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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: First Bancorp, FS Bancorp, TransMontaigne Partners, Koppers Holdings and ExlService Holdings
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 27, 2017 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include First Bancorp (NYSE: (FBP - Free Report) – Free Report), FS Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: (FSBW - Free Report) – Free Report), TransMontaigne Partners L.P. (NYSE: – Free Report), Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: (KOP - Free Report) – Free Report) and ExlService Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: (EXLS - Free Report) – Free Report).
As conflicts between the United States and North Korea intensified and tech behemoths saw sharp declines, capital tiptoed back to sectors that have been underperforming this year. Among such sectors is banks, a group that was headed to record the worst year since 2013 even a month ago. With the Federal Reserve likely to sell off bonds at a gradual pace, Treasury yields moved north. This in turn boosted net interest margin, an important profitability metric for the banking sector.
Energy companies are also gaining ground this month as crude-oil futures entered a bull phase as markets are approaching a rebalancing of demand and supply. Among other prominent reversals were small-caps gaining traction. Investors are thrilled that President Trump’s renewed initiative to push for a tax reform could spark a revival in such stocks. Before this month, the Russell 2000 index of small-caps had seen the highest number of short positions since September 2008.
Since these losing trades have sprung back to life this month, investing in the same seems prudent. It has also been a breather for Wall Street strategists as such movements help the bull market scale record highs.
Banks Ride the Wave of Steepening Yield Curve
The KBW’s bank measure has shown better returns this month, climbing more than 4%. That’s a turnaround from the first eight months of this year, when the index trailed the broader markets by more than 7 percentage points. This is welcome news for market bulls who have added $5.3 billion to financial-focused exchange traded funds this year.
The Fed is widely expected to start reducing its massive portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities after its two-day policy meeting ended on Sep 20. This will be for the first time ever that the central bank will unwind its crisis-era stimulus program. The bond selloff, in the meanwhile, is pushing the long-term Treasury yields higher.
Additionally, such yields are climbing after U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August. U.S. consumer prices rose 0.4% last month, the highest one-month gain since January. This has pushed the year-over-year increase to 1.9% from 1.7% in July. Since banks lend over the long term and borrow for shorter periods, an increase in the long-term yield is beneficial for them.
Oil is on Fire – Energy Shares Gain
The price of oil has surged more than 20% to trade around $52 a barrel, significantly recovering from its June lows of about $42. Oil prices moved north after major producers said that the global market was on its way toward tallying international demand-and-supply levels. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”), Russia and several other producers had trimmed output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to match demand levels this year, which propelled oil prices nearly 15% in the past three months.
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq, who chaired the recently held meeting in Vienna of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee declared that production curbs were helping bring down global crude inventories to their five-year average, which OPEC has been striving to achieve for quite some time. While the energy minister from the United Arab Emirates said that the country was complying with OPEC’s supply cuts, Nigeria is also pumping below the output cap as per its oil minister.
Small-Caps Regain Appeal
It has, undoubtedly, been a rough year for small-cap stocks. The Russell 200 index, which tracks small-cap companies, lost 1.4% last month but gained 3.4% this month, beating the large-cap S&P 500’s gain of 1%. In fact, on Sep 25, the index had hit an all-time high of 1,453. Some analysts believe that such a feat was possible due to a general rotation out of large-caps, mostly dominated by technology companies, and into smaller domestic firms.
However, most analysts opine that investors are upbeat about a tax plan that helped $1.8 billion flow into small-caps last week. Trump has promised to cut corporate tax rate from 35% to 15% as the economy has showed signs of progress. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of the goods and services produced in the United States, rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 3% in the second quarter, supported by solid consumer outlays and pickup in business investments.
Slashed corporate tax rates, in ther meanwhile, are particularly a boon for small-caps. Being predominantly domestic firms, small-caps are less adept at reducing tax bills.
5 Solid Choices
September has seen renewed interest in banks, energy and small-cap stocks that have mostly lagged throughout the year. While no single catalyst is responsible for this uptick, it has somewhat signaled a return of confidence in the U.S. economy.
