to this weak macro environment given its lack of contract coverage and heavy spot market exposure.

While the company remains in strong financial health, its recent decision to cut its quarterly dividend by 69% is a prudent move to conserve capital.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Obama’s Regulatory Reform Plan

The plan greatly extends the supervisory powers of the Federal Reserve as it would become a consolidated supervisor over all large financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs (GS - Analyst Report), JP Morgan Chase (JPM - Analyst Report), AIG (AIG - Snapshot Report), etc., whose problems pose potential risks to the economic system. However, the Fed would be required to receive approval from the Treasury for emergency lending under "unusual and exigent" circumstances.

The proposal will most likely be debated strongly as many critics of the Fed argue that its loose monetary policy and failure to exercise the existing powers over banks ultimately led to the current crisis.

In order to fill in regulatory gaps and coordinate with the various agencies, the plan would create a council of regulators headed by the Treasury Secretary.

The plan also requires all hedge funds and private equity funds to register with the SEC and open their books to regulators.

Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5507.

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.

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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.

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