Wednesday June 14 2017

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 United Technologies (UTX), Abbott (ABT), and Delta Air (DAL).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 >>>

Buy rated United Technologies shares have outperformed the Zacks Conglomerates sector as well as the S&P 500 index in the year-to-date period (the stock is up +9.5% vs. +3.1% gain for the sector) on the back of a revamped aerospace unit and improved growth outlook through strategic acquisition opportunities. While questions remain about the new administration's ability to ramp up defense spending, this favorable expectation is nevertheless a positive for the company. The improving outlook for the global economy is another macro tailwind for UTX. The company remains in excellent financial health and pays a stable dividend (currently yielding 2.2%), but value-oriented investors will likely have issues with the stock's current elevated valuation.

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

Abbott shares have outperformed the Zacks Medical sector in the year-to-date period (the stock is up +24.2% vs. +17.9% gain for the sector) on the back of greater appreciation for the company's strategic repositioning through acquisitions/divestitures. A case in point is the St. Jude Medical buyout that complements the company cardiovascular devices business. All in all, market participants like management's strategic focus on core therapeutic areas. On the flip side, the analyst identifies weakness in the nutrition business in China and sluggish growth in the Venezuelan market as areas of concern.

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

Delta Air Lines shares rallied +10.4% over the last three months, handily outperforming the Zacks Airline industry's +6.4% gain. However, the stock has underperformed fellow airline heavyweight, American Airlines, which have gained +17.4% in the same time frame. Delta, however, received encouraging news recently on the passenger unit revenue front. The metric registered 3.5% year over year growth in May. The company's decision to hike quarterly dividend is also reassuring. Moreover, the Zacks analyst likes Delta’s employee-friendly approach as well as expansion and debt-reduction efforts. However, increasing costs are likely to once again hurt bottom-line growth in the second quarter of 2017.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Equity Residential (EQR), Ross Stores (ROST) and Concho Resources (CXO).

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Sheraz Mian

Director of Research

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>>>