We have, thus, selected five stocks from such areas that flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and 2 (Buy). These stocks also have a VGM Score of A or B. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three metrics. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners.
First Bancorp (NYSE: FBP – Free Report) operates as the bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to retail, commercial, and institutional clients. It has 11 branches in the U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands, and 11 branches in the state of Florida. First Bancorp has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 6.7% over the last 60 days. The company’s expected growth rate for both the current and next quarter is 9.1%.
FS Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSBW – Free Report) operates as a bank holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington that provides banking and financial services to families, businesses, and industry niches in Puget Sound area communities, Washington. FS Bancorp has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 14.8% over the last 60 days. The company’s expected growth rate for the next quarter and the entire year are 2.3% and 17.4%, respectively.
TransMontaigne Partners L.P. (NYSE: TLP – Free Report) offers its services to customers engaged in the trading, distribution, and marketing of light and heavy refined petroleum products, crude oil, chemicals, fertilizers, and other liquid products. The company has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 4.9% over the last 60 days. The company’s expected growth rate for the current and next quarters are 27% and 4.6%, respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KOP – Free Report) provides treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals, and carbon compounds in the United States and internationally. The company has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 5.9% over the last 60 days. The company’s expected growth rate for the next quarter and the entire year are 20% and 17.2%, respectively.
ExlService Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXLS – Free Report) provides operations management and analytics services in the United States and internationally. The company has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 1.2% over the last 60 days. The company’s expected growth rate for the current and next quarters are 4.9% and 8.6%, respectively.
Can Hackers Put Money INTO Your Portfolio?
Earlier this month, credit bureau Equifax announced a massive data breach affecting 2 out of every 3 Americans. The cybersecurity industry is expanding quickly in response to this and similar events. But some stocks are better investments than others.
Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investor’s Guide to help Zacks.com readers make the most of the $170 billion per year investment opportunity created by hackers and other threats. It reveals 4 stocks worth looking into right away.
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential stocks free >>.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: First Bancorp, FS Bancorp, TransMontaigne Partners, Koppers Holdings and ExlService Holdings
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 27, 2017 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include First Bancorp (NYSE: (FBP - Free Report) – Free Report), FS Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: (FSBW - Free Report) – Free Report), TransMontaigne Partners L.P. (NYSE: – Free Report), Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: (KOP - Free Report) – Free Report) and ExlService Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: (EXLS - Free Report) – Free Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
Losing Trades Spring Back to Life in September
As conflicts between the United States and North Korea intensified and tech behemoths saw sharp declines, capital tiptoed back to sectors that have been underperforming this year. Among such sectors is banks, a group that was headed to record the worst year since 2013 even a month ago. With the Federal Reserve likely to sell off bonds at a gradual pace, Treasury yields moved north. This in turn boosted net interest margin, an important profitability metric for the banking sector.
Energy companies are also gaining ground this month as crude-oil futures entered a bull phase as markets are approaching a rebalancing of demand and supply. Among other prominent reversals were small-caps gaining traction. Investors are thrilled that President Trump’s renewed initiative to push for a tax reform could spark a revival in such stocks. Before this month, the Russell 2000 index of small-caps had seen the highest number of short positions since September 2008.
Since these losing trades have sprung back to life this month, investing in the same seems prudent. It has also been a breather for Wall Street strategists as such movements help the bull market scale record highs.
Banks Ride the Wave of Steepening Yield Curve
The KBW’s bank measure has shown better returns this month, climbing more than 4%. That’s a turnaround from the first eight months of this year, when the index trailed the broader markets by more than 7 percentage points. This is welcome news for market bulls who have added $5.3 billion to financial-focused exchange traded funds this year.
The Fed is widely expected to start reducing its massive portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities after its two-day policy meeting ended on Sep 20. This will be for the first time ever that the central bank will unwind its crisis-era stimulus program. The bond selloff, in the meanwhile, is pushing the long-term Treasury yields higher.
Additionally, such yields are climbing after U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August. U.S. consumer prices rose 0.4% last month, the highest one-month gain since January. This has pushed the year-over-year increase to 1.9% from 1.7% in July. Since banks lend over the long term and borrow for shorter periods, an increase in the long-term yield is beneficial for them.
