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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Union Pacific, AT&T, Blackstone, Gilead Sciences and Waste Management

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 26, 2022 – 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: Union Pacific Corp. (UNP - Free Report) , AT&T Inc. (T - Free Report) , Blackstone Inc. (BX - Free Report) , Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD - Free Report) and Waste Management, Inc. (WM - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Research Reports for Union Pacific, AT&T and BlackStone

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 Union Pacific Corp., AT&T Inc. and Blackstone Inc. 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 >>>

Union Pacific shares have outperformed the Zacks Transportation - Rail industry over the past year (+2.6% vs. -2.1%). UNP's strong free cash flow generating ability supports its shareholder-friendly activities. The company hiked dividend twice in 2021. In May 2022, UNP further upped its quarterly dividend by 10%.

The uptick in overall volumes as labor woes ease is an added positive. The railroad operator is also active on the buyback front. Management expects share repurchases in 2022 to be in line with the 2021 levels.

However, escalation in fuel costs as oil prices move north is worrisome. This phenomenon induced a 20% rise in the operating expenses during first-half 2022. Fuel costs surged 82% in the period. Fuel costs are likely to be high in the September quarter as well. Results will be out on Oct 20. High capital expenditures may also be a downside.

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

AT&T’s shares have declined -41.7% over the past year against Verizon's -27.8% decline and -16.8% pullback in the S&P 500 index. The company is struggling with a steady decline in its legacy telephony Internet and wireline services. High-speed Internet revenues are also contracting due to a decline in the legacy digital subscriber line. With the divesture of WarnerMedia, AT&T must build upon its core businesses to improve its value proposition as spectrum crisis and cord-cutting remain challenges.

However, AT&T is witnessing solid subscriber momentum. A customer-centric business model, is providing the company with healthy growth in its postpaid wireless business alongside a lower churn rate and higher-tier unlimited plans.

The company is actively investing in key areas of 5G and fiber and adjusting its business according to the evolving market scenario to fuel long-term growth. While optimizing operations, it is aiming to increase efficiencies to lower operating costs.

(You can read the full research report on AT&T here >>>)

Blackstone’s shares have declined -33.3% over the past year against the Zacks Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry’s decline of -27.2%. The company’s elevated operating expenses are expected to hurt the company's bottom line in the near term. Our estimates for total expenses (GAAP) suggest a CAGR of almost 17% over the next three years.

Additionally, lower chance of sustainability of its capital deployment activities (given the volatile nature of its earnings) remains another major near-term concern and hence makes us apprehensive. However, Blackstone remains well-poised to benefit from its strong fund-raising ability, revenue mix and global footprint.

The buyout of DCI is expected to further enhance its digital capabilities. Additionally, continued net inflows are expected to support Blackstone's assets under management (AUM) growth, going forward. Our estimates for total AUM indicate a rise of 8.5% for 2022.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Waste Management, Inc.

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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/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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