Wednesday, February 1, 2023

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 Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), Enbridge Inc. (ENB) and Fiserv, Inc. (FISV). 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 >>>

Shares of Texas Instruments have underperformed the Zacks Semiconductor - General industry over the past year (-5.7% vs. -23.4%). The company is facing sluggishness in the Analog segment remains a concern. Further, weakening momentum across personal electronics and industrial end-markets is a negative. Additionally, pandemic-led supply-chain disruptions and imposition of new export regulations are headwinds.

However, Texas Instruments fourth quarter results were driven by solid momentum across its Embedded Processing segment. Growing demand for embedded technologies across the automotive and industrial markets contributed well.

Additionally, continued rebound in the automotive market was a tailwind. We note that the company’s growing investments in new growth avenues and competitive advantages remain tailwinds. Further, its portfolio of long-lived products and efficient manufacturing strategies are other positives.

(You can read the full research report on Texas Instruments here >>>)

Shares of Enbridge have underperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry over the past year (-4.9% vs. +1.7%). The company has significant debt exposure since there has been a weakness in its operations. Also, it has mostly been yielding lower dividends than the industry over the past year.  As such, the stock warrants a cautious stance.

However, Enbridge has the longest and most sophisticated oil and liquids pipeline system in the world, which spreads across 17,809 miles. Hence, a significant portion of the midstream operator’s earnings is generated from transportation operations, driven by a string of long-term contracts.

Enbridge increased its annualized common share dividend to C$3.55 per share, thereby marking a dividend hike for 28 straight years. The leading midstream company expects to put more than C$13 billion growth projects into service in 2024 and beyond. This is expected to generate significant EBITDA growth in the coming years.

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

Shares of Fiserv have declined -1.5% over the past year against the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry’s decline of -10.7%. The company is facing stiff competition which makes it a difficult task for strong and long-term client relationships. Acquisition of a large number of companies results in some integration risk. Fiserv has more long-term debt outstanding than cash.

However, Fiserv enjoys a dominant position in the financial and payments solutions business on the back of broad and diverse customer base, and continued technology upgrades. FISV's diversified product portfolio helps attract a steady flow of customers.

Acquisitions help expand its product portfolio, enhance offerings, boost its market share and customer base. The company has been consistently rewarding shareholders through share buybacks. These initiatives instill investors’ confidence, positively impacting earnings per share.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include UBS Group AG (UBS), State Street Corp. (STT) and VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN).

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>>>