Oil is on Fire – Energy Shares Gain
The price of oil has surged more than 20% to trade around $52 a barrel, significantly recovering from its June lows of about $42. Oil prices moved north after major producers said that the global market was on its way toward tallying international demand-and-supply levels. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”), Russia and several other producers had trimmed output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to match demand levels this year, which propelled oil prices nearly 15% in the past three months.
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq, who chaired the recently held meeting in Vienna of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee declared that production curbs were helping bring down global crude inventories to their five-year average, which OPEC has been striving to achieve for quite some time. While the energy minister from the United Arab Emirates said that the country was complying with OPEC’s supply cuts, Nigeria is also pumping below the output cap as per its oil minister.
Small-Caps Regain Appeal
It has, undoubtedly, been a rough year for small-cap stocks. The Russell 200 index, which tracks small-cap companies, lost 1.4% last month but gained 3.4% this month, beating the large-cap S&P 500’s gain of 1%. In fact, on Sep 25, the index had hit an all-time high of 1,453. Some analysts believe that such a feat was possible due to a general rotation out of large-caps, mostly dominated by technology companies, and into smaller domestic firms.
However, most analysts opine that investors are upbeat about a tax plan that helped $1.8 billion flow into small-caps last week. Trump has promised to cut corporate tax rate from 35% to 15% as the economy has showed signs of progress. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of the goods and services produced in the United States, rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 3% in the second quarter, supported by solid consumer outlays and pickup in business investments.
Slashed corporate tax rates, in ther meanwhile, are particularly a boon for small-caps. Being predominantly domestic firms, small-caps are less adept at reducing tax bills.
5 Solid Choices
September has seen renewed interest in banks, energy and small-cap stocks that have mostly lagged throughout the year. While no single catalyst is responsible for this uptick, it has somewhat signaled a return of confidence in the U.S. economy.
We have, thus, selected five stocks from such areas that flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and 2 (Buy). These stocks also have a VGM Score of A or B. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three metrics. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners.
First Bancorp (NYSE: FBP – Free Report) operates as the bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to retail, commercial, and institutional clients. It has 11 branches in the U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands, and 11 branches in the state of Florida. First Bancorp has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 6.7% over the last 60 days. The company’s expected growth rate for both the current and next quarter is 9.1%.
FS Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSBW – Free Report) operates as a bank holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington that provides banking and financial services to families, businesses, and industry niches in Puget Sound area communities, Washington. FS Bancorp has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 14.8% over the last 60 days. The company’s expected growth rate for the next quarter and the entire year are 2.3% and 17.4%, respectively.
TransMontaigne Partners L.P. (NYSE: TLP – Free Report) offers its services to customers engaged in the trading, distribution, and marketing of light and heavy refined petroleum products, crude oil, chemicals, fertilizers, and other liquid products. The company has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 4.9% over the last 60 days. The company’s expected growth rate for the current and next quarters are 27% and 4.6%, respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KOP – Free Report) provides treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals, and carbon compounds in the United States and internationally. The company has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 5.9% over the last 60 days. The company’s expected growth rate for the next quarter and the entire year are 20% and 17.2%, respectively.
ExlService Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXLS – Free Report) provides operations management and analytics services in the United States and internationally. The company has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 1.2% over the last 60 days. The company’s expected growth rate for the current and next quarters are 4.9% and 8.6%, respectively.
Can Hackers Put Money INTO Your Portfolio?
Earlier this month, credit bureau Equifax announced a massive data breach affecting 2 out of every 3 Americans. The cybersecurity industry is expanding quickly in response to this and similar events. But some stocks are better investments than others.
Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investor’s Guide to help Zacks.com readers make the most of the $170 billion per year investment opportunity created by hackers and other threats. It reveals 4 stocks worth looking into right away.
Download the new report now>>
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential stocks free >>.
Get the full Report on FBP - FREE
Get the full Report on FSBW - FREE
Get the full Report on TLP - FREE
Get the full Report on KOP - FREE
Get the full Report on EXLS - FREE
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.